megabit

Wow what a crappy job you did, you should pack it up and send it to me so no one sees it. ;D Great work and very cool.

I think the standard answer is start with a butcher that slaughters or a processing house and make your own. Given that that is piratical for everyone you could look in this thread "where to get rawhide"

Very cool Alan.

Hell I'd likely spend half of it on Bourbon and hookers and just blow the rest. Wait the wife might get tweaked about that. I have a hard time imagining spending $16K on a belt though. I did spend $1,100 for two buckles last year, but you only have one 25th anniversary. Mike

Man, those are nice. The more I try to braid the more I wonder if I will ever get any good at it. I would love to have a nice set of romel reins like those. Very nice work indeed. Mike

Only thing I love more than the sheath is that Damascus blade. Mike

I love Ramona, I just hate getting to or from there. I think that is likely what makes the place so nice though. Mike

Well I am in SoCal (Oceanside) but I would more say I want to do leather than I do. I have been working on learning to braid a bit and making some rope halters for my horses. I am planning to buy a leather craft starter kit RSN (real soon now) so I can try my hand at making more tack and maybe some belts, spur straps... Would really love to learn to make saddles at some point. Mike PS Nice look horse by the way.

llasso, Great looking spur straps (as usual). They are truely a work of art. Not sure I would be inclined to wear something that ornate but man to they look sweet. In the context of a B Movie hero they are perfect. Spider, Almost any tack shop will have spurs or if you want something nice and a bit old timey check out http://www.lindholmspurs.com/ or if you want to really step it up a notch check out http://larryfuegen.com/ for hand made spurs of damascus steel. Mike

You must be in the Quad Cities then or your friend is at the very least. I grew up in East Moline and my mom worked at the Arsenal before I was born. I am in SoCal now though, can't stand the fridged weather. Mike

Alan, Thanks for the feedback and the little nudge to work harder and pay closer attention to the details. I did put another lap on the 3 pass knot; still not sure it was right though. I untied it last night and will give it another go today at lunch. I'd say this stuff is harder than it looks but I always thought it looked plenty hard to begin with. When I first picked up Grant's book I couldn't make heads or tails of what he was trying to tell me, so I am progressing abate a bit slowly. This site has been a great help and inspiration to keep pursuing learning this craft. Mike

I have been buying para cord at a local military surplus store (helps that I live in the shadow of Camp Pendleton). http://ubraidit.com/ also sells it as does most of the military surplus websites. Mike

Ok, didn't seem to like the 2mb file I just tried, so I shrank it a bit. Here is a double gaucho 2 pass I tied in para cord for my flashlight handle tonight. Let me know what you think. Mike

Very possible, I stopped when I ran out of room on the mandrel. I would need a larger diameter mandrel to go around anymore than I did. Tonight I want to give the double gaucho of 2 or 3 passes a try with para cord. Seems like it would make a good handle cover for my flashlights and in a pinch would give you several feet of para cord you could pull off for other uses. Mike

Here is a 3 pass gaucho I tied at lunch today. I think I am finally starting to get the hang of this a little. Sorry for the poor quality of the photo I took it with my phone. How does the knot look though? Mike

Very nice. That thing certainly shouldn't move around much. Very nice looking country too, where was the photo taken? Mike

Here is a shufly I made tonight. I need to get a way to bevel my lace so my knots will hopefully lay flater.

Heather, Wow, I was going to take pics of the turk's heads I added to my headstall, but after seeing yours mine looks kinda crappy. I will try to remember to snap a pic tonight when I ride anyhow. Mike

I have noticed that when I do a 6 or 8 plait round braid without a core it comes out more square than round. Is this to be expected or do I need to adjust my technique? Mike

Love the handle. Is that a Turk's Head or a braid? I have been practicing with para cord since it is cheaper than leather or rawhide. Planning to give a go at making some romel reins out of rope and para cord to give me something I can use and to get some practice in. Mike

Looks great. Making a bit hobble should be trivial for you after looking at this. What kind of cutter / beveler do you use? Mike

Ok, here is the bit hobble I braided out of para like cord. What do you guys think?

Larry, As always they look great. I do have a question for you. I started riding about a year ago and have noticed that some people strap on spurs with the big side of the strap on the outside and other strap it to the inside of the foot. I have mine on the outside because intuitively that seemed the way to do it. Any reason for one way over the other? Mike

I have that book too, very good when it doesn't just leave me more confussed than I started. I also have "Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding" on it's way from Barnes and Noble. It is written by Bruce Grant as well. Mike

Found this site a couple of weeks ago. I think I found it with a link by Alan Bell on the Californio email list. I am interested in learning to braid and work leather. I started riding (horses) about a year ago and would like to make my own tack and maybe someday a saddle. I've made several rope halters and braided a curb strap out of para cord. I'll try to get a picture up soon. My questions are: 1. Is working with para cord or rope a good way to learn the basics? Seems much easier to work with and is cheaper to get. 2. When I move to rawhide/leather how can I get precut lace beveled? I am not ready to drop $300 - $400 on a nice cutter yet. Thanks, Mike