bikermutt07

Great rugged business bag. Looks like it should last a millennia.

That is pretty neat. Good luck.

Seems to me that saddle building is a whole different beast from making wallets and knife sheaths. I'm not sure if tack even fits in the same level as saddle building. Being a carpenter, if I wanted to learn saddlemaking I would want an apprenticeship. If I was going to teach my method (If was a saddlemaker) I would only want to do it through an apprenticeship program. Ideas of quality, safety, comfort, and liability come to mind. You don't want some internet student messing up or hurting people and horses saying, "WELL, that's how Bob taught me to do it." The other day I was browsing a help wanted ad here. The kid wanted a well built saddle for 1500 bucks. He quickly learned that wasn't going to happen. I advised him (through my own ignorance) that maybe he should spend that money on tools and books to learn how to make one himself. I was quickly chastised (and rightly so) that that method could be dangerous to not only the rider, but the horse as well. If it were up to me, I would leave Saddlery teaching in the hands on only category. .02

Jls Leather has a pattern very similar to this for free download on his site. As for advice (these are some things I've learned here) go slow. Taking your time will double your quality. Cut slowly, take time on your edges, and allow plenty of drying time between steps. If you don't know how to sharpen blades and tools, learn. I could barely sharpen a pocket knife when I started. It made things very difficult and frustrating. I was recently referred to Al Stohlman's "Leather Tools How to Sharpen Them and How to Use Them". This is an excellent resource that is inexpensive. It also shows some tips on using tools for other techniques that you may not be aware of. His book "The Art of Sewing" also covers different techniques such as lacing, box stitching, and sewing a cylinder. Another great tip I learned here was to slow down and learn consistancy. Pick an item and make several of them. This will help develop all of your basics. I have skipped around and made several one off items. This made the basics suffer. I would forget to do steps in the process from one project to the next. Also, you can make more than one at a time. This will give you more quality time at the bench. You will have less time waiting and watching replaced with more time doing. Take scraps along with each step of your process. Try the next step on a scrap first. Never experiment on your project itself. Hope this helps.

Congratulations on your purchase. There is one thing I would like to add for future readers. No one (including myself) ever asked which of your items you sell the most of. This should be considered. If you gear your purchase towards your most popular items, it would stimulate income faster towards the second machine purchase. Have fun.

That's great.

Where's the like button?

People who mention a store's prices aren't going to be your demographic. My brother taught me awhile back that you should try and spot window shoppers early on in the conversation. Don't waste your time on them. If they are asking the same type of questions over and over like "well how much would it be if you just do this part and not that part". They aren't spending the money. Those folks will run all over town shopping you and probably in the end, don't buy anything at all. If you watch for them, you'll see them. I know it's a little off topic, but I thought it may be helpful to someone. I bet NV has run into those people.

(Thumbs Up)

Make some strops???

If you are talking about lifting in the carving sense look up using a petal lifter. George Hurst from Tandy has a nice little video on YouTube. It's a way of cutting into the flesh and lifting it away from the surface to add depth to the piece. Good luck.

Man alive! It looks like an 80 dollar job to me. Maybe more. The art is great.

I use the co link brand of those chisel and I'm really happy with them. Need to get around to getting another size of them.

Most people aren't as smart as you.

As the former owner of 2 failed businesses I would like to throw this out there. Everyone considering starting a business should read "E squared Revisited" It seemed like someone had been following me around reading my mind and then wrote the book. It clarifies the difference between being a great technician who only wants to do the work the most precise way, a manager who is trying frantically to keep schedules and orders, and the entrepreneur who just wants to drag everyone forward to a success in the fastest manner possible. I know this is a little off topic but it's great information. The book explained how you are going to become all three of these characters fighting one another until nothing is fun anymore. Most people think "if I work for myself, I can make more money and not have to work as much". This book explains away this myth really really well. Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there. I came to the conclusion that I am no business man. I do what I do well. But I will do it for a business man.

And that is awesome!

Good job, welcome aboard.

The solution is a no brainer...... Buy your wife the machine she needs. Buy your machine next year. Cheers to your happy wife.

Crooked K doesn't suggest feminine to me at all. Sounds totally laid back ranch themey to me. If you have no worries of another company with that name, I suggest you rock it. Crooked K Tack and Harness Crooked K Saddlery Crooked K Leather Goods Crooked K Brand Pork n Beans Crooked K Steakhouse Crooked K Ribeye It all sounds good.

Yep, I think crooked k is a great name for a western influenced leather company.

Me too. Thanks.

The tooling charge is a good way to look at it. A few dollars on each order for just that purpose (I see) is feasible. And think how many holsters you will sell, and the tooling fee isn't needed for a mold. Then you can apply it elsewhere in the shop. New splitter, sewing machine, whatever. I won't ramble today.

Buddy, from what I've seen that's just the nature of business. I work for a man that gambles on the future everyday. He buys pallets of tile, rolls upon rolls of carpet and vinyl, and probably has 200 slabs of granite. That's all gambling on what people "may" want to buy, not what he knows they will buy. Of course we are talking a much much smaller scale here. But we can't take the job without the tools and supplies. Let's change the focus. Someone wants a non molded western holster for a particular model, say a navy colt. You have the pattern and plenty of veg tan. But he wants it out of Horween, because he read it's the cat's meow. Can you charge him for a whole shoulder plus the holster? You'll be able to sell some of the left overs on later projects, so why pass the whole cost to him? Here's a personal example: In my last business I bought out an "existing" company. Being a carpenter, I relied on my predecessors painting knowledge. I had to figure out in short order how to do a premium oil paint finish on new cabinets using an automotive spray rig without any experience. Luckily, Sherman Williams pointed me to an airless rig. That was 900.00. That helped, but we were working in cold conditions with oil based paint. I fought that finish for weeks before my cabinet component supplyer just nonchalantly asked how was I flashing the oil based paints. WHAT!?!??? Then he, not my predecessor, explained the process to me. 800.00 dollars later in infrared heaters and after three weeks in lost labor I had a finish good enough to present to my client. I wasn't able to pass any if those costs onto my client, I just had to eat it. After that project I switched to 100% acrylics and never looked back. I did several jobs with that spray rig before going out of business. Maybe that example was too long. But, here I am three years later. I'm no longer in business, but I just used that spray rig (that I haven't touched in a year and a half) to do a 2600.00 job. Can I get an amen? This side job paid for Christmas, is helping me send my wife to New York for a teacher's convention, and it allowed me to order a headknife from Knipknives. I think the 900 bucks was well invested. Oh, and one of those heaters keeps my father in law's shop warm. Sorry for the late night ramble, I'm going to bed.

I haven't done it, but I see it like this... You can add a few tooling dollars to each and every order to compensate for having to buy a mold. This little extra will add up for future tool or mold purchases. Price of doing business. But I wouldn't add the cost of the entire mold to one holster, because I will be keeping the mold for future use. .02

That's great. Leather isn't cheap, and like my boss says "turn that trash into cash". Several people here have mentioned scavaging sofas and jackets for material. Keep on keeping on.