roo4u

oh...sorry i guess that would be nice to know....kangaroo...if you search online you will find it is mostly the only kind used....i buy only drum stuffed roo meant for whip making its pretty much all the same weight... but it also has to be split and beveled...although you can use it without splitting but if you do that it really has to be beveled...but i made alot of leads using lace i split but didnt bevel...

what color of lace did you start with? thats roo right? well roo does darken with the use of any type of lubricant the only thing i found that doesnt darken it is pecards dressing...for the most part i dont use a lubricant when braiding roo....although i am working on my first 16 strand and i think it will be easier with braiding soap... did you have to rebraid part of that? cuz that might cause it to darken a bit more.

most show leashes are a simple 4 strand braid.....we have braided thousands of show leads and here are some tips learn to cut your own lace...handcut lace is far superior to commercial made lace....for the colors beyond just the basic hide colors i learned to dye my own always use a core except for leads made specifically for toy breeds...i wrote all my measurements down so that i could set up any size lead with little variation because the cores were always tied the same length i never used beads because they were just not popular when i was selling most of my leads.

very cool....now you need to build yourself a headstall to match those reins...

wow thats nice....mind if i ask how much?

i would imagine it will be a while before companies like goodsjapan are back to business as usual....since they are actually in japan.

when i made rolled collars i just used latigo because thats what i made my leashes out of....but ive seen them made out of english bridle and harness as well. i used 9/11 oz latigo. i made them by hand and i used a groover to cut groove lines in the flesh side so that the leather could roll smoothly and come out close to round. i used a stitch line groover to cut the stitch line, a stitching punch for the stich holes and then hand stitched. i then use a saddlery edger to get a really round edge on my strap.

8thsinner....uh..ok, but its my first attempt at aussie style braiding and i was just messing around with lace cut from scrap and because of the differences in quality from one strand to the next i got some twist in my pattern...so its not pretty...but it was an excellent learning tool, i designed the pattern myself rather than using the predone ones on deadringers site...i figured id learn it better if i just jumped into the whole thing. i post pics when i get it done.

i like it....i really like the mix of colors...and the matching headstall....very cool

if you look in the saddlery section there are several topics on what it takes to build your first saddle...good luck!

YUP theres 2 or 3 others on here as well....on of the very good saddlemakers is from here but moved to nevada to apprentice.

welcome fellow Nebraskan!!! you will love this forum...there is an unbelievable amount of information, everyone is friendly and helpful....and some of the best leather workers in the world are willing to share their knowledge with us lesser leather folk. im in the north platte area...what part of the state are you in?

i think i read somewhere that there is a missing drawing in that knot....i will look thru my material and see if i can find it. the sidebutton is a version of the headhunter knot so if this is the look you are going for on your sidebutton you could just try the 2pass or 3 pass headhunter on page 410 -413...dont know if that will work for you but just a thought

i seriously doubt that is anything dog related....ive seen nearly every type of dog harness and never seen anything made with wood. i cant really tell the size from the pics but possibly from a goat harness....they are sometimes similar to horse harness...

i think i would just cut them off leaving a little bit then skive the ends down real good then braid them down a couple more passes then i drop them by leaving the ends up out of the braid then go back and pull tight and cut off...rather than trying to leave them under and braid over them. im in the middle of doing a riding crop and thats the way im going to do it.

yes...exactly! i found that when i tried to just put the strands under instead of thru i couldnt get it nice and even and when i was a rookie it was easier to follow my steps if everything was even.

well i mostly use the 2 strand knot and i always put it thru the middle of the braid so that it cant shift at all. the 4 strand version can be a bit difficult to get thru the middle if you have a fairly solid core...

i suppose that whether or not you use bit chains depends on the use of the reins....working usually have chains to protect the braided parts from the horse, some like to chew, if you let them drink while bitted....that kind of thing. reins destined for the show pen or pleasure riding most just go with the standard bit connector and a full length rein. in the research ive done online ive found very few sets intended for use with rein chains and those that are usually include the chains. the romal is like a long flexible quirt that is attached to the reins....romal reins were originally designed and used for a specific bit...the knots were used to add weight to provide balance for a spade bit....i think the purpose of the romal portion was twofold...add more length to the closed portion of the rein and so the rider wouldnt have to also carry a quirt....but im guessing cuz ive never looked at the history....i prefer split reins myself.....but i bet that the romal would be handy for whacking loose dogs while trail riding.

yes i was correct that is the rein knot from bruce grants books i thought everyone used those under their knots....

bg's encyclopedia of braiding...pg 155 i think thats what you are looking for....bg just called them rein knots

sounds like not enough lace for coverage....you need either more strands or wider strands...i struggled with this forever, using bruce grants formula i could never get coverage...but then when i started using the formula that gail hought has on her website i finally got the coverage i needed. 1.5 times the circumference divided by strands to get size....

hey spence i bet i know the braider your friends leash came from....i vended at the same shows as them a couple of times....i saw a lady try to take one back to them that had done the same thing and they wouldnt even fix it for her.... there is actually good reason for being able to wad a leash up in your hand. if you show large dogs as i do...there are times in a smaller ring or if the judge wants a slower gait that you need to reduce your leash length to keep the dog closer...but then when they are allowed to move out more you give them more leash one section at a time to show off their movement. years ago i had a rottie that could go from a standstill to TROT at 12 mph and since i couldnt run that fast i had to have some leash to let out

lookin good!!!!

good looking leash knothead....i like the 't' style turksheads just a couple of comments based on my experience showing dogs and selling leashes.....be careful with those tiny baby bolt snaps...they are fairly easy to break. if you are looking to get into a bit of the show leash market only toy dog handlers will use that size snap, in which case its safe to not have a core...although they might not like the size of the knots. for the larger dogs they like the bolt snap that is the next size up i think its the 3/8"small bolt snap....and a core-i used a doubled piece of waxed harness thread to add core without any size. without a core that leash wouldnt stay 36" for very long.