roo4u

if i get a chance tomorrow i will set up something and take some pictures so you can see the steps im talking about. i havent braided in quite a while due to horrible job but i think i have some suede lace that will work great for photos by the way glad to see someone else in nebraska doing some braiding

when you go from two 4 strand braids to 8 strand you have to set up the strings so that it looks like youve been braiding 8 where they meet you have to arrange them. for ending braids i just use a terminal knot to end each braid and then use a ring knot to bind them together right up against the terminal knots then shape the terminals and build a foundation using a turkshead around the two terminal knots. i use a mallet to help shape the end knots to give the th knot a good shape and then cover with a decorative knot. for this i love pineapple knots or another good one is the lonestar knot

this sounds like an awesome event id like to start entering my braiding in competition and this would be a good place to start. where can i get an application i didnt see one on the website. the click here for contest application link didnt work thanks in advance tracy

that braid is in bruce grants encyclopedia one of 2 or 3 six plaits he shows. it is the only one i use for 6 plait leashes as i do not like the way an o1u1 looks in more than 4 strands.

i have made several hundred braided collars. from experience i will tell you that 4 strand while do-able in a flat, is not as simple as a collar with more strands as it doesnt leave much width for the flat part very hard to find buckles for. does it need to be a buckle collar? a round slip collar is very easy. what kind of leather is it? the lowest i like to braid flat is 6 strand...it will give you a nice look and is relativly easy to transition from round to flat. if you will post the width of your lace and what hardware you are going to use i will try to post you a tutorial.

i would not buy roo from weaver leather. i bought from them for quite a while, then they changed suppliers and what they sell now is a dry leather realy not suitable for good braiding, and eats thru cutter blades like no other....im guessing its more like bookbinding leather or something like that. what you need is drumstuffed. charles hardtke has excellent roo in black, brandy, whiskey, saddletan, and natural. david morgan has good quality but very expensive. ive never purchased from sheridan.

charles hardtke has hides from packer tannery...very good quality ive never gotten a bad one and ive ordered hundreds

THERE used to be a mcpherson saddlery and leather in san diego. from what i remember they did some nice work...but i really didnt know uch about leather or saddlery at the time.

i use breastcollars on all my horses...not that i need one but im used to them and so are my horses...i hate to have a need and have my horse jittery cause hed never had one on before. i use the shaped style and they dont rub or anything when put on right. i also use a rear cinch most of the time...same reason if i had to use it and my horse had never seen one that could be a problem.

that looks awesome!!! how many strands is it? been thinking about doing mine...only i was gonna do it as a braid over core cause my steering wheel is worn all the way around....then use the shelac on it like the aussie whipbraiders do, to seal it good.

if your itchin to start braiding then while your still working out the bugs in the hansen go to tandy and buy one of those elcheapo little plastic lace cutters they sell...cuts lace out of a circle by starting in the center, and you can get alot of lace from small circles...since you dont split suede anyway it will get you started. actually ive been braiding for twelve years now, have made thousands of leashes and cut all my roo lace with the tandy lace maker....i get a huge amount of lace from a roo hide with this thing.

i use these needles to make all my knots...never have used a fid...though i sometimes use a tiny screwdriver(flat head) to make the gaps between pairs so needles go in easier.

cutting lace with any type of cutter is a learning process. learning on the suede is a good idea, and you can braid some nice things with suede, i dont know what kinds of things your looking to do but ive made some fabulous dog leashes and stuff out of it. try cutting wider lace then if it comes out uneven try to narrow it down slightly. the down side of suede is it is slightly harder to cut than the thinner smooth leathers. roo cuts like butter but is expensive to learn on.

gail hought is one of the top braiders in the us and she is in mckinleyville ca.

wow...i like that setup...so much easier than the way i cut lace and looks a heck of a lot safer than the lace cutters that have the exposed blades...im gonna have to study those pixs and see if i can build me something similiar. thanks for posting!

entiendo...if you look at your foundation knot when its complete and before you add your interweave you will see that for six bights your lace crosses the center of your knot seven times up this is the parts(you only count in one direction). does that make sense?

i have yet to use soap when braiding. as of right now i only braid in kangaroo or paracord and havent really needed to use any

entiendo--the turks head is the foundation for the pineapple knot, it is the interweave that makes it a pine knot. 6b refers to 6 bights 7p is 7 parts

ok first of all on a pineapple knot the interweave passes on the right of the standing part sequence as follows up-u1o1u1o1u2 down o1u1o1u2 up-o1u1o1u3 split parallels down o1u21o1u3split parallales up-o1u1o1u3 down-o2u1o1u3 up-o2u2o1u3 down-o2u2o1u3 up-o2u2o1u3 down-o2u2o2u3 up-o2u2o2u3 down-o2u2o2u3 finished end is now alongside original standing part hope this helps you

howdy and welcome to a fellow central nebraskan....good work, some nice holsters there.

the best lace is the cut it yourself kind...i find the commercially cut lace to be hard and nasty compared to my hand cut lace...

and hello back to you from my little part of nebraska....im no expert on chaps etc (im a braider) but looks like nice work to me.

HEY GUYS...onthe leather tools forum there is a post by trastu shows a homemade string cutter...im going to try making one looks simple enough to build...has pix of it taken apart showing all the pieces looks like it would be easy enough to use it to bevel with as well. take a look. i too use the plastic lace maker from tandy and though i split my roo thinenough that it doesnt really need tobe beveled im wanting to learn the rawhide i also just made myself a braid rounder out of some oak i bought at a home store...after using it once i wonder how i did without it..i will post pix of it later

wow...thats awesome...i couldnt plait a full size one that nice let alone a miniature...i think that i will work at it my whole life and never get that good. you are so lucky to have a mentor like that. i live in nebraska and i think im the only braider in the whole state.

i had the same problem with the rotting...and the smell. couldnt get all thehair off first time so put it back in fresh water for acouple more days and when i pulled it out the top surface had rotted all away, there were even big holes in the hide...i though maybe the flies had gotten to some of it cause it wasnt alldunked down in the lime. im afraid to try again. may just buy one from hereford byproducts this time so i can actually get some practice braiding. when i last tested the well here it was very much on the base side of the ph scale that should have made it easier for the lime to work, right?