Thor

Very interesting! Thank you for the info. That sure is an inspiration.

LOL, sorry I missed the 0. and thought it's a 5 mil. Okay so here's a thought. Since it's only a 50 cm long piece, did you think of a paper cutting machine? Not the ones with the lever type style, but the one with a straight bar. If it's that thin of a leather, it's probably chrome-tanned and that tends to stretch no matter what you do.

Reason being water soluble. Review the properties of the products you're using, please. And as always, try your stuff on a scrap piece first. I wouldn't buy a messed up item. Back to scratch or giving it away if you can't strip it well and do it again.

Is that second knife made from a circular saw blade? What material is the handle made of?

Either a strap cutter or a draw gauge would be the right tool.

As usual your tooling is simply outstanding Vitaly. I think you should start your own book series.

How nice. I've been just reading an article where a guy had a saddle maker built him a saddle just for that occasion.

Nice stamping pattern.

Cool, have been looking for something like this already. Thanks for sharing. Just one question. Do you glue the pieces before stitching or no? It looked like you didn't and if so I would be curious to know the reason.

How slick. Thanks for sharing!

Well you've given yourself the answer already. If you don't want to take legal action suck it up. Telling someone that he stole your design and not telling him to not do it again and what you expect of him/her isn't helpful. There are at least 2 long threads about copyright infringement you can read up on. For as long as we are really just talking about a design and not a functionality the effort isn't worth it. Unless that design is part of your corporate identity, it be really hard to proof you have righteous claim.

Oh sorry, I thought you wanted to show that there is a rawhide liner on your tree. Just doesn't tell you anything about its condition though. Once you removed the straps and took the whole thing apart you'll see what it's like.

The rosettes can be found here http://www.tandyleather.eu/en-eur/home/department/conchos/4131-178.aspx. I would assume that they used 1-1/2" above 1-3/4". The red latigo straps are here http://www.tandyleather.eu/en-eur/search/searchresults/4752-00.aspx. You'll have to measure how long you need them. You can check this section on your local ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Leathercraft-/75565/i.html?Type=Leathers&_dcat=75565&Sub%252DType=Hides for the latigo straps. It may be called different in the UK I'm not so sure about that. Some things are named different in the UK than elsewhere.

I'd be very hesitant on doing that. First off those old saddle trees may or may not have a rawhide cover. Second, if they do, you don't know in what condition it is. You may get too much water onto the tree. I left one of my saddles out in the rain once, cause I had to get out of the bush... Took me quite a long time to bring it back to life. Needles to say that it never looked the same as it did before. Maybe it be worth to order this issue of the leather crafter's journal http://www.leathercraftersjournal.com/product.cfm?product=162. This has been suggested to me. Since you decided to replace the straps, and yes it is latigo leather. It usually comes in red and yellow. Since yellow are the ones used on your saddle you might want to find those. I'd use 8 to 9 oz. or 3 to 3.5 mm. To replace your rosettes you will need 2 different sizes. You will get most of the stuff at the UK Tandy Leather store. You can phone them up and talk to them. They are very knowledgeable and helpful. I usually phone them before I order in Spain as this is the way it's organized now.

Again pretty cool. Too bad the stitching came off track there a bit. Other than that top-notch!

So here are some pictures of my saddle. Mine is number 2 of that saddle maker. Number one can be found at the Williams Lake Cowboy Museum in British Columbia and is dated to the 1880s. I hadn't used it for years, but after the fact that it fits a horse got through the SPCA almost perfectly I started using it again. All I've done was cleaning it well with a glycerin based saddle soap and oiling it a couple of times. As you can see it's due for re-cleaning and oiling again. It's not uncommon if you cannot find a saddle makers name for such old saddles. Sometimes you may just find initials on some place of the saddle.

Usually I "measure" the circumference of an object and make the thread 4 times as long just to avoid the fact that I might have to end and restart. Some parts should be dyed before you put them together. It would make the slots look nicer. For whatever reason I don't even think that the walking marks are disturbing here. That may just be my impression, but it looks like you are not pulling equally on the thread and the stitches look a little uneven to me.

Researching the forum may help and you will find this thread http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=57101 Fiebing's is a global player and it is available in the UK just as well ans anywhere else in Europe. If you can't find a good dealer in England, let me know and I'll give you mine in Germany. They will be happy to ship to the island. In regards to your crack - it's sad to see a "sibling" to my saddle in such a condition but this is what one gets if it hasn't been cared for. From what I can see, your saddle is built a lot like mine, just different hardware. I would take it apart and strip it according to Wenny's suggestions. One advice of caution should be given. Water will dry out your leather, just as oltoot was pointing out already. The straps would have to be replaced unless you want to use it for display only. Remove them carefully if you want to reuse them. The skirts should come off fairly easy. You might want to consider replacing the shearling. If so, you could recondition the skirts a lot easier as it should be done from both sides of the leather. Good luck with it and it be great if you could post pictures as you progress.

Welcome to the forum. Could you tell me the name of the company on the green wrapped thread there? I wonder who that is. Thank you.

Very nice! Just 2 comments. The handles fold over could be skived (would be nice if that area would have been dyed black as well) and the greyish area (maybe caused by glue) on the gusset.

He may have used d-rings on the back Troy or attaches the strap with Siemens air-hooks

Hey Bonnie, still think they are too pink, but good thing you didn't post the picture where the guy was obviously exited about them

Don't know if this is the right place to show off hunting trophies...

Impressive! Where abouts are you again? Guess I should visit Russia one day. May I ask how much you charge for a belt like this?