Sheilajeanne

Yes, I definitely think it's worth a shot. It looks like a well-made all purpose saddle, the type that can be used for pleasure riding, jumping or beginner dressage, so it should be quite marketable once it's fixed up.

For those of you not familiar with the equestrian world, yes, folks, Hermes makes saddles as well as high-end handbags! And like their handbags, the saddles are VERY high-end! Though how much of that is due to the Hermes name, I'm not sure. A $10,000 saddle is not going to make you a better rider than a $2,000 saddle if you don't put the work into it! As the old adage goes, wet saddle blankets make good horses and horsemen/women!

I have a German made English style riding saddle from the 1970's. I suspect this one is even older. A saddler told me the older saddles are far superior to the modern ones, as you can add stuffing to them to help them fit the horse's back better. With modern ones, these alterations aren't possible. Edit: Selle Francais is a breed of horse from France. It literally means "French saddle horse". I'm only aware of the one meaning for "selle". Sale, however, means 'dirty' and I think that's where the poop reference comes in.... Bing translator only gives the one translation for 'selle', and that is 'saddle'.

I think they are the end clasps for English riding reins. The end of the rein goes around the bit, then this clasp hooks into a slot in the rein. Maybe a more experienced tack making person can confirm this? Or maybe I can find just where I put my bridle, which I haven't used in about 20 years, and check to be sure... Edit: I found a picture of the bridle part I was thinking of, and it's not the same: https://www.google.com/search?q=hook+stud+ends+for+reins&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjE7oXlmLzhAhXFmq0KHXe-AtcQsAR6BAgJEAE&biw=1236&bih=606#imgrc=oT7TiDAZ94u0JM: (Just FYI, it's called a hook stud.) Oh well....

Wow! And LOL, Plinkercases! You sure would have saved on shipping - I might even have been able to meet up with you somewhere and save you the charge! You're close to Toronto, right?

About a month ago, I acquired a large number of stamps. Am selling off the duplicates, or the ones I know I will never use. The stamp numbers match up with Tandy stamp numbers, even if the stamp is not a Tandy product, so if you want to know what a stamp will look like, look up its Tandy number on Google. All stamps have been tested, and I have not noticed much of a difference between the Taiwan stamps and the Craftool stamps. All stamps produce a good enough impression to satisfy the average hobbyist. Tandy Stamps with no letter are the oldest, followed by Craftool Co. with a letter and number, then Craftool Co. U.S.A. The most recent stamps are Craftool U.S.A. A 710400 Craftool USA small backgrounder B793600 Craftool USA beveler 197, Craftool Co. beveler smooth B198, Craftool USA, medium beveler, cross-hatched B203 Craftool smooth beveler C433 Craftool camo 431 Craftool Co. camo Z-C431 Craftool camo C425 Craftool small camo D 435 Taiwan sunburst D 438 Ivan Taiwan sunburst (two the same) D 439 Ivan Taiwan sunburst D 606 Taiwan sunburst F 976 Craftool USA, triangular figure tool P206 Taiwan medium smooth pear shader P207 Craftool lined pear shader P212 Craftool USA largish pear shader, cross hatched P217 Craftool pear shader, crosshatched U851 Craftool small mule foot stamp Z-V407 veiner, no maker's stamp, however, I'm sure it's Craftool V 707 Craftool USA veiner (2) Border tool, twisted wire, medium handle, no number Craftool Border tool, twisted wire, corner, medium handle, no number, Craftool Border tool, barbed wire, med. handle, Craftool, Rose stamp, X964, Taiwan Basket weave, X498, Taiwan Pear shader, no maker's stamp, looks to be home made. Both ends of the shader are the same width. Going to charge $4.00 U.S. for the Craftool Co. stamps and $3.00 for the others. I am in Canada, but will ship to the States. $80 will get you the whole lot, but due to the weight, I will need to ship the stamps in two batches for safety.

The Stohlman books are still very much worth having. I highly recommend his books on Pictorial Carving and Figure Carving. His book on Leathercraft Tools is also a very valuable resource when it comes to learning how to properly sharpen and maintain your tools as well as tips on using them. The big book on How to Carve Leather is also a gorgeous book to look at and contains many useful hints. And if you are going to want to learn how to emboss leather, there is no better book than his book on embossing! https://www.amazon.com/art-embossing-leather-Al-Stohlman/dp/B0006EOA8S Just ask ABHandmade, who has used this book extensively to make his beautiful embossed leather carvings!

Yup, that was my first thought, too. "That guy obviously does NOT live somewhere where they get serious snowfalls!" I used to live in a house that didn't have enough slope to the roof. I spent a LOT of money fixing it up when I moved in to make it waterproof. The roofers installed a special membrane to resist leakage, as well as the regular roofing tarpaper that goes under the shingles. The third winter I was there, we had an ice storm that deposited about 4 inches of ice on the roof. When that started to melt in the spring, the water leaked right through my living room ceiling! I loaned a friend a pickaxe, crossed my fingers that she wouldn't get carried away with it, and together we spent over an hour removing the ice. Less than an hour later the leak stopped.

Most of the work I've seen that's signed has his full name printed out in block capitals. Here's the best example I could find. On his larger carvings, it's often almost impossible to see the signature: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vtg-original-al-stohlman-crafted-1853215267

I live half an hour away from the nearest Tandy store, and much prefer to shop in person. The few times it hasn't been in person, I've phoned the store directly. I'm well enough known to them that they recognize my voice on the phone. I have ordered a few books from the leathercraft library and paid for those by credit card or paypal, though. As for my identity being stolen, I have a good friend who's an IT specialist. She tried to find me online, and in spite of knowing my real name as well as some of my online aliases, came up with zip. So, guess I'm not doing too badly in the security department, though she's not a specialist in that area. This is a small town, and people know each other. A good friend of mine lives just across the road, and my next door neighbour and I used to work together. I also have two large dogs. The crime rate in the area is extremely low. If anything unusual happens in town, it's on the neighbourhood facebook page within half an hour. I feel pretty safe here.

Everything in the catalogue is available online through Tandy's websites. https://www.tandyleather.com/en/ No need to make it available as a PDF when the website is available online, and probably more up to date than the catalogue.

I think I know what the problem with Tandy is. I got a notice in my inbox yesterday saying all passwords have to be upgraded to make them stronger. (My current password is letters only, so needs strengthening.) Willing to bet if you reset your password, you'll be fine! Just say you lost your password, then reset it when they e-mail you.

[sigh!] I figures as much!

Yup, Barry King may be making some money off a few of us...lol! I just got over 100 tools and stamps, mostly Tandy and IvanTaiwan tools, and here I thought I'd be totally done buying tools for a long time to come. Then Don shows us how to use a crowner, which Tandy NO LONGER MAKES! One nice thing about the new tools I got, is that the people in Taiwan have realized people still want some of the older Tandy tools, and are making things like acorn caps, etc. The numbers are even the same as the discontinued Tandy tools!

I just watched the video of the safety beveler. And you know what...it reminds me of the parer I use for paring vegetables! Hm...wonder if that would work? My aunt was left-handed, so her parer was wicked sharp on the right side, and right-handed people couldn't get it to pare for them at all. The more you use them the sharper the blade gets. My mom managed to amputate a very large piece of her baby finger while peeling potatoes one night! :D https://www.bedbathandbeyond.ca/store/product/rsvp-endurance-reg-vegetable-peeler/1046705327?skuId=46705327&&enginename=google&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand__&adpos=1o1&creative=259324461247&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&product_id=46705327CA&mrkgadid=612922151&mrkgcl=610&rkg_id=0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoNWQvZbq4AIVAbjACh1uKwfmEAkYASABEgITivD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds