slatercreek

Alrighty then, I have a customer who wants a cowhide quilt and quite frankly I don't even fabric quilt! Does anybody know how to get really nice, flat seams and corners as they will bulk up no matter how much I skive down the back and trim. Any ideas would be much appreciated!

What exactly are you looking for? We are super picky about our tools and really prefer the old Rose and Gomph for some things as well as the Douglas tools from Sheridan WY. Try Hidecrafters and E-bay. There are several trade shows around the US as well that you can go to if you can afford the fuel . But seriously, E-BAY!!! If you feel like sorting through the not so great stuff you can find some hot deals on some great tools. i.e. we bought a harness stitcher (sewing machine) for $1200 and the dang thing was worth more than 5,000 as it was a repo and we have bought many edgers, head knives, etc for 1/2 the "street value".

Look at www.mecates.com. Sara Hagel and her family (the Douglas') are from Sheridan, WY and she does some really awesome stuff with her bridles. No bling or beads, but some really cool, retro, ferruling, etc. Also, although it doesn't look great forever, rawhide or latigo braiding looks great on a headstall for several years as do spots and bullets. If you don't ride in really brushy country and if you are super careful about the way that you do your headstalls the "pretties" will last longer. You can look on E-bay for the Hall books as they are from here in Wyoming. Also the TCAA (Traditional Cowboy Artists of America) has some great stuff on their site. Look up rodeo sites as well as they always have pics (action) of all the trendy tack. Hope that this helps. Have a great day!