ibonn

For a few years now, I admire the work posted on the leatherowrker forum but I didn't dare to post pictures of my work. I've learned a lot here and now I feel it's time to show some of my work. Hereunder are my first attempts in carving horses. I've been tooling since 2008 but as there is little experience in leather work here in Holland it was mostly self-taught through Youtube and books. Last year I found a leather worker who was willing to teach me and correct my work. But still, I wasn't happy only making western style patterns as he did. Yaklady's pictures of her horse carvings opened a world to me, this was what I was looking for and I used her pictures as an inspiration for my work. The first picture is honestly my first attempt on carving horses, I saw the front page of a Dutch magazin and inspiration hit. Please comment my work, I need the opinions of experienced leatherworkers to improve my work. Picture of my own horse during a cross country training Some pictures from friends and in the middle, the one that gave me inspiration This will be the seat of the sitting stick, inspired by a hunting theme. Please let me know what you ding of my work, good or bad Further I have a question for the experienced carvers: How can you make or show a white star on the head or white socks on the legs when not using leather paint? I like the pictures with as little stain as possible, I only color the outlines with Antique stain.

I'll make some pics of my work and post them here for comments, I'm working on a small saddle bag and gitar straps. I got introduced to this leatherworker through a friend and he agreed to teach me. As he is already older, he teaches me at his home in Deventer and I drive over there ervery 2-3 weeks.

hello Conny and fellow (Dutch) members I'm a silent reader on this forum but a few familiar names where mentioned in your posts so I had to answer. I was at Leerhandel Berten last Friday where I bought way too much stuff We got there just 3 minutes before closing time but they where great on Christmas Eve, they let me in and helped me with some questions regarding box making etc. Due the snow, it was very hard to get there though, we had trouble getting up the small hill as it was so slippery. At the moment there is still lots of snow in Belgium. As I'm taking lessons in leather carving and case making, I plan to post the results on the forum but for the moment I'm still hesitant as all the projects shown here are so great.

After searching the internet, I'm putting my last hopes on this forum. As already mentioned in the title, I'm searching for the book Bridlework by Robert H Steinke. This book describes the making of an English style bridle/head collar. The book is no longer in print and therefore very hard to find. I've even contacted Mr. Steinke himself but unfortunatelly, he wasn't able to help me either. Nevertheless, we had a very nice email contact So my question is, does anyone have this book and wants to sell it? I'll pay good money for it. Even if you want to keep the book yourself, I'm interested in reading it and making notes and then send it back to the owner. Hoping for a bit of luck

After reading along for a few weeks, I registered recently. I was very surprised to find so many inspiring and creative soulmates on the web. Last April I joined a Basic Bridle course here in Holland, set up by a Saddle Fitting course and the world opend to me. This was what I was looking for and I actually cried at the end of it as I knew this was a life changing week for me. Next week, I'll join the 2nd course in which we will make a made-to-measure bridle (to make bespoke bridles). I guess you know by now, I'm not into the western saddles but into the stiff English tack but as a hobby I try to carve some small items. Not very succesfull tough What really has my interest is braiding, I want to use the authentic braiding techniques in modern horse tack such as halters, breast collars etc. I have set up a small business for the repairs of horse tack and I want to specialise in making bridles for very small pony's such as Shetlanders or Welsh pony's but also for the very big breeds. Besides all this, I also make braided dog collars. Within a few years, I hope to become a registered saddler who can make saddles for horses with a problem or disabled riders, therefore, I plann a couples of visits to my teacher Philip Howard of Saddlery Training Scotland. Early october, I'll launch my website so more info will be found there.

Well, I thought the same only half a year ago but last April I joined a basic bridle course here in Holland. Philip Howard from Saddlery Training Scotland (saddlerytrainingscotland.com) came over to Holland to teach a few Saddle Fitting students and I had the opportunity to join in. We learned all the necessary techniques for making (foal) halters. Next week, he comes again and we will learn how to make a made-to-measure bridle which can be used to make bespoke bridles. I bought my strop from David and his service was great ! I plan to go to Scotland next year for the saddlery repair and reflocking course and I eventually want to learn how to build custom made English saddles for pony's/little children and the disabled as here in Holland knowledge about saddles is very limited.