Put coat of Neetsfoot oil on let sit 24 hrs. Repeat till not dry. Go light you can add more can't take out. Then dye and finish. That would be my steps.
Reading Fredk explaning what the were thefirst thing that popped in my mind was." All creatures great and small" tv series. The dude was shoulder deep in a cow every episode. Lol And I remember him "venting" a cow in the books a few times. Not sure about in the TV show though.
I have that pattern in digital download. Where the bill slots are square on the end I made them round. It's cleaner to cut and burnish. Also the digital is free. I have other acrylics of his too.
Basically the are the 3 styles of holding devises. Variation are innumerable. Clam on top, pony on left, horse on right. These also are terms that sometimes are interchangeable like pricking iron and chisel. In my experience anyways.
I think it's a you get what you pay for kind of thing. Rita is known quality. Chinese EBay what you get is what you get. Might be great might be garbage.
You can always take the bolt out and use a bar clamp on bigger stuff. I have also clamped stuff to the outside of my pony. Purses and such. Used a ruler with binder clips to make stuff not flop over when stitching. Necessity is the mother of invention and all that. Lol
There is no standardization of measurement between companies. Even Craftool and Craftool Pro. Some measure at the point of the tines. Some the space between the tines.