hidepounder

Beautiful workmanship David as always! I'm with everyone else...I can't imagine anyone not being blown away with your level of craftmanship and designs. Bobby

Pepin, I'm not sure how I missed this post! The sheaths are very nice! I love the inlays and I especially like that you added a tooled border to them. Your stitching is very good and your edges are wonderful, LOL! You should be very proud of these...it is excellent work! Bobby

I wear an XL glove (I'm not sure what size that is) and I like the taller knives. I'm like Bruce...having a big long blade in a large barrel knife makes cutting long flowing lines and straight borders a breeze. In my opinion you have to fit the knife to the work. The smaller the pattern the smaller the blade I use and I like to keep my blades in barrels that are a similar size. I keep about 10 knives on the bench and they run from 3/8" barrels with micro blades to 5/8" barrels with 5/8" blades. I also agree with Bruce that having a larger diameter barrel is easier to control than a 3/8" barrel. That said I'm using the 3/8" barrels more than any of the others but that is due to the size of the pattens I have been tooling and it is not unusual for me to use two or three different swivel knives on one pattern. Hope this helps... Bobby

I haven't posted anything in a while so I thought I would post this project. It is for one of the pro trainers who wanted to wear an alligator belt and matching spur straps to the 2009 AQHA World Show. Utilizing the alligator is a little different for me which made this a fun project. As always, all critques are welcomed. Bobby

Nice job Rusty!

That's beautiful Clay! When I read that you weren't going to emboss it I couldn't believe my eyes! I looked at the first photo and then I read on....I knew you couldn't resist! It's a great composition too. Kathy did do a great job on it also! Bobby

bkeller, I would use a Fiebings or Angelus spirit dye to do the background of the tooling. You could use the same color spirit dye for the gussets if you wanted, but my recomendation would be not to dye the gussets and to apply an antique finish to the entire purse after you've dyed the background of the tooling. As for the the lining, there are a couple of ways to go. You can glue your lining pieces to the back of the exterior pieces or you can fabricate a lning that attaches at the top opening of the purse and just hangs inside. I would glue to the flesh side and then assemble everything....that's considerably easier to do in my opinion. Hope this helps... Bobby

I'm glad this thread got bumped because I really enjoy looking at this saddle! Bobby

The truth is...I'm too old to remember! Bobby

Joe, Your client should probably be using rope halters....they are inexpensive, adjustable and they won't break. But if rope is not an option for him then I would consider eliminating the "halter" hardware all together and go to heavy solid steel rings on the halter. I think they would last a lot longer. Where do the conway buckles go? I think that will be a weak point also and am not sure where it goes on a halter. Hope this helps.... Bobby

Are you looking for yourself or a customer? If it's for yourself and you really want an unbreakable halter I highly recommend going to 5/16" a rope halter...they won't break! Otherwise I'd probably go to heavy steel rings. I think they would be stronger than halter hardware. Hope this helps... Bobby

Storm, I think you did a very nice job on that! Good flow, very pleasing to the eye....I like it a lot! Bobby

Eugene, If you Google "replica guns" or " prop guns" there are lots of sites. Hope this helps.... Bobby

Thanks Brent, I hope I was able to help a few folks out. I was really suprised to see this thread pop up again. Over 1500 views...WOW!

CEW, Keep an eye on e-bay...there are always lots of old tools for sale there. Hope this helps.... Bobby

That is tremendous Ed! Unbelievable relief and the dye job is terrific! I don't think it gets any better than that. Great photos too BTW! Bobby

Good job Tim!

Pete, I buy more 7/8 oz leather than anything. I use it for belts, saddle bags, organizers, rope bags, headstalls and a variety of other things. Sometimes I need to split it down and sometimes I use more than one piece back to back. But in general it is my handiest size to have on hand. Hope this helps.... Bobby

Nice job on the tutorial....good photos and explanations. Thanks for sharing! Bobby

Good looking rig Justin. I like the border/floral combo. Bobby

Thanks everybody for your responses. I've been researching these cameras...seems like I have ended up with more questions than answers, LOL. Anyway, I'm going to continue to do some reading and I'll let you know what I end up with. Thanks again...... Bobby

I'm with TT and Luke....I think you need more thickness for a good stamping block. Bobby

You may be able to darken the headstall to get it closer to the color of the saddle by applying a light coat of Neatsfoot oil and then putting it out in the sun. You might try it in the sun without adding more NF oil first....it looks like the headstall has been well oiled. I don't think there is any way to preserve the white color of the thead while dying the headstall. I could be wrong, however, and will be watching the responses to see what others might know, LOL. Bobby

I own and use Beards, Henleys, Smiths, Hide Crafters and Leather Wranglers. I probably use Beards blades the most...they are made of tool steel and are very nicely milled, but in all fairness I probably use his because I had him make just what I wanted. I have a variety of styles shapes and sizes and use each for a specific purpose. I do most of my decorative cuts with the LW knife...it is all aluminum with a very high tech steel blade. I have several Henley blades and they are excellent. I probably use Henley barrels more than any other because I like the way they feel. Smith's and Beard's probably have the best yoke and bearing system. With that said the quality of many of these knives have far exceeded the practical needs of the tool. I also use some Henley knock-offs that came from Hide Crafters and with the exception that the yokes will only spin for 20 or 30 seconds instead of 90....I can't see or feel the difference between the two. Those knives have Henley and Beard blades in them. Henley offers a couple of different knurling and yoke styles and a variety of blades designs. Smith and LW both offer a large variety also. I have not used Barry's blades or knives because he makes brass knives and am not a fan of brass, however, eveyone that I know who has a King likes their knife very much. I think that as long as you buy a quality knife and blade from any of the custom makers you will probably be satisfied, but because a swivel knife is such a personal tool I highly recommend attending one of the shows to try them all out. And remember....no matter whose blade you decide on, they all require proper sharpening and polishing to maintain they're ability to cut. Hope this helps.... Bobby

Jon, I am really impressed with your workmanship! The lines are very nice and it lays together beautifully. I'm extra prejudiced because of the in-skirt rigging....my favorite! I think that your tooling theme is a perfect example of how "less is more"! I agree with Ben, the finish is absolutley beautiful! I would love to get a chance to pick your brain about finishing one day. One of the other things that really stands out to me is how clean everything is. There are no little marks or blemishes anywhere. My hat is off to you! Beautiful saddle! Bobby