hidepounder

Charlie, I agree this is a great place to be and we all need to insure it continues to thrive! I appreciate your kind words and am glad you found my method useful. Bob

Hello everybody, I receive quite a few PM's and emails requesting information on edges, finger cutting, tooling patterns and various other topics. Questions regarding some of these topics come up on a fairly regular basis, so I thought I would put something together that members could easily refer to. This article describes the way I finish edges and Johanna has posted it in the "Tips & Tricks" section on the main page. I hope that some of you will find it helpful. Finishing Edges Bob

Beautiful as always Tina! Bob

Casey builds miniatures.....Caseeey!!??......where are you????

Ian, I'm not sure which Weaver set up you're referring to, but take a look at Grizzly, they have a lot of sanding & buffing setups to look at. If nothing else you may ge an idea of what you want to build. Bob

Bruce, I see nothing wrong with hanging your Galimba's from your second loop strap! Enjoy the Crown! Bob

I can completely understand how an individual who spent a lot of money on an item might not want to "advertise" for the maker. I have to tell you though, that a makers mark can often times ADD value to an item. I am frequently asked "Are you going to put your name on it?". I have been asked on many occasions to place my makers mark prominently on the front of the item I was making and have also been asked to provide a silver makers plate on the front of my piece, so go figure. While at the High Noon Auction (One of the most prestigous western memorabilia events in the world) a black tooled and dyed briefcase came up for auction. It had been manufactured by Hollywood Classics and sported a silver makers plate right in the middle of the flap and was the focus of the decorations on the piece. It was twenty some years old and sold for $3,000 or $4,000 dollars BECAUSE of the makers plate. If you think about it, would you want a Bohlin saddle with an obscure makers stamp? So to bring this back to the point of the topic, I think a makers mark must be applied in good taste and should enhance the appearance of the piece. If you are buying, be sure to express your preferences to the maker ahead of time. It is not reasonable to order a custom piece and then reject it because the artist signed it! I know, if I am asked to omit my makes mark (and I never am), I will endeavor to assist the customer in finding another maker. I think there are two points of view to consider here. Just thinking out loud here..... Bob P.S. Rookie, why not put your mark on the back of the straps?

Hi Tony, Do you have a budget in mind? Bob

Bruce, Kevin is right, that is for the second loop. That is the exact same set-up we used Team Tying before Dallying became popular. To this day I'm not sure there is anything so exciting as turning a steer and then hanging out in the left stirrup waiting for the heeler to turn in!!!! What do you think, does that date me a little???!!!! Bob

I think placement of the makers stamp is purely the preference of the maker. My personal opinion is that a place for the makers stamp show be included in the tooling design and not just slapped on someplace that is handy. If the makers stamp detracts from the piece than that is not desireable. On a pair of spur straps you would want to have a pretty small stamp to be able to show it on the front and not detract from the looks of the piece. If you are unable to find an appropriate place on the outside of the piece, then placing it on the back is fine. Having two or three sizes or types of stamps can be handy. Sometimes it's handy to have a Signature stamp. Hope this helps.... Bob

Welcome Tyrel! Really good looking rig! Skirt rigs are my favorite! I'm not aware of a any practical way to remove antique staining. Wish there was. Maybe someone else knows a trick I haven't heard of..... Bob

Bruce, I can relate to your experience. I spent a ton on a beautiful Cocobolo slicker and brought it home to Phoenix, where it immediately cracked in our dry climate! Bob

Hi Kieth, You make some good points that I will have to think about. As I am not a saddlemaker, it is not something I've given a lot of thought to. I was always told the verticle buckles were stronger and I almost never see the horizonatal buckles on the roping saddles (90% of what I'm exposed to is for roping). I don't think I've noticed a horizonatal buckle on a saddle in years. I can confirm from my personal experience that the verticle holes in sturrup leathers will tear out, but everytime I have seen that happen it was on a junk set of leathers which I see all too much of on these production roping saddles or on a saddle where the sturrup leathers were worn thin. I personally have seen the leathers stretch enough that it is difficult to get the verticle Blevins buckled. I wouldn't imagine that would be an issue with horizontal buckles. My reasoning for thinking that the horizontal buckles would be weaker is much like sewing accross a strap weakens it. That is sort of comparing apples to oranges but it is what I had in mind (along with my pre-programming) :0) Bob

Bob, I hope you will let us know how everything comes out. I'm fascinated and can't wait to see the finished product. As far as full tangs go, I'm an advocate, however I recognize that one design will not suit everybody. With regard to handle sizes and shapes, I have a J Cook knife that has the curved "Chan Geer" handle on it and I really like the handle a lot. That is something you might want to consider also. Bob

I just love this place!!! Steve, I didn't even know they were available in brass! Bob

I keep my sides rolled and covered under my cutting table. I'm sure hanging them would be fine, but I'm mostly concerned with keeping the leather covered and out of any light. Bob I keep my sides rolled and covered under my cutting table. I'm sure hanging them would be fine, but I'm mostly concerned with keeping the leather covered and out of any light. Bob

Lee, I'm not a saddlemaker, but I am a user. I like the verticle Blevins. I'm a big guy and I worry about the horizontal buckles eventually weakening the sturrup leathers. Bob

I do the almost same thing Bruce does. I push and pull. I also slick just before I bag my leather and then again, just before tooling. Why? I have no idea...but I like it! Bob

Ceder, I pretty much would echo what Ross said. I too use Gomph and Rose head knives, and I have had to remove shoulder approximately 3/4" from the edge back on all of them. I also like Buchman's knives and have had to dress them the same way. I have always assumed that the old knives were forged as they have a definite taper from the tang all the way out to the cutting edge. Mine are all about 3/32" thick at the tang. Someone once told me what kind of steel was used in them and why todays tool steels don't work as well, but I don't remember the explanation....I'm not really sure I ever understood it. What I have learned by making my own mistakes with these old knives is that once their temper is lost, they're never the same! Bob Douglas was telling me one time that they (I assume he means Herb French and himself) have tried repeatedly to re-temper these old blades that had been ground down and lost their temper, with no success. For that reason alone, I sharpen all of mine by hand also, which makes it difficult to try to maintain the compound angles as Ross mentioned. For me, I want a blade that is as thin and hard as it can possibly be! I don't worry about what it takes to sharpen them....the harder they are the longer the edge lasts....thats what I'm looking for. Hope this helps..... Bob

Mark, This really isn't what you asked for, but it may be some food for thought. Here's a link to a post with some photo's of Porter saddles from some old catalogs I have.....Old Porter Catalog Photos Bob

That's funny! You shouldn't have told me, LOL! I went back and looked again and I could see where it worked out better on one strap than the other. Bob

Rookie, Good job on the straps! What I like best is that you planned your pattern so that the vine would cross over your keeper. That is the type of planning that makes a piece stand out from the rest. Bob

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID!

I think this has a lot to do with the type of rouge you use. some are intended to be used dry, others are not. I've found that WD 40 works pretty well to help a dry blend adhere better. I think honing oil is a lot lighter than general household oil. Maybe one of the knife guys could jump in here and tell all of us about both.

Ed, Your bag is impeccably done! Now I know why you were concerned about your method of attaching clasps! Did you buid two shoulder straps for this bag? I see a contoured strap and a padded one? Bob