MoRoadglide11

That is an AWESOME briefcase!....especially the Sheridan carving and tooling!

Hey Biker, I've made quite a few items out of cowboy boot top leather....a knife sheath would be interesting to say the least. I'm also tempted to make a dog collar, another guitar strap, spur straps,....who knows?...I'll come up with something different for the next project. Right now I'm contemplating a new tooled belt for myself...just so I can show off my carving and tooling skills....then it's off to work on more cowboy boot holsters!

Hey All! Well?....this project is done. I had to cut away the old watchband to get to the pins for the new watchband but, it was worth doing. No more buying watchbands for me....making one was much better. Thank you all for stopping by to have a look.

Hey Alpha, You mean like this? I made a holster set (holster and matching magazine holder for my 1911)for myself from the same pair of boots....there was enough boot top scrap left over to make my watchband too. Call me a "slave to fashion"!

Hey All!!, I had some boot top scraps from a Tony Lama Black Label pair made from Kangaroo hide....so I figured it was time to test my nerves and making such a small project. I've got one side of the watchband made. I coated the edges with Fiebing's Dura Edge in brown. I lined the backside with saddle smooth ostrich. I used size 138 brown thread and hand stitched this first half of the watchband. I'll finish the other side of the watchband and post photos of the completed project. Let me know what you all think. Mark

Coming from a guy who hasn't done a basket weave project yet....you've done beautiful work! I think your husband's friend will be sorely impressed with your work! Just be careful of your work....the more your husband's friends see your work...the more your husband will complain of starvation...you'll be too busy pounding out wallets. knife sheaths, etc, etc. Oh!...and don't let the other wives see what you are doing either...they'll all want a floral carved and tooled purse...people are funny like that! In all of my 40+ years of doing leather work....there is nothing more satisfying than producing a work of art with your own two hands and watching others making a big fuss about your talent...it still blows me away when it happens to me.

Hey Biker!...thank you....these bags should last him for another 25 years. Hey KingsCountyLeather...I used a veg tanned 10 oz. black dyed hide that appeared to be water repellent. I'm not sure if it was the exact hide used on the original bags. After what I learned...I could make this set within a week. I added a strip of leather to the inside top edge of the bag opening (front panel) to help hold it's shape and did not add similar marine trim piping like the original had. There are no pockets inside each bag...they're just open. I heard from him today and he tells me that all of his friends (other Harley owners) made a big fuss over them and he received a lot of compliments...so I guess I did good....he's happy.

Thank you Dave and Regis....my buddy really liked them too. I just delivered them to him and he couldn't say enough about them. Here is his Harley with his new bags installed.

Hey All!, Sorry about all the misspells....I fat-fingered the latest posting above. Mark

Hey All!, I've been quiet for a little while because of a project I've been working on for a friend of mine. He has a 1985 Harley Davidson FXR that he bought from a friend some years ago before his friend past away. The bike came new from H-D with these bags installed. The photo of the older bag is all that's left of the pair because I used the other one as a pattern after I disassembled it. I made one change from the original set...I installed a H-D concho in place of the original because it didn't have what it took to be re-used. Some of the work I did on my machine using size 346 bonded nylon thread. I hand stitched the front and back panel, of each bag, by hand...then closed the corners of each lid with hand stitching. Fit the hand stitching, I used a waxed Nyltex thread and a couple of harness needles. T re-used all of the original hardware except for the conchos This is the first set of saddle bags I've built...my hands are sore. Any comments and critiques are welcome. Mark

As a Harley owner myself....I can most certainly appreciate "making it yours"......very nice!!!!!

I would be very interested in seeing a knife sheath covered in cowboy boot top! I bet it'll look cool!

Hey Jeff, If you peel off the cowboy boot top material...you'll find a 6-7 oz layer of Herman Oak leather making up the entire holster. In other words...imagine the same holster you see...minus the cowboy boot material....you'll still have a pretty strong holster. The cowboy boot material just adds an extra layer on the part of the holster you see in the photos.

Those are as nice as they come!...very nice work!

Hey All!, Just finished a holster made with a Nocona boot from a pair. These boots are tall and yielded plenty of boot top for this holster. It's built for a Ruger Super Blackhawk with a 7 1/2 inch barrel. I have one more boot in this pair so I'll be able to produce another holster identical to this one. This holster goes out to a long time friend of mine.