BridleButt

I'm going to refrain from trying to make this one 100% perfect so I have something functional until the next one I make. Otherwise I'll whittle it down to nothing...lol That's a 10 year old Barry King awl.

Finally got one I'm happy with after going through probably 15 rods of HSS. Slides right through 2 layers of 10oz hard-rolled horsehide with a perfect, slightly flattened diamond. All it took was 8 hours in front of a sanding machine. lol There's a lot more work involved if I want to be able to reproduce it at will. Definitely something to be said for being able to create your own tools. I started with this gentleman's video and went from there. https://www.leathercraftmasterclass.com/post/how-to-make-your-own-blade-for-an-awl

I just picked up two sets of historically accurate from the correct time period on fleabay. Looking forward to the project this weekend. I bought 2 Armalite AR-10 National Match rifles and decking them out right. I’ve got a bunch of Sedgwick Bridle Butts in 4 colors so they are perfect for belts.. They use them for the horses stirrups which take a great deal of shock. I’ve also got long butts of hard and soft rolled horsehide. One sling for the weather and one for bright sunny Fall days https://www.abbeyengland.com/sedgwick-bridle-butt-4-4-5mm-dark-havanna-e1a02a

Anyone know where I can source these brass claws? Worse comes to worse, I’ll just make them myself

Going to use sheets of ballistic nylon.1050d. Inside the pocket Sewn top and bottom will give it mad strength with just a smidgeon more weight

That’s the modern version

Picked up this one off from Maverick leather. 5 oz Latigo w/Western Floral print. Will make a nice gunbelt and a couple of Vaquero holsters

Thank you Chuck. SASS. Definitely a stiff leather. Let's see your bag!!!

I was wandering through Tandy's last week and came across some "Vintage, glazed, Water Buffalo Bend". It was actually pretty nice and even reasonably priced. Was all set to sew it last night and my damn awl blade tip snapped off so I'll have to break out the whetstone today. I want to do a sword belt later on but have to do some research so it's period correct. The buckle is from Hanover Brass.

Ordered some of this from Springfield Leather. Buffalo Calf...I think it will work nicely.

PonyEdwards is the man!!

Has anyone personally handled an original? Some of the examples in "Packing Iron" say were made of calfskin but all the calfskin I've ever seen was nowhere near firm enough for a holstered revolver or take the loop stitching, let alone hold up for over a hundred years to end up in a museum. Even the modern "heavy chap leather" used for biker items has a lot of stretch that would preclude it being used for this type of belt. ( All credit for the picture goes to Mr. Rattenbury from his wonderful book...which I bought about 10 years ago and based on the prices now I'd better put into a temperature controlled, airtight vault)

If you’re set on lead, you’d be better off with a folded cartridge belt style without the cartridge loops. 2" after folding/sewing the top is probably the the thinnest you could go. One piece of leather about 4" wide. Fold it over. Sew/rivet in the chape and billet, then sew up the top seam. You can form the lead into silver dollar size pieces and they go into the belt in on the side with the buckle. The billet goes through a slot under then through the buckle and keeps everything locked in. That’s what the style was made to do. Although, using a lead filled object on someone could get you a felony assault charge. You’d be better off using pennies in there. Same effect but more deniability about it being a weapon

That’s what I used. Keep the flesh side damp and go slow. I do the entire horsehide strip at the same time to get one uniform thickness then cut the loops. If you get the 9 oz start with 60 grit

@PastorBob The "hard rolled" is pretty good stuff for making things like knife sheaths and IWB holsters too. Edge burnishes like nobody's business. "Soft rolled" is more malleable Tannery Row is having a special on bundles of 5 that are "stained"...that only makes them better for this kind of work.

https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/361414-mills-1880s-infantry-cartridge-belts/

Has anyone worked with this type of leather before? It’s supposed to be very tough, flexible and water resistant. It’s about 4 oz so I thought it might make a good folded over, combo Western cartridge/money belt. https://www.abbeyengland.com/chrome-butt-e1g39c

Decided to redo my shotgun belt with horsehide loops. Sanded down some 7 oz hard-rolled to about 4 oz and looped them wet. I like they way hh maintains its shape and stiffness when it dries. I was going to replace that Ghormley buckle but they’re $160 now! I have enough of that Sedgwick Stirrup Butt to make about 3 more belts. This stuff is really top-notch. Lasts forever

Has anyone made one of these with woven loops? I’ve never seen one up close enough to see how they’re made.

10 year ago I made a burnisher from Lignum Vitae (on the right). Now that I know how to use a lathe, good/authentic LV is scarce as hell. All I can seem to find in the Argentine crap and even that has serious cracks and flaws. My original one looks like crap but works perfectly though.

Anyone in Atlanta have a splitting machine? I have a couple belts I need to thin from 18 oz down to about 10

Made the belt a few years ago. Had to do a field repair on the chape last week so I have to redo it this weekend. Figure out how to remove the front chape rivet to reinforce with a piece of thin rawhide. Figured I might as well just trim/open and resew the whole belt length. Saddle-stitched with Kevlar thread. Leather is Sedgwick Bag Hide, woven loops are hard-rolled horsehide, secured with copper rivets on each end. Large-Frame .357 Vaqueros, installed Bisley Frames/Triggers and lower profile hammers. Berertta/Uberti 5" .38 Schofield and Improved #5 TLA in .44 Mag. Can't bring myself to shoot the TLA but the others are pretty accurate. I've made similar gunbelts since this one, but it's my first so it holds a special place in my heart even with the mistakes.

I remember reading about a guy who made his awl blades out of umbrella spokes and sandpaper.

I made a nice elephant wallet some years ago that I still use. On a business trip to San Diego, a Starbucks server refused to hand my coffee over when I pulled out my wallet to pay. It’s like a banana republic in Cally.

I just bought some Hinki Shikaku shell cordovan and I'm not impressed at all. The Hinki looks and feels like plastic and the flesh side showed wrinkles immediately and wasn't smooth and poreless. The grain side showed stress when folding it for a wallet, almost like it was flaking. To be fair, this is a first impression and time will tell how the Hinki wallets age. I've used both Horweens and https://www.cordovan.co/ in the past and I'd rate them #1 (by a large margin) and #2 respectively in quality and longevity. I'll try to post pics of wallets made from each type after a couple of years use and the Hinki I got yesterday.