NoahL

Well, you were correct to a point about changing measurements. Sorry it has taken so long for me to report back--I have been quite busy lately! In any case, I did decrease the size of the slit for the dog's head by several inches, as well as decreasing the non-slitted portion in front of the chest by one inch. That does prevent him from stepping out of the harness if it is pulled forward. Unfortunately, it didn't solve the problem of the back of the harness (section with the dee-ring) pulling up and over his back if you pulled it forward to get him to move with you. To solve that, I actually REMOVED part of the design . I removed the loop on top that the chest straps go through, and simply made the loop around the dee-ring a little more open so that the straps can run through it instead. That seems to have resolved that issue quite well. Here are some crappy pictures The overall harness, freshly oiled and in bad lighting: The dee-ring/chest-strap loop (that's a 1.5" dee-ring, my hands aren't really that small): Thanks for looking! ~Noah

That is a Harbor Freight stitching groover--I know, because I bought the set it came in, myself, unfortunately. It should look more like this (sorry for the quality--the camera sucks at night). I suggest you run to Tandy and pick up a new blade (I just swapped out the blade and kept the handle, since it works just fine). Hope this helps! ~Noah

I haven't had any problems with streaking on my horsehide, but the imperfections and skin patterns do tend to stand out when I dye. Personally, I like the little imperfections and patterns, because they add character, and it's not the sort of thing you see on those store-bought belts. If you are using the horsehide just for its durability/stiffness and don't care if the horsehide itself shows or not, then sure, use it as the belt liner. Good luck! ~Noah

Hello everyone, I know that my style isn't exactly traditional or popular, but I'm sticking with it . This is a 4 inch wide cinch belt laced with military parachute cord, hand cut, dyed, and distressed. After these pictures were taken, I tied a lovers' knot (I think) around the laces with another piece of paracord in order to make a slider to make things easier to tighten. Please excuse the poor picture quality--I took this real quick and at night, so I had poor lighting and didn't bother working with it at all. Made out of 7-9oz. horsehide leather Thanks for looking! ~Noah

Yikes! I was using an Exacto knife, but I managed to only bend it . Hopefully the morning brings answers for you. I came in 2nd to another guy from my dojo--it was just a little local tournament, but it was my first judo tournament (the rest have all been karate tournaments). Thanks for asking!

I only use horsehide, and my cheapy wooden strap cutter from Tandy makes it through okay--I generally have to push the leather through, rather than pulling the cutter, but it still works. I have had a few pieces that I think were "burned" in the center that made it really stiff and insanely tough to cut, but I wasn't cutting straps, I was cutting shapes, so I don't know how the strap cutter would be affected. I soaked the leather in water for a bit and it softened up enough to cut, but you would have to be careful of the strap cutter marring the surface leather if you did that. Good luck!

Well, I haven't done it, but I have seen it done, so don't give up on your scheming! Thanks!

Thanks, both of you! TT, I'll try your suggestion one of these days when I need slots--that may just work. As for the 12 gauge heads, I got those at Tandy, believe it or not. I knew I had seen them somewhere before, so I sifted through the conchos and there they were! ~Noah

Hello everyone, It's made of 7-9oz horsehide, but it's not distressed and beat-up looking! This is my very first cartridge belt of any kind, so I learned a lot making it and I know several things I will never do again . For one thing, I really need to scrounge up the money for oblong punches. Anyway, this belt holds sixteen 12ga. shotgun shells at a far-enough distance apart to grab onto with gloves on your numb hands, since the buddy of mine who asked for it will be duck hunting in a marsh in Illinois this winter (as he does every winter). I obviously did not weave the shell strip through the main body of the belt, because I didn't have an oblong punch to make the slots. This was also made with only one layer of leather because hand-stitching one belt has scared my fingers, haha. Anyway, here it is--be gentle

Hello All, I normally lurk, but I figured I might as well post about my experience with my newest source of horsehide leather! I called Milton Sokol/DeMar Leather (718-441-2226 or 888-765-6526 for toll-free) sometime this past April to see if they had horsehide, and I spoke to Pete Olsen. He said that they had been carrying it for years, but after they ran out this last time, the tannery wouldn't send them any more. He said he would see if he could get negotiations going to get more and he would call me back if they ever got any in. Well, after that I pretty much forgot about it and went on to use another supplier. Then, a month or two ago Pete called me back! That in and of itself shocked and impressed me! He said they just got in a ton (several tons, actually) of 7-9oz horsehide butt strips. They normally sell in 50lb increments, because they already come wrapped that way from the tannery, but he was willing to pull some out for me at a little extra cost and I got 5lbs of it. Not only is it higher quality, and in larger strips than from the other suppliers I've tried, but even though he charged me more to pull out a smaller amount, I still got 4 strips for the price of 1 at those other suppliers! I've since used all the leather up on belt, chokers, bracelets, and a couple wrist cuffs, and I just placed an order for a few more strips today. All-in-all, a great experience with Pete, and the shipping from NY was much faster than I anticipated, which is always a plus! ~Noah

I use Milton Sokol--quick shipping, low prices, and good leather. Call and ask for Pete Olsen, he'll hook you up; (718) 441-2226 ~Noah

I did make something as close to this as I could without a pattern after seeing it, actually, and I had exactly the problem I described. It worked wonderfully when my dog was pulling (he's just a 40lb basset/lab mix, but he has some STRONG legs), but when he stopped to sniff something and I kept walking, the pull lifted up the portion with the dee-ring and that let the whole harness go slack. I am thinking that the main problem is simply that the dee-ring is behind the area where the harness straps cross? I think I will try turning the dee ring sideways and replace the leather loop with it so that the straps run through the dee instead, and see how that goes. ~Noah

Well, I've never worked with bullhide, but I do use horsehide for everything. Horsehide works just like normal leather, except it burnishes easier (in my experience), so I don't think you should have any problems. I look forward to seeing the belt! ~Noah

Very nice! Do you have any problem with it sliding around or coming loose when you have to pull a dog forward, rather than hold them back? ~Noah

Thanks Lars! There are quite a few Phoenicians on here--I do have to confess, though, that I'm not from here originally . In any case, I got the leather directly from Milton Sokol, and they got it from Horween's tannery. It's definitely better quality stuff than I've gotten at other suppliers (who shall remain nameless, as they are still good suppliers of other stuff) and cheaper, too. They did some renegotiating with Horween and it seems to have worked out well. ~Noah

For full hides, you would probably have to go overseas, and I don't have any sort of contacts for that. If you want American-tanned stuff, the only veg-tanned horsehide I'm aware of that you can get is the horse butt strips. The best (and most affordable) supplier I have found so far is Milton Sokol (888-765-6526). Just call them and ask for Pete Olsen and he will hook you up with the horse butt strips (which are available in everything from 5oz to 9oz, I believe). ~Noah

Hello Everyone, I have some horsehide leather that I need to split down to about 4oz (it is 7-9oz leather), but I can't afford a splitter. Are there any leatherworkers in AZ who have a splitter and are willing to split for me? I don't expect it to be free, of course, but we can work out a payment/trade when the time comes. I just figured I would check on here. Thanks! ~Noah

I did wet it down pretty well--it looks like it is cracking because of the way I dyed it. I wet it and folded it the way it was supposed to go, then after it had dried just a little bit, I bent it back flat and dyed it. The process of bending it back flat left wrinkles and creases that the dye didn't get into (plus some sandpaper was used). Those "cracks" are aesthetic ~Noah

Thanks! I definitely like that series as well, and I can use it at various angles to get the patterns I want, even with the largest stamp, and that's always helpful. Of course, hammering cased leather against a rough floor leaves some interesting impressions as well Thank you very much! In actuality, the flap is a second piece of leather--having a belt made of two "scrap" pieces (they weren't really scrap, but the idea is for them to look rather like it) goes well with the whole post-apocalyptic theme I'm going for. Here is a picture I took of the belt in-progress for the customer to see, and in it you can sort of see the second piece.

Hello Everyone, I just finished this Apocalyptic Survivor (AS) belt for a bladesmith out in Virginia who requested a belt like the choker I made a little while back. The belt is made of some very nice 7-9oz horsehide leather from Milton Sokol, and I used Fiebings Medium Brown and Eco-Flo Black for the coloring, and Leather Balm w/ Atom Wax for the finish. The bladesmith this is for has a tiny waist (29"!), but the belt is still the largest item I have gone through my heavy distressing process with. Overall, I'm very pleased with it, although I do need to take the time to take nicer pictures--these have the sky reflecting off the leather, which gives it that bluish tint. And here is a little tag for my work. I've decided that my "company name" (such as it is) will be Wasteland Leatherwork (to go with the AS style I've developed). The back of the tag has some information on the item, including who it was made for, just as a little extra personalization: Thanks for looking! ~Noah

Thanks, MBOGO I had gotten a similar suggestion some time ago regarding brass rivets, but I just haven't gotten a chance to go pick up any of that cold bluing stuff yet. As it turns out, a knifemaker wants a belt in the same style as this choker, so I'll have an excuse ~Noah

Haha, wow, I had forgotten about this thread! Well, thanks to all three of you for your suggestions. Since this thread, I've decided on using Chicago Screws, since those are easy to find and readily available. As far as the rapid rivets being tough--I was more concerned with them deforming than with actual hardware failure, due to the type of pressure that would have been placed on them in this particular application. Thanks again, everyone! ~Noah

No problem at all! There's a 5 step program for that 1. Go here: http://www.picresize.com/ 2. Upload picture 3. Crop/resize using the easy-to-use options 4. Download resized picture 5. Use that picture for your Leatherworker.net profile picture! ~Noah

Brettuns Village has some for $65 a piece (http://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/sides.htm), and I've read somewhere that Milton Sokol (888-765-6526) might have some as well--I don't know for how much, but they gave me a great deal on horsehide leather, so I would imagine they would have good deals on sole bends. Good luck! ~Noah

I have heard of this referred to by people outside of the US as "half-tanned" leather, and it is extremely desirable for knife sheaths for the exact reason you are posting--it's really hard to cut! I have never come across it domestically myself, although I believe you can order it from overseas. As others have mentioned, you probably can just call and get a replacement or refund, but I would save that piece of nigh-uncutable leather for sheaths, unless you never plan on making any. ~Noah