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I have not used these leather tools in over 30 years. My dad used them frequently and made quite a few items for me as he taught me... Because I was the only one who knew anything about them, they were left to me when he passed away some time ago... I have kept them stored in their toolbox in my tack room.. I have a "Hereford Brand Yokum saddle" that I primarily use when working young/green horses that's in pretty rough shape. When I went to replace the saddle strings, It appears they are run through the tree... I would love to replace the saddle strings, rework the current leather, tooling and reshading, cleaning up the edges where there is tooling. I know I can do some of this after having removed the back jockey... Because I am not a saddlemaker and consider myself a greenie , I am a bit nervous about taking this down any further. I know I have two more screws to pull on each side of the pommel.... I'm just worried about tearing the seat more.. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to do the replacement I know is needed to the seat where it has been repaired on both sides and where it is still torn up... I believe I really I need to find a saddlemaker for this portion of the restoration process, especially considering I plan to continue using the saddle... To those of you that have done restoration work or are saddlemakers, I'd like to know, if I walked into your shop with a partial, would you be offended? That would be the very last thing I want to do to someone with this skill set so would love some HONEST advice! Below are photos of the saddle I would like to restore and am still looking for more information regarding it's history prior to 1990 which was when it was given to me... Thanks in advance!

just putting feelers out, i have a saddle that i'd to have a bit of floral tooling added to on the cantle, pommel and partial on the stirrup fenders.

When my father returned from WWII, he brought back a type of notebook sometimes called a field secretary that he had captured from the German Army. It shows the busy design and attention to detail of many German-made artifacts of that era. Time has taken its toll, and I am interested to find someone who could replicate it. I have pix but can't see a way to include them in this post. You can reach me at manabozhocoyote at Gmail dot com for a photograph. Thanks for any interest.

Aiken, South Carolina: English Saddle Manufacturer seeking energetic and dynamic individual to help carry our USA production forward. NO slow minded craftspeople or artisan craft types please, with no offense to the aforementioned. Sorry, but we aren't looking for a wood whittler, no offense to wood whittlers either. Looking for the right individual to help expand our USA saddle manufacturing. We are looking for someone who gets stuff done and doesn't take a 6 months to make a saddle. This is english saddlemaking. Ideal candidate will have a knowldege of machinery and tools and have a command of their ability to make things. No English Saddlemaking experience necessary. Saddle background or wood working or any kind of hands on trade a plus. Training and tools provided. We are in Aiken, South Carolina. www.mysaddle.com. Check us out and if interested email cary@mysaddle.com. Email inquiries only. Please no written submissions or phone calls as they won't be answered.