crow Report post Posted December 7, 2007 hi everyone, i`m new here in this forum and braiding at all. have done two works so far. First an bosal and secondly an riding crop, which i finished three weeks ago and is a gift for a riding instrucor, my very good friend. Let me know what you think and if you have some tips for me for my next projects. Have started an snake whip but still waiting for a rawhide i should have got weeks ago. best regards crow Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crow Report post Posted December 7, 2007 and the riding crop Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elton Joorisity Report post Posted December 7, 2007 (edited) I'm not a master by any means but as far as I'm concerned wou are well on your way to becoming one. The only advise I have is that maybe you could bevel your strings a little finer on your bosals. Keep braiding!!!!!!!!!!!! Edited December 7, 2007 by Elton Joorisity Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolvenstien Report post Posted December 7, 2007 I bet that crop leaves a pretty welt..... Nice work Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skipknives Report post Posted December 7, 2007 I can't say whee haw,,cool beans,,,or i like it,,,cuz you only asked for masters to coment,, so don't tell them i stopped by,,,cool beans anyway Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crow Report post Posted December 7, 2007 thank you all for kind replys. As you noticed the laces of bosal are not beveled, but reason for this is that i didn`t know it, that this must be done before braiding. Crop looks better at this point. learning all the time. Crow Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Don101 Report post Posted December 7, 2007 Hi Crow that is some very impressive nice clean work, Don Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crow Report post Posted December 7, 2007 Thanks Don. I haven`t held in my hand any real braiders work, so i`m learning only by books and pics in internet. But problem is, that it is rather hard to detect on pics how smooth it actually must be when finished. What i`m saying is that i don`t have any works to compare. Crow Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Opagon Report post Posted December 7, 2007 Crow, You have a great start! My first projects I keep hidden in the barn or gave them away. Keep braiding! Heather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HorsehairBraider Report post Posted December 7, 2007 Crow - nice beginning! What I would advise is to set these aside, make about 50 more things, and then come back and look at them. You will notice subtle differences as your hands get the tension in them to always braid at the same tension no matter what. Your knots will somehow, magically, get tighter and straighter. The differences will be slight (especially from such a good start) but noticeable and the only way to get better is to practice, practice, practice. In the meantime you have a couple of projects you can be proud of. They look great, and no need to tell people you are a beginner - they'll never know and will be very impressed. Well done! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rawhide1 Report post Posted December 8, 2007 Crow While no master by any means I think your off to a great start. Just keep after it and you will get better with with time an practice. I know its hard to know what your doing right or wrong(width and thickness of strings, beveled not beveled ect..) with no other work to compare yours to. Thats way this is such a great site you can get many opinions from a lot of different folks. But if ya get a chance to stop by a tack store or theres a horse show it's awful nice to be able to study others work. Me and the wife just got back from Vegas and while there we went ot the cowboy Christmas show there were hunderds of vendors there. So I had plenty of braided gear to study!!! Some was excellent (probably should be hung on a wall and not used) and some was pretty poor ( should probably be thrown in the corner and not used) my point being if ya can get to a show and study braided gear it will help you a lot. Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Knotnutz Report post Posted December 8, 2007 I am certainly not a master braider (minds outa gutter boys!) but as someone who is not too long from her first braid, I can make a couple of comments here. I echo what has been said earlier - experience will give tighter braids and knots, but, what you have done is wonderful. I would also strongly suggest bevelling your lace - Jim Downey in Arizona sells a great little beveller, I can't live without mine now. One of the things I learned is to roll your braids and knots - and NOT lengthways like pastry, but sideways (thats a really funny story about how the light suddenly went on one day) with a piece of hardwood. It helps the strings settle in better, distributes the tension a bit more evenly etc. I look back now at my first attempts - and giggle like a mad fool - they are sooo bad! Keep up the good work! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crow Report post Posted December 9, 2007 thanks to everybody, the reason i showed up here was to get some encouragement, and that`s what i got, thank you all alot. Next i want to try how is it to work with rawhide, finished belly of snake whip and waiting my rawhide now. I sure let you know of progress when i`m so far. Knotnutz, i`m not sure what u mean by rolling sideways? Buying beveller has been in my mind for a while but it is a bit too expencive for sunday braider. I made one myself just need to get learn to use it. Does anyone have some close up pics of beveled lace? Would like to see how it should look like. I have general idea but is my idea correct or not. brgd Crow Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Knotnutz Report post Posted December 9, 2007 What I mean by rolling is that you take the item, put a board (piece of hardwood) on top of it and roll it from side to side, so that the item underneath rolls from side to side as well. This helps distribute the tension on the strings. I do this several times during the tightening process when finishing knots, and once or two when braiding. As for bevelling - here is a scan of a scrap of roo lace - one side bevelled, the other not. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
