Braided Dog Leash

[SmartAceW0LF]

Ahh yes I perused his site in its entirety just yesterday. (Probably linked from one of your posts elsewhere). Aside from his gorgeous work, I found his "Hooey's Thoughts" pages most interesting. A man definitely in tune (and at harmony) with the Western culture. You know when I first began braiding I had virtually no idea there were so many talented people in this craft. After a time, I faded out of the craft as life, family and sustenance began to pretty much consume all of my time. I learned my profession within the IT industry and devoted myself to increasing my skills professionally. Interestingly enough it surprises me how long it took me to come up with the idea of researching the craft on the Internet. After all, I have spent what seems like probably 60 or more percent of my time on these computers since purchasing my first one. At any rate, seeing all of the people interested in the craft as well as the generosity of virtually the entire community in sharing techniques, ideas and such has given me a charge. The level of quality across the board is on the one hand encouraging, yet on the other can be (as you posted in an earlier post here) a bit intimidating. Your words of not letting that get in your way of "doing it" hit home here. As time permits I will post some things and try to gain some pointers here and there. I think at this stage of my experience the one thing needing immediate attention is my lace cutting skill. Particularly with regard to kangaroo hides. The silky smooth way that roo hide cuts is a complete departure from any of my previous experiences with leather and in observing the work of craftsmen whose skills I aspire to, I realize the skill I have yet to attain with cutting roo lace. Naturally, that begins with the proper tools. So, just as yourself (until recently) I am trying to acquire the right cutting tool(s) next. With that thought in mind, you haven't mentioned yet the maker or the cost of your new lace cutter. Is its maker taking orders yet? If so, I would be honored to learn more about him, the cost etc. One final note on the subject of this tool, I noticed in the pictures you posted that there were 2 separate teflon peices that attach to the tool and am curious what their purpose is? Again Brian, at the risk of sounding like I am sucking up (though I am quite sincere) I feel compelled to express my obervation and appreciation for the keystone presence you have in this craft. In a word, I just want to say thanks. You are one that makes a difference.

[KnotHead]

Hi.

Well the creator of the tool I had made for me I sent an email to and asked him your question. I will post to you in PM when he answers back.

I have 3 degrees I can cut roo at.

1. 90 degrees

2. 30 degrees

3. 45 degrees

That's what those extra pieces are for you see in the back ground. They are interchangable depending on what angle I need to cut at and the project I am cutting for.

The material that was used in the making of my new tool is Steel for the clamp down on a bench and for the center rod that holds the interchangable pieces and the screw down cap at the end that tightens against the delrin cutting surfaces which holds the injector blades tight. The interchangable pieces are made from Delrin. Delrin is a very, very strong polymer known to be as tough as steel. But without all the weight to it. I thought that the delrin would be better than the stainless steel inserts for roo hide cutting. The stainless steel will rust eventually, whereas delrin will not. Stainless steel will burnish your roo hide cuts a little. The delrin does'nt do that. I had a few tweaks I needed on the tool and that was the 30 degree cut as an added insert. I like the 30 degree cut for very wide lace because it will tend to lay flatter on the surface of the braid. It will also take very, very little roll out to smooth the braid down with roo hide. Just about any lace can be beveled, but the result is just not the same as you get with roo hide.

I am quite speachless when it comes to such kind comments. But I do know of much better people that deserve that comment. But I do thank you for your kind comments. I am out to do the best that I can to bring this craft and art back to a popularity, or at least to a level of some sort. There are not very many of the old school braiders left that are willing to teach a youngster these days. So I would like to share as much as possible what I learn from my mentor with everyone that I can. After all, how do you keep the craft alive if the old school vets all die off without leaving the skills to the younger gens. I figure that the web is the only way to archive as much as possible all that we learn. That also entails giving away the secrets of the craft. If we don't share it, the craft and art of leather braiding, knot tying and leather carving will die off and never be heard of again. It might be seen, but never practiced again. I for one am not willing to let that happen and will fight every step of the way to keep it alive. Probably till my dying day.

I too am in the I.T. field. I have been in the field for about 10yrs now. I love what I do for a living and it is a means to practice my art & craft. I love even more my art and craft though. When I retire from the I.T. field, I will probably just do my art and craft. For now I am stock piling all that I can for that retirement day.

With that thought in mind, you haven't mentioned yet the maker or the cost of your new lace cutter. Is its maker taking orders yet? If so, I would be honored to learn more about him, the cost etc. One final note on the subject of this tool, I noticed in the pictures you posted that there were 2 separate teflon peices that attach to the tool and am curious what their purpose is? Again Brian, at the risk of sounding like I am sucking up (though I am quite sincere) I feel compelled to express my obervation and appreciation for the keystone presence you have in this craft. In a word, I just want to say thanks. You are one that makes a difference.

[KnotHead]

Hi folks.

Well here's an update on the dog leash. I am almost completed with it. I just thought you all would like to see how I handled the back splice phase. Below is the complete progression of the back braided splice.

And the final stage of the back braided splice. All's left is to cut and flush the ends and add a T-Shaped PK at the transition points and add a PK at the latch area.

I will post more later on the finish of the dog leash. Hopefully with a happy camper on the other side of the camera.

Brian...

[Aggiebraider]

Hey Brian,

I noticed in your earlier photos that you were using hemostats to secure your braiding while taking a break. I use these all the time when I am braiding parachute cord, but I was wondering, do the hemostats mark up the leather any when clamped down? It looked like in the first post you used smooth hemostats, but in a later one you had one with teeth. One would think that the teeth would mark up the roo leather pretty badly, but I wasnt sure if you figured out a way to fix/prevent this. I know that typically you wouldnt need hemostats on rawhide as it is stiff enough to hold itself in place even when tempered, but roo is much to soft to do so.

Also, where do you get your hemostats? I typically try to find some good ones at flea markets, but have a heck of a time finding any that arent sprung out either at the nose end, or at the handle end making it almost impossible to clamp them shut. I have done this myself to a few pairs, and tried to bend them back, but over enough time I actually broke a couple pairs. I have even tried to get some from vets that they may not want in their surgical packs anymore, but they are asking either too much for them, or they are worthless due to previously mentioned problems. This was actually kind of a big question I had because I would think that in order to prevent damage to the leather and without a good method for temporarily securing the braids, a person would have to just sit and braid the piece they were working on without stopping. Which would make bathroom breaks and phone calls a bad interruption lol.

So if anyone has any advice on this I would really appreciate it.

Thanks,

Calvin

[KnotHead]

Hey Brian,

I noticed in your earlier photos that you were using hemostats to secure your braiding while taking a break. I use these all the time when I am braiding parachute cord, but I was wondering, do the hemostats mark up the leather any when clamped down? It looked like in the first post you used smooth hemostats, but in a later one you had one with teeth. One would think that the teeth would mark up the roo leather pretty badly, but I wasnt sure if you figured out a way to fix/prevent this. I know that typically you wouldnt need hemostats on rawhide as it is stiff enough to hold itself in place even when tempered, but roo is much to soft to do so.

Also, where do you get your hemostats? I typically try to find some good ones at flea markets, but have a heck of a time finding any that arent sprung out either at the nose end, or at the handle end making it almost impossible to clamp them shut. I have done this myself to a few pairs, and tried to bend them back, but over enough time I actually broke a couple pairs. I have even tried to get some from vets that they may not want in their surgical packs anymore, but they are asking either too much for them, or they are worthless due to previously mentioned problems. This was actually kind of a big question I had because I would think that in order to prevent damage to the leather and without a good method for temporarily securing the braids, a person would have to just sit and braid the piece they were working on without stopping. Which would make bathroom breaks and phone calls a bad interruption lol.

So if anyone has any advice on this I would really appreciate it.

Thanks,

Calvin

Hi Calvin,

All the hemostats I have are grooved. The leather used in that project was smooth calf skin. I treated that lace prior to braiding the leash with Pecards Leather Dressing. By doing that the lace became more accepting and forgiving than roo hide is with hemostats. Just about everywhere I had to use hemostats in the braid, there was no teeth marks left behind after awhile of working with the strings.

Most of the hemostats I have now were given to me by others that were in the medical field. But I do have an online source for them at this web address; All Heart Hemostat Supplier... My problem was not the phones, it was just the damn JOB gettin in the way. Seemed like every time I'd start working on the leash, there'd be something that would come up and would take most of my day to fix.

[Aggiebraider]

Thanks for the heads up on the hemostat supplier. Ill have to go through it tomorrow and get an order in.

Does anyone else have any experience with using hemostats on roo? Or is there a better way to temporarily keep everything in place?

[KnotHead]

Well folks, here it is all done. My friend is quite satisfied with it also. It's not perfect & I know what to do next time.

Edited March 7, 2010 by KnotHead

[skyout]

Beautiful work as usual Brian. Thanks for all the pics along the way, too!

[KnotHead]

Not a prob skyout.

B...