Shotgun Chaps

[hidepounder]

Here is a pair of working shotgun chaps going to California. The customer provided the 4/5 oz chrome tanned Buffalo. This is the first time I have ever worked with Buffalo and it is a little different than what I expected. I haven't made a pair of chaps in many years so I leaned on Elton Jooristy to keep me out of trouble....Thanks Elton! As always all comments and critiques welcomed!!

Bobby

[gtwister09]

Bob,

Great looking chaps! Love the tooling as always. Great detail on the double stitched seam, Elton did a great job steering and mentoring you out of trouble from the looks of it. I like the inset detail.

Regards,

Ben

[Double U Leather]

Bob,

As usual, you've knocked one out of the park. Those look great. You're my hero!!

[bustedlifter]

Really sharp! I love the fact that those are going to be used! They look like they will give many years of good service.Some pics after a year or two of use would be cool.

[Shelly]

Really pretty work, Bob - did you turn the edge under when you added the fringe, and then double stitch?

[Art]

Great work as usual Bob, I love your scrollwork.

Art

Here is a pair of working shotgun chaps going to California. The customer provided the 4/5 oz chrome tanned Buffalo. This is the first time I have ever worked with Buffalo and it is a little different than what I expected. I haven't made a pair of chaps in many years so I leaned on Elton Jooristy to keep me out of trouble....Thanks Elton! As always all comments and critiques welcomed!!

Bobby

[Storm]

Gorgeous piece of work! All I can say is I wish I was as good at florals. Your skill is something to aspire to.

[rookie]

Those are beautiful Bob. Do you need someone to sweep up your shop? I would love to have an ounce of your talent.

-Justin

[hidepounder]

Really pretty work, Bob - did you turn the edge under when you added the fringe, and then double stitch?

Thanks Shelly,

Yes I did turn the edge before adding the fringe. Because of a couple of holes in the leather prevented me from having enough material to include the fringe on the leg on one side, I had to make a seam and then add the fringe. I don't like to see the raw edges exposed so I decided to add the fringe under a turned edge seam.

Bobby

[Windom Leather]

Wow Bob those look great. Your tooling work is just phenominal. Thanks for sharing. Your work gives us a benchmark to strive for

[CitizenKate]

Somebody's gonna make a heckuva fashion statement wearing those! Saying they look great doesn't do them justice.

You said working with the buffalo hide was different than you expected... how would you describe it? It looks softer than I would expect buffalo hide to be, but also fairly heavy.

Kate

[hidepounder]

Somebody's gonna make a heckuva fashion statement wearing those! Saying they look great doesn't do them justice.

You said working with the buffalo hide was different than you expected... how would you describe it? It looks softer than I would expect buffalo hide to be, but also fairly heavy.

Kate

Kate, you're right, the leather is very soft and supple. I would have called it upholstery material. It was about 4/5 oz material and pretty stretchy. I was concerned that it might have a clingy feel on your legs. Anyway, I don't do many chaps and have not seen leather like this before....it's just new to me, but I've been told it is tougher than it feels and that it is becoming popular.

Bobby

[TimKleffner]

Bob ,

As always...... you really put out some nice work. I was looking at your turned edge and was going to remark about that , BUT , that has already happened.

Where did you get the buffalo at ? I bought some the first of the year from Leather Guy Buffalo [?] and still have not done any thing with it. I like that color you used.

Thanks for sharing

Tim

[jbird]

Bob

just amazing you are a real pro and a great artist you rock, your the man, your a very good leathersmith,

should I go on ? Lol

Josh

[rickybobby]

Bob,

With some practice you may be able to do some pretty good work !!! Your work Rocks!!! I like that you can work with a leather that you have never used before, make something you have not made in a long time, fix a problem with the hide (the hole) and still make it look like that!!

You sir, are a true leather artist.

I think all my tools are bent or something?

Rick J.

[jana]

You do some beautiful work, but let me get this straight... Someone is going to wear this piece of artwork for working in, not for show. More power to em'!!!

[Ken Nelson]

I built a pair of buffalo shotguns for a customer of mine up in the badlands of South Dakota. They were about 5 oz and I could not believe how good they stood up after 4 years of hard ranch work. My customer told me they took about 2 minutes to break in and 5 oz is pretty heavy for Shotguns up there. They didn't look nearly that nice though. Bob, you are a master. Ken

[crissy]

stunning

[Crystal]

Beautiful work, Bobby!

Crystal

[hidepounder]

I built a pair of buffalo shotguns for a customer of mine up in the badlands of South Dakota. They were about 5 oz and I could not believe how good they stood up after 4 years of hard ranch work. My customer told me they took about 2 minutes to break in and 5 oz is pretty heavy for Shotguns up there. They didn't look nearly that nice though. Bob, you are a master. Ken

Thanks Ken,

This material is sure new for me. I'm more accustomed to a stiffer, heartier material. These wouldn't hold up a week down here in our Mesquite thickets, but they are going to a pro horse trainer so they are just going to see a lot of dirt and sweat. I'll bet you're right about the break in time though, they are soft and supple and a little stretchy. I've been told the material is tough. Tim K said me he has seen several pair and that they wear well. Time will tell......

Bobby

[hidepounder]

You do some beautiful work, but let me get this straight... Someone is going to wear this piece of artwork for working in, not for show. More power to em'!!!

Thanks Jana!

These are going to a friend of mine who is a Cowhorse trainer. I wanted to make them them really fancy but he wouldn't have any of it. He's afraid I'll make him look like a Western Pleasure trainer, LOL!

Bobby

[hidepounder]

Thanks everybody for all the nice comments. They are always appreciated!

Bobby

[gtwister09]

Thanks Ken,

This material is sure new for me. I'm more accustomed to a stiffer, heartier material. These wouldn't hold up a week down here in our Mesquite thickets, but they are going to a pro horse trainer so they are just going to see a lot of dirt and sweat. I'll bet you're right about the break in time though, they are soft and supple and a little stretchy. I've been told the material is tough. Tim K said me he has seen several pair and that they wear well. Time will tell......

Bobby

Bob makes some great points about material selection. Matching them to the customers use is important. Mesquite thickets are awful unforgiving. I have seen a new pair of elk skin chaps be eaten up by the thorns (not to be confused with chromed elk skin) in a relatively short amount of time.

Regards,

Ben

[customcowboyleather]

just like all your other stuff.....looks amazing Bob.

Justin

[ChuckBurrows]

VERY nicley done Bob! I like all of it....

FWIW - A note re stretchy leather:

In the type of work I do I've used a lot of "stretchy" leathers such as buffalo (which I love), deer, and elk, and what I learned and do is to pre-stretch it. It takes a bit of extra work to do, but IMO it makes the leather a whole lot easier to work with in the long run and it also prevents post construction stretch. Another advantage to stretching is it can and usually will add 10-15% surface area albeit it also thins it a bit.

To stretch it - I wet the hide thoroughly, squueze out the excess,and then hang it on the clothes line until it's tempered - you want it pretty much like you case your carving leather - damp through is best - not sopping wet. Once at the right temper I stretch it up on the side of my shed and leave it there for 48 hours if possible, but dry through will work, just not quite as well. I live it at 6500' in SW Colorado so drying in the sun works good.

When dry it will be a bit stiff feeling, but as you work it, it will soften up, but you won't have near the stretch as with an unstreteched hide.

Caveat: the above process may lighten the color a bit on the side facing the sun and as noted it will be a bit stiff when dry since you've rinsed some of the oils out, but it's easy to recolor if need be (I age everything I make so this is necessary anyway) and you can add a good conditioner to replace the oils.