Introduction And Some Of My Work

[Alberta Bound]

Hello everyone,

I just registered on the site and thought I'd introduce myself and show off a little bit. I'm from Alberta Canada originally but I'm currently on the east coast for university. I've been dabbling in leatherwork for 5 years or so. I mainly braid roo, but I've also worked with paracord and mohair. Most of my projects are horse-related and I suppose I braid mainly in the California style (I am a big fan of Gail Hought's books!). I learned to braid mostly from books because braiding isn't a very popular pastime up here. I don't sell a lot of my stuff (to be completely honest, I just enjoy making it and giving it to someone who will enjoy it). I really look forward to talking to other braiders on here and learning new ways to improve my pieces! I do have a few pictures of my work, so I think I'll just let that speak for itself. This is my first post so I'm going to cross my fingers and hope the pictures work out...

The loop on the bracelet is 6 plait, main body of crocodile ridge is 14 plait, and round braid near the terminal knot is 8 plait. I've made quite a few of these for friends, they're a nice project because they're so flexible and are a great excuse for practicing new flat braids without wasting a lot of leather.

These are 6 plait black mohair reins (they would need slobber straps to attach to the bit). The pineapple knots above the tassles are 8p/9b turks heads with reversed 2nd interview for a balanced look.

These are 12 plait mohair reins in progress. They are braided over a core of 8 strand mohair cord to ensure a round shape. The picture suggests that there is a twist in the braid but that's just they way they're coiled. They're a very hefty, heavy braid but would make a nice snaffle outfit.

Thanks for taking a look! Again, I'm quite excited to share with other braiders and can't wait to hear your input!

Jen

[terrahyd]

HI Jen;;

Welcome to L.W.net,,, we are glad to have you with us.. that is some realy nice looking work you have done ,,,thanks for sharing them with us ...

regards ...Doc...

[entiendo]

I'm a Gail fan too! Welcome! I love the flat loop bracelet! I would have cut the rest of the strings off the end buttons, but that's personal taste I think. Your transition from flat to round is perfect though, just perfect! Wow. I would have needed to put another button on the transition.

I've never braided mohair. I bet those feel nice! The only thing I might have done was made the knot larger so the tape didn't show along the tassels. But the knots are beautiful, a nice shape, very smooth and nice color.

Welcome!

[megabit]

Welcome, good looking work.

[Alberta Bound]

Thanks terrahyd!

Entiendo, I agree with you about the reins! I'm not totally happy with how the knots turned out, and the the electrical tape is... well, it's a little ugly. This was a first try on putting horsehair on mohair so hopefully the next set will turn out better. Luckily it's a pretty cheap operation to throw together, so I might just redo those knots in slightly larger lace. They were a bit of an experiment so I'm happy you pointed that out.

Mohair is very nice to work with, it's really easy on the hands but it's surprisingly strong. I got the black mohair from Hitching Post Supply and really like the quality of it. The other mohair was from ubraid and while it was also nice, the HPS stuff had a slightly firmer lay to it. The price was reasonable too, they say you get around 100 feet for $23.00 but they sent me around 125. The six strand braid does have a lot of "texture". It wouldn't be my favorite for riding in but i know some people prefer a rein with a bit more grip. The 12 strand is very smooth and pleasant though and would make a nice mecate if one had the patience to sit down and braid 22 feet of it! Mohair is really easy to work with and if you're looking for something new to try sometime I would recommend it. It's cheap and doesn't take any special tools or skills.

i'm glad you noticed my transition! I can't remember exactly how i did it, but I believe I took the strands from the outer part of the croc ridge braid and used them as a core for the 8 plait. It kind of kills two birds with one stone - the 8 plait stays round and you keep all that extra string out of sight. It also looks nice on the underside if you make sure to keep your strings in order. It took me quite a few tries before it finally turn out the way I wanted it to! When I make another I'll try to remember to take pictures as I go. I've seen some of your work entiendo and I'm sure yours would blow mine out of the water!

Thanks again for your input folks! I truly appreciate it.

[entiendo]

Well thank you, I just might try some mohair! Sounds fun, and truth be told, I'm not crazy about doing romel reins. They look really nice but are so expensive and time consuming to make and *I* like a nice round wide rein. I use old round nylon reins with my fancy braided bridle..LOL Doesn't seem quite right. My horse is a little embarrassed. My only question would be, does the mohair have good weight?

Thank you for your kind words, but I'm not so sure my work blows yours out of the water, I think your work is very nice! I think you need to give yourself more credit for sure! Sell a few things and your customers will boost your ego a bit!

Use some of the strings for a core!! Dah...! Very smart!

[Alberta Bound]

Thank you both!

I think the mohair could look really nice with a braided bridle, and it's kind of a fun thing to play with. I'm not crazy about romel reins either, they do look nice and very traditional but they're just not really my style... The braided mohair is pretty heavy and has a lot of "life" to it. However, it will feel fairly light when it's not braided. I have to admit I was a bit worried about that as well. I don't know if you've ever held onto a piece of that Stable Braid that Pat Parelli touts but it's got a surprisingly similar feel. When I did the twelve strand braid I split each cord into two. Mohair comes in 8 strand and 2 strand cord. I bought the 8 strand because it can be easily split into the two strand, but when i split it for the 12 plait reins i guess you could say i used 4 strand? I haven't measured but it's around 5/8" diameter, maybe a bit more. The 2 strand is used mainly for weaving the diamonds on cinches. You can get some really unique colors of mohair from www.artcords.com if you're looking for something a little wild!

I thought that was pretty crafty myself

[megabit]

Don't like Romal Reins? Sacrilegious!

10_aug15_hbrace224 by ss1442, on Flickr

[Alberta Bound]

I think I'm just intimidated by them I have so much respect for the vaquero style that I can't quite bring myself to ruin it with my own interpretation. Plus, they a look a little silly with my snaffle bit!!! OT I am always delighted to see when someone brings a horse along in the traditional way, and it looks like that bay in the picture is in good hands! Nothing beats plain ol' time and sensitivity when it comes to creating a bridle horse. A truly collected horse straight up in the bridle is an incredible sight. Too bad it's sort of a lost art these days. Classical dressage and vaquero horsemanship... *drool*. What I wouldn't give to ride a horse that was truly collected and balanced.

[megabit]

Thank you she is one hell of a good horse and has sure taught me a lot. I've only been riding about 4 years but I've got the bug pretty bad and ride typically 5 or 6 days a week generally. Kinda neat to ride with lots of stuff you've made yourself isn't it?

Mike

[megabit]

Oh and I really like that crocodile ridge bracelet. I am going to have to learn that braid I think it would make a nice set of hobbles or a hatband.

[entiendo]

So if I order some mohair will you guide me a little? I'm excited to try now! I have a couple of pieces I have to make then I'm free until the next comes along. I'd love to be able to make reins I'm happy with and that don't cost a fortune. Sorry Megabit! It's not that I don't like romel reins but I too use a snaffle and like a good weight.

[Alberta Bound]

Thanks Mike, it's one of my favorite bracelets. The only thing I found with that particular variation on croc ridge is that you can't braid it quite as tightly as with a round braid. It sort of scrunches up if you're not careful and it's not a very pleasant look. I don't know if that's true for other variations on crocodile ridge but that's just what I've noticed.

I'd be happy to help you Entiendo! It's pretty similar to leather but with none of the tedious cutting and splitting and beveling. Just let me know if you need anything. Even if you aren't a fan you won't be out much and I'm sure at least one of your customers will take them off your hands!

Jen

[entiendo]

Well that's wonderful, I'm going to look at the mohair and see what it is I'm buying. Thank you so much

[megabit]

So if I order some mohair will you guide me a little? I'm excited to try now! I have a couple of pieces I have to make then I'm free until the next comes along. I'd love to be able to make reins I'm happy with and that don't cost a fortune. Sorry Megabit! It's not that I don't like romel reins but I too use a snaffle and like a good weight.

You would sure enough look funny with romals on a snaffle. For a snaffle I like twisted mane hair. But I generally leave the snaffle hanging on the wall and use a hackamore.

[entiendo]

Goodness I don't know if I should get black or natural!!

I don't quite understand what you are trying to tell me here.

I think the mohair could look really nice with a braided bridle, and it's kind of a fun thing to play with. I'm not crazy about romel reins either, they do look nice and very traditional but they're just not really my style... The braided mohair is pretty heavy and has a lot of "life" to it. However, it will feel fairly light when it's not braided. I have to admit I was a bit worried about that as well. I don't know if you've ever held onto a piece of that Stable Braid that Pat Parelli touts but it's got a surprisingly similar feel. When I did the twelve strand braid I split each cord into two. Mohair comes in 8 strand and 2 strand cord. I bought the 8 strand because it can be easily split into the two strand, but when i split it for the 12 plait reins i guess you could say i used 4 strand? I haven't measured but it's around 5/8" diameter, maybe a bit more. The 2 strand is used mainly for weaving the diamonds on cinches. You can get some really unique colors of mohair from www.artcords.com if you're looking for something a little wild!

Do you mean you used 12 strands, but it's not actually a 12 plait? Rather you combined some of the strands together to do the braid? Not sure, sorry. I'm trying to figure out how much I need. I'll do a little surfing around too.

[Alberta Bound]

Reading it over, I suppose it was kind of confusing... sorry bout that!

it's 12 plait, just like you'd braid 12 plait in roo. However, I'll just clarify:

by "plait", i mean the number of cords that you're braiding

by "strands" i mean the number of strands in each cord.

Cord from ubraid it or artcords comes in 8 or 2 strand. (Actually, artcords also has 16 strand but I'm not sure how big that is). Hitching Post Supply only lists the 8 strand on their website.

The 8 strand cord is actually four 2 strand cords twisted together, like a rope.

When I made my 6 plait reins, I used the full 8 strands for each cord.

When I made my 12 plait reins, I split each 8 strand cord into two 4 strand cords (you just kind of untwist it and try to get each set of four strands to twist together separately. i know that doesn't make the greatest sense, but it's sort of like making two small ropes from one larger one).

Thus, the 12 plait actually uses the same *amount* of mohair to braid as the 6 plait because the cords have half the number of strands. This does not include the core need for the 12 plait.

Hopefully that makes little more sense?

[entiendo]

Oh boy. Still a little confusing but I think I get it for the most part. The rest will come together when I have the rope in my hands. I can't wait! I love the thought of making these reins to go with my bridle! 12 plait all the way, make it nice and smoooooth!