1984 Sears/wards Saddles

[meem]

I bought two saddles last June (2011) from a lady on Craigslist. She said her dad bought them from either Sears or Wards when she was a girl in the early 80s. The first of thee two has a stock number on the keeper, but no other identifying marks I can tell it used to have some kind of metal label or something screwed down by the keeper, but it has been torn off. Some of the metal is still there under the screws. It appears to have a fiberglass tree or a fiberglass covered tree. How do you tell? The other one has the stock number on the keeper (5G283), a number stamped under the fender/jockey (451 12 84) and the tree id (Ralide 1545). Looks like they could be Bona Allen, Simco, "Capitol Saddlery" from Austin or JC Higgins. I doubt they are Higgins as they stopped making saddles for Sears before 1980, right? Anyway, they're both really cool and in great physical condition. The fleece is in good shape too. The second saddle (Site won't let me upload any more pictures!) is heavily tooled (or stamped) with those swirly oak leaves, even on the front of the stirrups, but it looks as if someone tried to paint or stain it. Is there some way to strip the saddle back to its original leather and start over? I live in California and can't buy that deglazer stuff, so that's out. What else can I do? Where can I post some pictures of them so you can see them?

Thanks!

[Denise]

Meem

There is a size limit on the pictures that can be uploaded to the forum. If you compress them down so they are smaller and then follow the tutorial posted here they can be added right into this thread. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=15122

[meem]

Meem

There is a size limit on the pictures that can be uploaded to the forum. If you compress them down so they are smaller and then follow the tutorial posted here they can be added right into this thread. http://leatherworker...showtopic=15122

I found it!!! Somebody has one just like it for sale on Horseclicks!! It's called a Simco Salina's Supreme (formely 5568). Here's a link to a picture:

http://www.horsies.com/simco/allaround.html

I can see now that the tooling on my "salina" used to be white and someone stained or painted over it. Is there any way to fix that?

[Saddlebag]

Meem, that is more or less the natural coloring of the saddle. The main background was called dark oil antique. The flowers were lighter so the design would stand out. The white you are seeing is likely old dried saddlesoap. If so, working with a toothpick should remove it. Don't use a round cocktail toothpick or anything metal. Just flat toothpicks. They will break before you damage the leather. Your saddle is a great trail saddle.