jwwright Report post Posted June 23, 2008 Not sure if this is appropriate place or not, since technically these are not leather items. However, I did have some folks a while back request that I post some photos of these here. I build saddles and tack, and have for quite a while also built cinchas. The photo with 2 cinchas shown are both Yak hair. The other is mohair. Thanks for taking a look. JW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Report post Posted June 23, 2008 JW, those are nice!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Storm Report post Posted June 23, 2008 Nicely Done JW, For whatever it is worth I'd say that as they are an important part of the saddle... they belong. These would make any saddle standout and then some. I had no idea that they had people who still crafted these on an individual basis. Where in the hech do you find the Yak hair? Don't tell me they are growing them domestically somewhere in the Rockies. Thanx for sharing. Storm Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bruce johnson Report post Posted June 23, 2008 Yep, they are appropriate, and very nice. I like the patterns a lot. Ever done a horsehair one? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jwwright Report post Posted June 24, 2008 Thanks for the attaboys..............Storm, there are still a few folks out and about, mostly in ranch country that are hand making traditional style cinchas. I try to pass it along when I can, and have helped a couple other folks get started. The Yak hair cord I have been buying from a wholesaler, and I believe that the raw hair is coming from Asia, and then spun into cord in the US or Mexico. Bruce, on the patterns I just try to keep it looking somewhat old timey traditional, and have never made any 2 that were identical. Some folks like them with alot of color, so some are pretty bright. I have made a number of horse hair cinchas, and I like working with it. I have acquired the horse hair already spun into cord to do those, kind of hit and miss availability. If I was going to build horse hair cinchas on a regular basis, I would need to come up with a cost / labor effective method to spin / twist my own cord. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tosch Report post Posted November 13, 2008 (edited) Hi JW, I just looked again at our cinches. They are very nice! The material you used lead me to another question: From a user's point of view -what is the difference between mohair, yak, and horse hair ? Which would you prefere? Thanks in advance. Tosch Edited November 13, 2008 by Tosch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grumpyguy Report post Posted November 13, 2008 Hey JW, Those look great! Really like the colors you used in the Yak hair! The mohair cinch is drop dead gorgeous! Good old time look too! I'm a bit curious about the yak hair, as Tosh is. I am familiar with mohair and horse hair, buckaroos around here won't use anything other than those two. I've never seen or head of yak hair cinches, how do they stack up with horse hair and mohair? I have been using mohair almost exclusively, on a horse that seems to be very sensitive and easily galls in the cinch area after a couple days of longer rides. I have not tried horse hair because it is a bit on the prickly side and I don't think this horse would appreciate it much, (maybe a broke in horse hair cinch is the way to go haven't tried that yet. Tried other sythetics recommended at the local shop, which were worse.) Other horses have no difficulty with the same gear and do not gall using the mohair. Anyway I'm looking for something that might work better for this horse, (aren't we always!) I look foreward to hearing your recommendations and might also be interested in trying a yak hair cinch in the future. I'll PM you later about it. Grumpy Guy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jwwright Report post Posted November 13, 2008 Tosch and Grumpy.........Thanks for your comments and questions. Yak hair has a coaser texture than Mohair, but not as course as Mane hair. Kind of in between. While mohair has some stretch and give to it, the Yak hair does not have much. It behaves much like mane hair. I have used all the above in my cinchas, and all make a good cinch. A new mane hair cinch needs to be broken in for quite a while on long haired horses, and the Yak hair does also..........but not quite so much. Grumpy, if you are having troubles galling a horse with a clean mohair cinch, it will be worse with a mane hair or yak hair. I am sure you have already done your own diagnosis to find out why your horse is galling with the mohair cinch,but I would suggest checking to make sure that your rigging placement on your saddle is appropriate for this horse. There are a few horses out there that don't do well with a full, 15/16 or even 7/8 rig. I would also suggest that maybe you check to be sure that the cinch you are using is an appropriate length for this horse / saddle combination. A too short cinch will place the cinch buckles in bad spots on some horses. Tosch, I, all things considered prefer mohair for my cinchas, but I do use yak and mane hair some as well. It has been my experience that a mohair cinch is a little more forgiving, especially on young horses, or on horses that are not in condition. I have found that durability wise, mane hair will wear longer than either the mohair or yak hair. JW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
emma Report post Posted November 13, 2008 beautiful! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fjjensen Report post Posted November 14, 2008 J.W. Nice work ! Makes the ones I tie look vanilla plain. How are the different colored main strands spliced in ? FJ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jwwright Report post Posted November 14, 2008 Thank You Emma and FJ. FJ, on the differing colors of cord in the main cord body of the cinch, I don't splice the cord at all. The best way I can come up with to explain how I do it is...........each different section of colored cord is tied seperately, just as you would tie the cord body of the entire cinch, if using only one color. I hope this answers your question, if not, let me know, and I will try again. JW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fjjensen Report post Posted November 14, 2008 JW Thanks, your answer explains it well. FJ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mulefool Report post Posted November 19, 2008 Beautiful cinch. Is the covering of the hair where it goes over the ring on the shoo fly hitched? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jwwright Report post Posted November 20, 2008 Thank You for the comments. Yes, the knot on that shoofly is hitched, but I can't take credit for that. That shoofly was prisoner made. JW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrooperChuck Report post Posted December 4, 2008 Those are beautiful! Where can I learn to make my own cinches? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ArtS Report post Posted December 5, 2008 Tosch and Grumpy.........Thanks for your comments and questions. Yak hair has a coaser texture than Mohair, but not as course as Mane hair. Kind of in between. While mohair has some stretch and give to it, the Yak hair does not have much. It behaves much like mane hair. I have used all the above in my cinchas, and all make a good cinch. A new mane hair cinch needs to be broken in for quite a while on long haired horses, and the Yak hair does also..........but not quite so much. Grumpy, if you are having troubles galling a horse with a clean mohair cinch, it will be worse with a mane hair or yak hair. I am sure you have already done your own diagnosis to find out why your horse is galling with the mohair cinch,but I would suggest checking to make sure that your rigging placement on your saddle is appropriate for this horse. There are a few horses out there that don't do well with a full, 15/16 or even 7/8 rig. I would also suggest that maybe you check to be sure that the cinch you are using is an appropriate length for this horse / saddle combination. A too short cinch will place the cinch buckles in bad spots on some horses. Tosch, I, all things considered prefer mohair for my cinchas, but I do use yak and mane hair some as well. It has been my experience that a mohair cinch is a little more forgiving, especially on young horses, or on horses that are not in condition. I have found that durability wise, mane hair will wear longer than either the mohair or yak hair. JW I've often wondered if I'm using the appropriate length cinch. Where should the cinch buckles come to? I've included a picture. Your work is awesome! Art Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
okiwen Report post Posted September 20, 2009 I know this is a very old thread but it sure made me want to learn to make Cinchas. Very nice, and functional. Not just pretty to be pretty. There has to be a book somewhere on this. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tosch Report post Posted September 20, 2009 Okiwen, An interesting chapter on cinches - including drawings of cinches for single-rigged center fire-rigged saddles - along with drawings about how to build a cinch can be found in "The cowboy at work - All about his job and how he does it " by Fay E. Ward, University of Oklahoma Press. My paperback copy dates from 1987 and has the ISBN: 0-8061-2051-7. I know there has been a new printing. For all you out there in cowboy/buckaroo country it might be an interesting read. The book was copyrighted in 1958 and contains lots of interesting information along with very detailed drawings. I think you will like it. Tosch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elton Joorisity Report post Posted September 20, 2009 Contact Darin Alexander at Art Cords. They have two dvd's and all the supplies needed to get you started. We make our own cinches here in the shop as well. I think the website is www.artcords.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
David Genadek Report post Posted September 21, 2009 Contact Darin Alexander at Art Cords. They have two dvd's and all the supplies needed to get you started. We make our own cinches here in the shop as well. I think the website is www.artcords.com I met Darin a few months back at the MN horse expo. I have since done two classes with Pop Wagner who works with Darin. The classes have been a blast. Some of the folks were having trouble getting one of the knots so we did a you tube video showing how it is done. . I have also used Darins tapes to learn to do other styles. They have a lot of detail and are very worth the cost. Anyone interested in learning let me know and I can set up another class with Pop. I am in South eastern MN 20 minutes from the Rochester airport. David Genadek Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hidepounder Report post Posted September 21, 2009 (edited) This is another thread I missed the first and second time around.....I'm glad it got bumped! Beautiful cinches! And after trying all the new materials that's gone around for the past few years I'm back to the good old mohairs! Great work JW! Bobby Edited September 21, 2009 by hidepounder Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtwister09 Report post Posted September 21, 2009 JW, Like Bob, I flat missed this thread. They look nice! Bruce was mentioning some cinch DVDs the other day. Glad I saw this one pop up. Good work as always. Regards, Ben Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jwwright Report post Posted September 22, 2009 Thanks for the generous comments on the cinchas all.............I am self taught on tying / weaving cinchas and I would be happy to help any one. For me though, I have not figured out a good way of teaching / demonstrating without being "hands on" or video. I have had several folks ask me about the DVDs mentioned in the this thread......................I have not seen them, but I understand from folks that have that they are good. I used to build a BUNCH of cinchas.........nowdays, I mainly will do some extra fancy ones when I get a notion. JW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
David Genadek Report post Posted September 22, 2009 Thanks for the generous comments on the cinchas all.............I am self taught on tying / weaving cinchas and I would be happy to help any one. For me though, I have not figured out a good way of teaching / demonstrating without being "hands on" or video. I have had several folks ask me about the DVDs mentioned in the this thread......................I have not seen them, but I understand from folks that have that they are good. I used to build a BUNCH of cinchas.........nowdays, I mainly will do some extra fancy ones when I get a notion. JW I have watched the videos and have had hands on help. This is not as easy as it might seem. Teaching yourself deserves great respect!!!!! David Genadek Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldtimer Report post Posted November 5, 2009 Really beautiful cinchas !!!! How long must the strand be to make a cinch ? / Knut Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
