some of our work

[roo4u]

hi all...thought id post some pix of some of our work...something besides paracord. i cut the lace do all the prep work and setup, my mom does the straight braiding, then i do all the finishing, any knots etc.

not a good picture you really cant tell the patterns but this is an 8 strand gaucho braid with the flat handle and throat being 8 strand trenza patria (double braid)

5 different 8 strand leashes all knots are 2 bight turksheads

better view of the natural 8 strander

8 strand slip leash with 2pass ring knot for a slider and 2 bight turksheads

this is an 8 foot german shepherd lead with braid over snap and 3 bight t.h knot 4 different colors

showing a bunch of leashes nearly ready to go out various colors

different view same leashes

another view trying to show all the colors. i dye all the reds yellows blues purples greens teals etc myself

a nice little 6 strand bolo tie done a couple of years ago slider and end knots are pineapple knots frills on the ends flat in the neck.

[rgerbitz]

It all looks well done Roo. You and your Mom sure keep yourselves busy with some braiding.

Rob

[Alan Bell]

Nice work and I Love the use of the Trenza Patia. Did you get that from Ron's flyer a few years back after he met with Pablo and Armando?

Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell

Help your Brothers in their needs, Pass it On!

Bob Marley - Pass It On

[roo4u]

thanks for the comments. i got the trenza from bruce grants encyclopedia the 8 strand double braid he calls it and says its from south america, so maybe not a true trenza patria but it came out with the same pattern as the 8 strand gaucho. digital camera didnt do it justice its awesome. i love the gaucho braid but it is a pain to do, this was the first time i braided more than a couple of inches of it. my mom took one look at it and said you do it. took me two days every time i lost my pattern i had to unbraid until i recognized the pattern again. im going to try incorporating the flat braid into a headstall, ive experimented with it and it is easy to go from 12 to 10 to 8strands using it, and the dropped ends are not visible and keeps the same pattern so i think it will make a lovely browband.

alan- ron who ? and what flyer ?

everything ive learned ive picked up from bruce grants books. though nebraska now offers artists grants to study with master artists, this is the first year they are offering them, so may try to find a braider to help me improve my technique. no braiders in nebraska as far as i know though so will have to go out of state.

i really love the knots he calls the botons but what do you use them for your average person doesnt really care how long it took to tie the thing just why does it cost so much.

[entiendo]

Lovely work. I love that natural 8 strand. I had one similar but I used pineapple knots.

I wish I could see more detail. Some of the pictures are a little dark.

[roo4u]

yeah i know my digital camera sucks cant take closeups at all...i also took pics with my real camera but have to get the film developed...im hoping the ones of the gaucho braid lead will really turn out well, but i dont know as it was very fine strings. i have used pineapple knots in the past but really like the 2 bight turkshead as it really lays down nice and smooth so adds very little bulk presents a smoother line when someone might be using it in the ring.

[entiendo]

Yahoo, I saved one of your pictures and enhanced it a little, I was able to get a decent look at your knots, and yeah it does lay better than a pineapple.

My mentor showed me a turn back and it needs no knot at all, do you do those too?

[Alan Bell]

Hey Roo4U,

I was talking about Ron Edwards the Aussie, He has published more books about braiding than anyone in the world and presented a little tutorial on the Trenza Patria we learned from the Argentine braiders Pablo Lozano and Armando Defferia a few years back. There are a few different ones but the "main" one is a 12 strand flat braid that doesn't go left hand right hand but instead has two movements with each hand! Ron worked it out from six strands middled so you have a closed end. If you get the opportunity to travel to study PM me and I will give you Nate Walds contact info in Montana. There are none better to study with he knows several Trenza Patrias and quite a few other knots that are fairly unique (some are real buggers to tie!) Basically he has gone to Argentina like Bruce Grant did only now in Argentina there are folks like Armando and Pablo that are gathering the knowledge of all the braiders in the Pampas together so you seek out Pablo and Armando and it's like visiting with all the great masters in Argentina! The work they do in Argentina would humble and inspire the greatest braiders we have here. Pablo made a braided rawhide girth strap that was almost 2 feet wide and took 6 years to braid! Magnificent work! That inspired Nate to make a set of Santa Ynez romal reins that he braided on continuously for 6 months at least 8 hrs. a day! Truly mind blowing work and noone I have heard of in the US could duplicate his work because they don't know how to tie some of the knots. Very Unique braiding and the reins were fantastic. They featured a braiding pattern called a 'Farolito' of little lantern that is pretty neat. You can see the set on the TCAA website.

Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell

Live for yourself and you live in vain; live for others and you'll live again!

Bob Marley - Pass It On Edited July 11, 2008 by Alan Bell

[roo4u]

entiendo- yes i do turnbacks...i just call it braiding back the ends, thats whats under the knots, its real easy to do when you use the two prong lacing needles. the harder thing is when using a rope core i cut the ends at an angle and then stitch the end down to the body of the leash you have to be very careful not to damage the lace when pushing the awl needle thru, the stitching is the main reason i use the knot. on the 8 stranders i braid them back cut the ends off and cover with a knot, on the 4 stranders i braid them back cut two off and use the other two to make a rein knot, this is the signature look of my leashes, my makers mark if you will, plus i dont have to worry about ends coming untucked as ive seen with other peoples leashes. we've made literally thousands of leashes in the 10 years weve been doing this.

alan-ok duh i should have guessed it was ron edwards, although ive never looked at any of his books, they are on my list. is the trenza in one of his books? the braid i did is a 4 step pattern like the 8 strand gaucho round braid, you go over under over on side 1, under over under on side 2, then under over under on side 1, followed by over under over on side two. gives you a double edge and a nice pattern in the middle. bruce grant calls it the double braid but also says that it is characteristic of the argentine where it is called trenza patria. there are some pictures of cinchas in b.g.s book that are made of horse rawhide-incredible work. yes i saw those reins on the tcaa website, i drool over the work of all of the tcaa braiders. i havent tried braiding rawhide yet, so far ive only worked in roo, so id have to really work on that to catch up to the curve before trying to learn from someone like nate wald. gives me something to aspire to anyway.

[entiendo]

That's real clever to use 2 of the strings for the knot on the end! Good for you. I worry about the turn backs coming out too, but it hasn't happened yet.