fighttobreathe Report post Posted February 16, 2019 First time posting here! Be gentle! I've been doing some leatherwork on and off for a few years. I'm pretty much self taught so there are some large gaps in my knowledge. I started in the theatrical costuming world, so I know how to sew or hand sew pretty much anything, and I can figure out any pattern I want to make. What I'm lacking is proper knowledge of leather prep. The project I'm working on now is recreating a braided leather hackamore for my father. The original was my great grandfathers and the last flood here in Bastrop got it. I know how to do the braid, it's a 8 string square braid over a core, that's the easy part. What I would like to know is threefold.... 1. I have the Tandy table top lace cutter, which I like fine. BUT what happens when you don't have long enough strings to create the whole braid? Is there a way to join ends when you know you're about to hit the end? I know I can hide a join under the other stands during the braid, but I'm not sure how to accomplish the join in the first place... skive the two ends and glue? Add a few stitches? 2. Do you bevel the edges of each of your strings in order to make everything look cleaner and neater? If so, what do you use? I have a french beveler, but it doesn't seem to be the best tool for the job... 3. The leather I think I'm using is the Acadia Old Town Folklore. It's about 5-5.5 oz. Is that going to be too think? I could have ordered it and had them dry split it, but I didn't think of it at the time. Should I invest in a manual splitter? I've seen them for $200 and over, but I can barely afford the $200 version... Any and all suggestions are SO VERY WELCOME! Thank you all, CA Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rgerbitz Report post Posted February 17, 2019 Joining a braid. Braid as much as you can. Pull the short strand back out up the braid a little then weave in the new one to be used. Hide ends in the braid. No gluing or stitching required. Many braiders use this if they break a string while braiding. Another option would be to start your braid in the middle and hide all of your joints under the nose button. Beveling does a great deal to improve the look of a braid. A board, a nail, and a razor braid can be used to make an inexpensive beveling tool. Splitting the string down would be much desired. If you search this forum you will find a bunch of options for doing so. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fighttobreathe Report post Posted February 22, 2019 Thank you so much! I'll get with the practicing! As for the splitter, I'm looking at the Neubert and the Hansen String Cutters, mainly because both do multiple actions. But it seems pretty split down the middle on this board as to who prefers which! I tried to find video of both being used but have come up empty handed so far... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Squirrelly66 Report post Posted April 17, 2019 You can splice different ways, as rgerbitz above pointed out , I do it the way he stated and also will skive the ends and join them with tanner's bond contact cement and a put a spring clamp on it for 30 minutes or so. As for the beveling it does make it look cleaner. you can buy fancy beveler's but I made one from wood that works good. look up bernie46 on youtube, he's an aussie that makes whips. simple to make. you can also make a skiver with wood and a razor blade. I buy my leather always a little thicker and split my lace down to a 2 oz. thickness for a lot of my plaiting. I make whips, lanyards, and a lot of other braided stuff. If I'm doing rawhide I will go to 1 to 1.5 oz on some lace for edge lacing. also look at whyknot lace. they have a good cutter and beveling system. I cut all my lace with an Australian strander that I have reworked to be more friendlier. I usually will lace a whole side at a time. I DO Not use kangaroo lace for any of my stuff. too pricey. Hope this helps. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
