I always screw up and cut my leather on the wrong side when I make a sheath. I don't pay attention to which side of the pattern is up. Luckily, I started with a big enough piece to make it work.
Beard man those pictures and the leather work are top notch. That’s good stuff! I’ve started making a few leather things this last year. It’s enjoyable and I have a lot to learn.
Here’s a holster I made for a ferro rod the other day. I need to add a little snap close to the top of the handle. The shock cord secures it but it’s a little floppy. I’m open to suggestions if y’all spot anything I could improve on the design.
I have several people wanting belts, so I ordered some pre dyed, precut Wickett and Craig straps to try out. I made this belt for my dad yesterday. I used brass rivets for the first time, I like the softness of copper better.
Tomorrow I am going to pick up an antique stitching horse. The bad thing is that I don't have room for it in the shop. I guess it's going to have to go in the house for a while.
I'm confused about the smaller clam/stitching pony. It came from a different sale than the stitching horse. I'm not sure how it's meant to be used. There's no evidence of any locking mechanism, like it's not made to be used alone. You could wedge it in a hole in your bench or something.
It's not the most comfortable thing, but you might could get used to it. It's less of a strain if you cross your legs.
My parts man at work had a Cabela's belt that he asked me to shorten. It is a genuine leather marked belt, and the finish was rubbed off. I shortened it and coated it with some acrylic topcoat. I saddle stitched it between the buckle and brass keeper because of the limited space. I used brass rivets to finish it off and hold the keeper in place.
The guy that I bought them from was expecting them to be used for decoration. It was funny to me, he suggested I build a stool to sit over the stitching horse. He was worried about preserving the value as an antique, but they are more valuable as tools than antiques. I paid him less for both pieces and a saddle stand than a new French clam. A new stitching horse from Weaver with stepped jaws instead of curved is $385 and it's not nearly as cool.
I bought a new cylinder arm machine, that I am getting setup in my shop. I'm going to have to reorganize everything after making room for another table.
Well... I'm working up to it. That's actually what got me started, not being able to find a saddle. Good men's saddles are hard to come by around here, unless you want to spend enough to buy a used car. You can find smaller barrel racing saddles all day long. I even ordered 1 used and 1 new saddle online, but the sellers cancelled on me. I finally bought a saddle that my aunt's brother in law had advertised about an hour away, and it's a size larger than I wanted. I was looking for a saddle when I found my Bonneville, the seller had saddleman as part of his email or something. I think he may have been a Corbin dealer at one point. I have several saddles that I need to repair and I bought a nice Bowden saddle tree from a lady in Tallahassee to build my first saddle.
HOLY SMOKES!!! Wow everyone who shared their work!! Just awesome skills!! I just found this part of the forum today!! I need some work done! Sheaths and a belt!
