Whacha Been Up To......

Whacha Been Up To......
Well, today was a great day, I drove about 3 hours from home to visit with the folks at Wickett & Craig
I had two hides that were just a little too thick for my use in making folder sheaths, making it impossible for me to get it formed tightly to the knife. So I called first to see if they would be able to help me by cutting the hides thinner and he said sure! So I got up early and drove down, it’s close to Dubois PA.
It is a BIG facility!!! We walked through to the area where they cut the leather to about any thickness you need. I had a failed cut up sheath that I had tried to form with me to show what I meant. And I saw the worker cut off a small piece of the hide and put it through so I asked if they could run this failed attempt through and he looked it over and said probably and he ran it through so now that was saved so I can finish it.
Then he took me on a detailed tour of the factory and you would not believe all the hides that were there!!! Mind boggling!
I asked if he knew @Horsewright Dave and he said he did. But he was very well acquainted with Paul Long @sheathmaker and knows him very well from years of working with him.
So that was a great day, I didn’t bother bringing my phone with me to take pictures since I was a guest and didn’t want to bother them with that.
G2
 
Gary W. Graley said:
Whacha Been Up To......
Well, today was a great day, I drove about 3 hours from home to visit with the folks at Wickett & Craig
I had two hides that were just a little too thick for my use in making folder sheaths, making it impossible for me to get it formed tightly to the knife. So I called first to see if they would be able to help me by cutting the hides thinner and he said sure! So I got up early and drove down, it’s close to Dubois PA.
It is a BIG facility!!! We walked through to the area where they cut the leather to about any thickness you need. I had a failed cut up sheath that I had tried to form with me to show what I meant. And I saw the worker cut off a small piece of the hide and put it through so I asked if they could run this failed attempt through and he looked it over and said probably and he ran it through so now that was saved so I can finish it.
Then he took me on a detailed tour of the factory and you would not believe all the hides that were there!!! Mind boggling!
I asked if he knew @Horsewright Dave and he said he did. But he was very well acquainted with Paul Long @sheathmaker and knows him very well from years of working with him.
So that was a great day, I didn’t bother bringing my phone with me to take pictures since I was a guest and didn’t want to bother them with that.
G2
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Awesome!!! A leatherworkers dream tour! Love it Gary. Super stoked for you!
 
It was impressive!!! And they were very friendly and helpful
G2

Edited to add that the two hides I brought, one small that had a lot used from it and the other one was about full size. BUT they never asked me if I bought it from them, or what was my order number which I didn’t have a clue because it’s been a few years since I had bought them. But they just weren’t concerned about that and were willing to help me out.

Found this YouTube video that shows a lot about them

 
Last edited:
Gary W. Graley said:
Whacha Been Up To......
Well, today was a great day, I drove about 3 hours from home to visit with the folks at Wickett & Craig
I had two hides that were just a little too thick for my use in making folder sheaths, making it impossible for me to get it formed tightly to the knife. So I called first to see if they would be able to help me by cutting the hides thinner and he said sure! So I got up early and drove down, it’s close to Dubois PA.
It is a BIG facility!!! We walked through to the area where they cut the leather to about any thickness you need. I had a failed cut up sheath that I had tried to form with me to show what I meant. And I saw the worker cut off a small piece of the hide and put it through so I asked if they could run this failed attempt through and he looked it over and said probably and he ran it through so now that was saved so I can finish it.
Then he took me on a detailed tour of the factory and you would not believe all the hides that were there!!! Mind boggling!
I asked if he knew @Horsewright Dave and he said he did. But he was very well acquainted with Paul Long @sheathmaker and knows him very well from years of working with him.
So that was a great day, I didn’t bother bringing my phone with me to take pictures since I was a guest and didn’t want to bother them with that.
G2
Click to expand...
That’s great G2 that you got to go on a tour! Sounds like some pretty good customer service too!
 
There's a thing. This thing is called a Lazy Cowboy. It's an expandable device for picking up ropes or hats etc in an arena setting without getting down off your horse. I had heard of one of these but had never seen one. I had a longtime customer bring one over and asked me to make holster for it that would attach to the rear D ring on a western saddle. He was going to be judging a roping and wanted it handy for picking up hats to keep the roping moving a long. This is what I came up with.


XPynG5i.jpg


The loop on the back is for the rear billet on the saddle to pass through. This prevents flopping as you're riding along.

vW5QX9w.jpg


7PVUgqW.jpg


PnvkFTJ.jpg


Whacha think?
 
Horsewright said:
There's a thing. This thing is called a Lazy Cowboy. It's an expandable device for picking up ropes or hats etc in an arena setting without getting down off your horse. I had heard of one of these but had never seen one. I had a longtime customer bring one over and asked me to make holster for it that would attach to the rear D ring on a western saddle. He was going to be judging a roping and wanted it handy for picking up hats to keep the roping moving a long. This is what I came up with.


XPynG5i.jpg


The loop on the back is for the rear billet on the saddle to pass through. This prevents flopping as you're riding along.

vW5QX9w.jpg


7PVUgqW.jpg


PnvkFTJ.jpg


Whacha think?
Click to expand...
Pretty cool.... Id love to see both in action....😜.......

Nice job👍
 
Gary W. Graley said:
Looks good, need to see more of the strap when you can
G2
Click to expand...
it's 4/5oz econo grade veg with veg tan deer skin lining. Staps are Biothane. I can see myself doing it again, but with better leather. The scrap I used is garbage, but good enough for myself!
Horsewright said:
Looks good! YOu are one up on me I can’t remember ever making one.
Click to expand...
I think that if you made one, it would be awesome.
Sharp & Fiery said:
Nice job! That’s something on my list to make as well. :)
Click to expand...
it's been on my list MANY YEARS. I had to slap myself around a bit, but I finally got er done
 
Sharp & Fiery said:
Awesome!!! A leatherworkers dream tour! Love it Gary. Super stoked for you!
Click to expand...
They sound like great people. I’m about 2 1/2 hours southwest but I occasionally drive by the plant. Still boggles my mind that it’s located right here in PA. Along with some long standing knife companies. I hope they keep producing fine leather for many years to come.
 
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