Whacha Been Up To......

Thanks! Yep, a little been busy, besides i'm more reading than posting something. Glad to be here. One of my last works is a belt again. For my good friend, he's from local motorcycle club "Steel Wings" So that's the theme of the belt. Two laers of leather veg tanned for the face and chrom for the back, double stitching, stainless steel screws and nickel silver buckle. 40 mm width, about 7 mm of thikness.
 
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Thank you! Dave, I would like to ask you. Did you see "Yellowstone", that's the tv series with Kevin Costner? If you did, what do you think about this in general and as a some part of cowboy culture maybe? Is that true about confrontation between ranch owners with their lots of acres of ranchos, native americans and growing sities which take a pressure on rancheros? Is that real problem now how can i see in this show?
 
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MaverickFZX750 said:
Thank you! Dave, I would like to ask you. Did you see "Yellowstone", that's the tv series with Kevin Costner? If you did, what do you think about this in general and as a some part of cowboy culture maybe? Is that true about confrontation between ranch owners with their lots of acres of ranchos, native americans and growing sities which take a pressure on rancheros? Is that real problem now how can i see in this show?
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I actually haven't seen any of it. Although its come recommended by many friends. Yes those confrontations are real. Not so much with the Native Americans at least around here but urbanization is a problem. We lost about a 100 acres when the City of Tehacahpi decided to build a road from nowhere to nowhere else. Cut right across the front of part of the ranch. They did fence off 50-60 acres of this on the other side of the new road for us. However this small piece is bordered on one side by the road to nowhere and a major east west freeway on the other. Plus there's no water there so besides being not safe to put any cattle in there, ya can't anyway unless ya want to haul water. They built a new hospital next to us too. Since it opened they have been good neighbors but the company that built the place not so much. They kept having their 20 acres next to us (which was donated by the neighboring ranch) resurveyed. Every time they resurveyed it they wanted us to move the fence and pay for it. Finally we went over picked the project manager up by the neck and shook him just a little bit. He got the idea. Especially when the newspaper had just published an article on the project and mentioned that the hospital had $35,000 in its building budget for fencing and we mentioned this. He was also fired shortly thereafter and the final project manger of three was much easier to get along with.

We have about 600 acres of the ranch that are actually within city limits. This can lead to some interesting interactions sometimes. We do have several Native American sites on the ranch, grinding stones mostly and we respect these and leave them alone. These round holes in the rock were used to grind acorns into meal, a staple for many California Native American groups. These rocks are always found above a water source (needed water to remove the tannins from the acorn mash) and near a stand of oak trees. Heavily wooded, in black oaks, Hog Canyon is just behind these rocks.

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All the flats in the following pics are within city limits.

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California is building a high speed rail train that has so far proven to be a fiasco of a boondoggle. Billions and billions and billions in cost overruns and they literally only have a few miles built. They keep changing their minds about how and where they are coming through Tehachapi Pass which is pictured behind me in that last pic. Or even if they are going to. The freeway already goes through there. If the high speed rail does come we'll lose more land for sure. probably a lot.

We hang on. I would not be surprised that in my lifetime this ranch ceases to exist.
 
Thank you for interesting facts. I guess i stepped on a sore spot with my question, i'm sorry for that. It's not so hard to imagine what feel people who live on their land and forced to loose it that way. Especially if they live there for many generations. Yeah, hang on, and don't give up.
 
MaverickFZX750 said:
Thank you for interesting facts. I guess i stepped on a sore spot with my question, i'm sorry for that. It's not so hard to imagine what feel people who live on their land and forced to loose it that way. Especially if they live there for many generations. Yeah, hang on, and don't give up.
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No need to apologize my friend! It's not really a sore spot even. Just reality. Ranching is all about just hanging on, always has been.

Southern Gent said:
First time adding chevrons to a sheath. Definitely a good learning experience.

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Good deal. Mind if I make a suggestion?
 
Southern Gent said:
Absolutely Dave. Appreciate any and all feedback.
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Good deal.

A couple of things will pump er up a notch. They make different size stitching groovers. Maybe a smaller one would be good on your pre dyed leather. Wouldn't see as much underneath. Also most drum dyed leather, the color is all the way through. Might be a thought. On the chevrons, I call em shields but same thing, use a smaller size thread on the top and bottom of the shield where it is pre sewn to the top of the sheath prior to putting the sheath together. This little deal is kinda pleasing to the eye. For instance I use size 207 thread for constructing the sheath but 136 for attaching the shields. Paul takes it even a step further and uses 207 for construction but size 69 for shield attachment and also for inlays. Just google Paul Long sheaths and hit images and sit spellbound for a while but ya'll see what I'm talking about.

Most important and I don't mean this to be harsh, take your bottle of Edge Kote outside and see how far away you can throw it. Then walk up to it and throw it again but not back towards the house. Paul would and has made the same suggestion even more forcefully. He started doing this in 1951 (heck I wasn't even born till 1959) Between us there is well over a hundred years of experience banging around dead cow. See how far you can throw that stuff. You are capable of and are doing some pro level work. Bag Kote drags er down. In most high level leather circles it is considered a very amateurish deal. Again not trying to be harsh.
 
Horsewright said:
Good deal.

A couple of things will pump er up a notch. They make different size stitching groovers. Maybe a smaller one would be good on your pre dyed leather. Wouldn't see as much underneath. Also most drum dyed leather, the color is all the way through. Might be a thought. On the chevrons, I call em shields but same thing, use a smaller size thread on the top and bottom of the shield where it is pre sewn to the top of the sheath prior to putting the sheath together. This little deal is kinda pleasing to the eye. For instance I use size 207 thread for constructing the sheath but 136 for attaching the shields. Paul takes it even a step further and uses 207 for construction but size 69 for shield attachment and also for inlays. Just google Paul Long sheaths and hit images and sit spellbound for a while but ya'll see what I'm talking about.

Most important and I don't mean this to be harsh, take your bottle of Edge Kote outside and see how far away you can throw it. Then walk up to it and throw it again but not back towards the house. Paul would and has made the same suggestion even more forcefully. He started doing this in 1951 (heck I wasn't even born till 1959) Between us there is well over a hundred years of experience banging around dead cow. See how far you can throw that stuff. You are capable of and are doing some pro level work. Bag Kote drags er down. In most high level leather circles it is considered a very amateurish deal. Again not trying to be harsh.
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Thanks Dave. A smaller stitching groover is high on my priority list after making this sheath. I recently switched to a higher quality, but smaller diameter thread and the groover I currently have just doesn't work. You are now the third person to give me a new and creative way to rid myself of the Edge Kote and I'm currently constructing a trebuchet in by backyard. Fortunately, another leather bender I've friended over the years is sending me Paul's 3 DVD series on sheath making, which I'm extremely interested in watching as he makes amazing projects and is so forthcoming with information. Thanks again for the comments and I'm glad that I'm hearing the same commentary, so I know what to focus on.

Cheers,

Justen
 
Southern Gent said:
Thanks Dave. A smaller stitching groover is high on my priority list after making this sheath. I recently switched to a higher quality, but smaller diameter thread and the groover I currently have just doesn't work. You are now the third person to give me a new and creative way to rid myself of the Edge Kote and I'm currently constructing a trebuchet in by backyard. Fortunately, another leather bender I've friended over the years is sending me Paul's 3 DVD series on sheath making, which I'm extremely interested in watching as he makes amazing projects and is so forthcoming with information. Thanks again for the comments and I'm glad that I'm hearing the same commentary, so I know what to focus on.

Cheers,

Justen
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Good deal Justen. I've never seen the videos but hear they are great. A trebuchet, why didn't I think of that! One of our boys while in the 6th grade had a teacher that was very hands on from a science perspective. He broke the class into pairs and each pair had to build a trebuchet that would toss a tennis ball. Farthest toss would win tickets to the movies. They came in third. What a great project. Their next one, was to build a machine that would lick a stamp and put it on an envelope. This one they won. They used a Hot Wheels car coming down the track going by a sponge and then passing an envelope just at the right second the car ran into a block of wood. It worked. Good teacher.

Glad to help. In our western world most of the time even a dyed edge is frowned upon on leather work. Here are a couple of Nichole's saddles when they were new:

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And the one I'm currently riding, when it was new, (I have another one on order, it will get started on in April):

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Point is these guys know a little bout dead cow. No EdgeKote or even dyed edges in sight. Just rubbed edges.
 
Horsewright said:
Good deal Justen. I've never seen the videos but hear they are great. A trebuchet, why didn't I think of that! One of our boys while in the 6th grade had a teacher that was very hands on from a science perspective. He broke the class into pairs and each pair had to build a trebuchet that would toss a tennis ball. Farthest toss would win tickets to the movies. They came in third. What a great project. Their next one, was to build a machine that would lick a stamp and put it on an envelope. This one they won. They used a Hot Wheels car coming down the track going by a sponge and then passing an envelope just at the right second the car ran into a block of wood. It worked. Good teacher.

Glad to help. In our western world most of the time even a dyed edge is frowned upon on leather work. Here are a couple of Nichole's saddles when they were new:

STd7LYv.jpg


TYSeGRk.jpg



uX6pIYS.jpg




Hv3PrD6.jpg


And the one I'm currently riding, when it was new, (I have another one on order, it will get started on in April):

x9n5Y4t.jpg


09zOL5Z.jpg


Point is these guys know a little bout dead cow. No EdgeKote or even dyed edges in sight. Just rubbed edges.
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I cant imagine the work it takes..... Very nice.
 
Makael said:
Couple I made. Cool Puukko knife and a Fiddleback. Black with pebble texture is Water Buffalo.

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Very, very nice work. Always clean.

Makael said:
I cant imagine the work it takes..... Very nice.
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They say that if a saddle maker really knows what he's doing (and they say that takes about 250 saddles!), he can get a plain one, no tooling, done in about 40 hours. That wouldn't include the tapaderos or stirrup covers on Nichole's, just the saddle. They also talk about a good saddle maker being at least a year behind, otherwise he's no good. The place I have one on order from has an interesting system:https://www.freckerssaddlery.com/

Ya put down a $1,000 to reserve a spot. They'd had a cancellation and had a spot open this Nov back in the spring time. I screwed around and hem and hawed and then went to get that spot and it was gone with Apr of 2020 being the next one. I grabbed it. Nichole is riding one of their saddles right now and its her favorite saddle of all time. It wasn't custom made for her, it's what is called a shop saddle, in that one of his apprentices built it under Kent's supervision. It was available on Facebook and their website. Its magnificent:

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It was brand new when she got it, she's had it less than a year. These things ain't cheap neither, check the price list on their website. They do hold their value though. I sold one used a few years back and I mean it was USED! It was on its third set of stirrup leathers and fenders. I sold it for more than I paid for it when I ordered it. Recently we sold one of Nichole's older ones above, to our friend Emma. We knocked off about $500 for her because she is our friend. Its working out good for her:

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Recently sold this old one of mine to a good friend knocking off $500 because he's a friend.

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Both times had been asking just a hair under what they had cost before the homie discount.

MaverickFZX750 said:
I like that way too, at the last time.
Just completed and gave away three of sheath. This is chrom tanned 8-9 oz leather, oil and bee wax mix finish.
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Wow buddy! Just beautiful work and beautiful leather too! Comes that way right, not dyed by you?
 
Horsewright said:
Good deal.
Paul takes it even a step further and uses 207 for construction but size 69 for shield attachment and also for inlays. Just google Paul Long sheaths and hit images and sit spellbound for a while but ya'll see what I'm talking about.

Most important and I don't mean this to be harsh, take your bottle of Edge Kote outside and see how far away you can throw it. Then walk up to it and throw it again but not back towards the house. Paul would and has made the same suggestion even more forcefully. He started doing this in 1951 (heck I wasn't even born till 1959) Between us there is well over a hundred years of experience banging around dead cow. See how far you can throw that stuff. You are capable of and are doing some pro level work. Bag Kote drags er down. In most high level leather circles it is considered a very amateurish deal. Again not trying to be harsh.
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It is my PERSONAL opinion that Edge Coat is the mark of a pure amateur. It really has no place on a professional leather craftsman's bench. Dave's suggestion on getting rid of it is pretty much the same as mine, but I would throw it a third time! It's true I have been doing this since 1951, but I never intend to say mine is the best or the only way, it's simply my way. (with the exception of Edge Coat, I'm firm on that).

As a matter of fact if my multi layer sheaths were all one true color on the edges, I would not even dye them in the finishing process. Nothing is prettier that a solid natural color SLICK shiny edge.

Paul
 
Got a big batch done for Christmas, 56 knives total:

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Did the sheaths over a three day period:

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Matched up the order knives with the sheaths first and got em ready for Fed Ex. That left thirty to put on the website:

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Couple cool little vids. First one is me edging a sheath and second is Nichole sewing up a pancake:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5t4J2Bpdv4/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5t6Fx_pOJ5/

Few of em finished:

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