Custer Leather and Saddlery

Jack Keith Benefit Roping

2010-05-16T20:21:00.002-05:00

On April 17, my dad, Jack Keith was in a steer roping accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury, a punctured and collapsed lung, and broken ribs after his horse fell and rolled over him. After 4 weeks of unconsciousness, he has opened his eyes briefly and is showing some movement. To help with my mom's accumulating medical expenses and travel costs, family friend Mike Henderson has organized a day of benefit ropings and auctions for June 12, 2010 in Wynnewood, Oklahoma.

For more information, please contact Mike directly at 405-207-3088.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T17:08:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year, from the Keiths, Custers, and McLins!

All-Around Champion Cowboy

2008-10-11T15:12:00.004-05:00

Couldn't resist a shameless brag post. Our 5 year-old, and his horse Max, won the All-Around trophy last night at the local round-up club. This was his (and Max's) first rodeo and he is so proud of himself. I think it was my new Hermann Oak reins......
Our 3 year-old, and Dolly, won a special prize for Best Bronc Ride during one of his barrel race runs. Dad dusted him off, put him right back on, and they finished the pattern. He thinks he'll stick to roping.....

Osage Steer Roping Association Finals

2008-10-11T14:56:00.005-05:00

We had a large time last weekend at the Osage Steer Roping Finals in Pawhuska, OK. We drove up to watch my dad, my brother, and several friends compete in the year-end steer tripping. My boys always take their roping dummies and enough ropes for the other kids to play during the day.

Leb is not content just to make a clean horn catch: he has to flip the dummy and tie it down before he's done. I think next year, Custer Leather will have to sponsor a kids' dummy roping event so we can put all this practice to work.

Between go-rounds, Papa Jack made sure E.J. and Pal got plenty of saddle time.

Mohair Steer Roping Collar

2008-10-11T14:45:00.003-05:00

This collar I made has been in use for most of the year on a customer's steer roping horse. I caught up with him at a his roping finals last weekend and snapped this shot. I'm pleased with the properties of this batch of 100% mohair. The cordage hasn't matted, frayed, or gathered debris. It's wearing well for this application and now I'm confident enough in it to proceed with orders for a mohair cinch guitar strap and a 7-strand mohair "cinch" belt.

Kid Saddle Rebuild, Part 2

2008-06-10T19:35:00.006-05:00

This saddle has no groundseat whatsoever. The seat leather was glued directly to the tree with just a thin foam pad.

Here's another look at what lurks beneath the fenders. The undercurled skirt is visible here below the cinch ring.

Peeling back the fork cover exposes the white-ish seatbelt webbing that holds the rigging ring is nailed nine times to the side of the fork. The top of the fender is jiffy-riveted to the make-shift stirrup leathers, which were adjusted with nickel roller buckles instead of Blevins.

Did I mention there's no maker's mark on the saddle. If I had built this mess, I wouldn't have put my name on it either.......

Tug Strap Installation

2008-06-09T23:05:00.008-05:00

Might as well show how to install the tugs correctly on the breast collar dee rings (isn't this Jeremiah Watt dee ring nice?)

The tug billet end is run through the dee with the buckle nearest the mohair.

Then the billet end is run through the expertly installed leather keeper.

The whole works is laid back with the billet end now pointing away from the mohair.

And this is how the whole thing should look when installed and buckled correctly.

Little Buckaroo

2008-06-06T15:25:00.002-05:00

Here's Ridge from the Grazing Bit Ranch! He's 2. He's one of my favorite customers. I made his belt and his chinks. I made them long enough that the fringe brushes the toes of his boots so that he'll be able to wear them for years. They're made like grown-up chinks. They're heavy chap leather with tooled, veg-tan yokes and stainless buckles and conchos.

Rebuilding a Kid Saddle

2008-06-06T13:22:00.008-05:00

Behold my latest undertaking! An old slick-fork kid saddle was given to my 3 year-old two years ago. It has spent the past two years largely mounted to the arm of our couch where he ropes, bulldogs, saddlebronc rides, and sits while he watches "Gunsmoke".

The saddle has never fit him and the stirrups have always been too long. This seems to have been a problem for a previous owner, too, because the bottoms of the fenders had been lopped off square. Then shorter, narrower stirrup leathers (with a roller buckle rather than a Blevins) were jiffy-riveted on to shorten things (pretty, isn't it). But it's still too long for my boy. So I decided to do a partial rebuild rather than further insult these fenders.

Just about all the leather that is free to curl, has. And is dry and hard. The fleece is matted synthetic and is worn away near the stitching.

The leather horn covering has come unstitched from all the couch roping and dallying. I'd like to replace it with a rawhide bound cover, and maybe a personalized horn cap from my silversmith brother.

I haven't found a tack on this saddle so far. There are only 1" long staples, or there are 1" long ring-shank nails holding everything together. The little tree is an 1150 Ralide. The "rigging" is little more than some white, seatbelt webbing doubled through "O" rings and nailed to the forks. There is no maker's mark on the saddle.

Handsewing Keeper Loops

2008-06-04T21:24:00.009-05:00

I occasionally use clinch tacks to secure the un-stitched side of my keeper loops, and it works well. But I also wanted to show how to completely handstitch them here. I like the strength and permanency of stitching both sides, however time consuming. Depends on if I'm in the mood for a quick finish or for a warm, earthy, good karma kind of feeling you get when handstitching.

I digress.

I've continued hand stitching until I reach the place where the loose end of the keeper loop must be inserted. I fold it over and force it between the two layers of leather until it meets the opposite end in the middle of the strap. Then I continue sewing without altering my 5 stitches-per-inch spacing.

I continue making awl holes at the correct spacing through all 3 layers of leather, but NOT through the top of the keeper. It's not easy to force long harness needles through at this angle, but it's worth the effort.

At the end of the stitch line, the same procedure is used to finish as was used to begin. The two threads are passed over the edge of the strap and through the final hole, twice. I even took a backstitch for good measure. Using a smooth-faced mallet to pound the stitching makes it lie even flatter and tighter against the leather.

It is important that both threads end up on the same side of the strap, and that it's the side that will not contact the horse's skin. I don't like to leave any small, melted ends to chafe the horse anywhere. When cut off and melted at the spot shown, they will always be covered by the rest of the strap when in use.
I also want to note here that this way of stitching accomplishes two things:
1. Pressure is alleviated on the two holes nearest the buckle, and
2. Stitching holes were made along the edges of the strap. Holes were not made across the strap near the buckle that would have created a perforated "postage stamp" effect. The leather's strength is better preserved in this way.

Handsewing the Tug Straps

2008-06-04T11:55:00.018-05:00

I've been hand sewing the buckles and leather keepers into my breast collar tug straps. A transplanted saddlemaker friend from Idaho showed me this easier way.

My leather keepers for the underside of the tug are 3 inches long, cut from the same Hermann Oak harness leather the tugs are made of, and are thinned to less than 1/8 inch thick. They're usually 5/8" to 3/4" wide.

I use a round-bottom edger on everything, including keeper loops. And even though they're virtually invisible when the tug is being used, at least I know that I went to the extra length to put crease lines on the keepers.
Yes, I even put some Fiebing's glycerine saddle soap to the edges and slick them with a rub rag.

If you prefer rough, square edges, they sell that stuff at Tractor Supply.

Instead of my usual linen thread, for my tugs I use this heavy nylon, waxed, lacing tape I get by the pound from Panhandle Leather in Amarillo.
It's a bit wide..... Kind of have to roll it up a little to thread the eye of my harness needles. I pull off 2 or 3 feet of nylon and thread a needle on each end for the saddle stitch.

The area to be sewn is clamped up with the stich line just visible.

I use a diamond-shaped awl for saddle stitch. I run one needle through the first hole and pull until the center of my thread is inside the leather. There should now be a needle on either side of the stitching clamp.

Each needle should be crossed over the top to the other side, then each run through the original hole one at a time. Pull as snug as possible.

There will now be a double layer of heavy thread in the first hole helping to hold the buckle down tight. Verlane Desgrange taught this method and I use it to great results.

I awl the next hole in line and saddle stitch one or two stitches. Then I take the strap out of the stitching clamp to put the keeper loop in place.
One end of the keeper loop is laid exactly half the width of the tug strap, pushed in as tightly as possible against the stitch I just made. It can be cemented in but the stitches should be sufficient if done well.

With the whole thing back in a stitching horse, I just continue making my awl holes and saddle stitching with the two needles. There should be at least two stitches taken through the keeper loop, three is even better. Every stitch should be pulled as tightly by hand as possible and continued around the stitch line to the other side of the buckle.

Making Tug Straps for Breast Collars

2008-06-03T20:15:00.013-05:00

Here's one woman's way of making tug straps by hand. I use Hermann Oak for my tug straps, pre-cut into 1" straps for me by my supplier in Amarillo. I like to order the thickest, heaviest 16+ oz. side they can find, then I can split it myself if needed. I split my tug blanks down to no less than 5 mm thick, usually a tad thicker.

With your 1" English point end punch, make both ends of the tug strap pointily English.

Now is the time to edge all four rough edges of the strap with a round-bottom edger. Sometimes I'll go ahead and slick the edges of the strap now.

I make several lengths of tug straps. This 30" strap is a common length. One repeat customer prefers a 32" tug for his deeper-chested roping horse.

On the buckle end, use a 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" oblong (bag) punch to accommodate the tongue of the buckle. It needs plenty of room to move freely.

The first 3" of the buckle end needs to be skived down to reduce bulk and give a nicer appearance. If you're keeping up appearances........

I add a very heavy 1" stainless steel buckle. Plenty of room has been left for stitching the leather keeper in. Clamping the folded portion and buckle in your stitching horse overnight makes sewing easier and helps reduce the overall thickness of the finished strap when in use.

A set of saddler's dividers mark the stitching path.
On the top side of the strap, an identical stitch marking is made to keep the stitching uniform on both sides.

I'll be hand-sewing these tugs, so after marking the stitching line, Osborne's #5 stitch marker is a good size for this application and large saddler's lacing tape I use.

Mohair Tying Frame

2008-05-17T19:38:00.007-05:00

A frame is necessary when tying mohair breast collars and cinches. These are available commercially, but my husband made mine in a few minutes from walnut and cedar scrap, two brass robe hooks, a carriage bolt, and a wingnut.

It is helpful to have a frame around 4 feet long to accomodate nearly every size of collar and cinch you'd ever have call for. The hook on the right end of the photo is stationary, screwed to the cedar block which is then screwed to the walnut board from beneath. The cedar blocks raise the cinch about 2 inches off the walnut board, allowing room for my hands to work under the cinch.

The hook on the left is adjustable for making any length cinch. There's a narrow channel cut in the board; the carriage bolt travels inside this groove, inserted from the back side and held in place with the wingnut on the front side.

The first couple of cinches I tied were done using a plywood board with one nail on each end for the cinch buckles. This allowed the round buckles to turn and didn't keep them straight while tying. But using the double-pronged hook prevents this and holds the buckles or D rings in place well.

I'm planning to sleeve each prong of the hooks in rubber tubing to provide even more grip.

No Belt Order Too Small

2008-05-05T16:14:00.003-05:00

I made this Sheridan-style belt for this 15 month-old cowboy. One year later, he's still wearing it in the same hole.

Steer Roping

2008-05-05T15:10:00.004-05:00

E.J. works on his head loop during the Senior Steer Roping at Sulphur, OK last month.

Leb's been a decent header for some time.....

Papa Jack, however, may need to get some more dummy practice in soon.....

Fishing Break

2008-05-05T14:44:00.004-05:00

Sometimes we take a break and fish a little with Granddad. But Leb still fishes in his boots and spurs--some things are not negotiable (but he does take the spurs off for church).

Breast Collar Parts

2008-04-08T18:04:00.004-05:00

Using the pliable belly section of a 16 oz. harness side, I trace and cut the piece of leather that holds the center D-ring in a breast collar. Then, after skiving the backside slightly to reduce bulk, I fold the piece over its D and clamp the whole thing into my Grabowski Special overnight.
This helps greatly when trying to stitch this onto the body of the collar.

Shop Monkey

2008-04-08T17:53:00.004-05:00

One of the biggest advantages of having your shop at home is that you always have a shop monkey handy. They're not very trainable and they'll lose a lot of your tools, but they sure are cute. This shop monkey is just 3.

Leather and Saddle Links

2008-04-08T10:27:00.010-05:00

Be sure to check out http://www.leatherworker.net/ and enjoy all the advice and instruction on all manner of leather work, especially saddlemaking, tack, and the workings of custom shops.

The Journal is the only magazine of its kind in the world. Every issue is full of projects, patterns, and how-to's. For subscriptions, back issues, and articles, see http://www.leathercraftersjournal.com/

The International Internet Leathercrafter's Guild provides all of the educational benefits of a guild without having to live near a leatherworking guild. Go to http://www.iilg.net/ for membership details.

When you start thinking you've arrived as a leather carver, go to http://www.tcowboyarts.org/ to see some tooling to aspire to.

Working the Spring Calf Crop

2008-04-05T19:04:00.009-05:00

Joe and I got a wild idea this afternoon. We decided we'd just go ahead and work our Spring crop of calves by ourselves real quick.

Just the two of us.

On foot.

They're little two month-old calves, so this would be quick. We wouldn't even need to whistle the horses up.

Well, after trying to keep them from escaping through the bars long enough for vaccines, it was decided that it would be better to just rope each one, then flank and tie them and cut the bulls. We ran the mama cows out of the working pens and went to work.

They're a lot bigger than they were in the chute......

A dab of Blackleg and tetanus......
A 15-foot kid rope doesn't leave much room for error....

I think next time, we'll go ahead and saddle Chico.....

Mohair Collar, 5

2008-03-25T12:47:00.008-05:00

After loosely tying all 15 strands, it's time to hide the ends of the cords. To do this more easily, I take the whole thing off the tying rack.

Rather than tying the loose ends into the collar with a knot, they're hidden under the other cords and held in with friction and tension. There should be a cord end near each D-ring. That's why these are always tied with odd numbers of strands. An even number of strands would leave both cord ends to be hidden against the same D-ring; this would create bulk, and where there is bulk there is more potential for rubbing into the horse's hide. The whole point of a mohair breast collar is greater comfort for the horse.

Here's a look at the back of the D-ring, the surface that contacts the horse. It's much flatter than the front of the collar.

After un-hooking the collar from the rack, it's laid flat on a table. Each of the Lark's Head knot loops are loosened to allow the tail end to pass under them more easily. The knotted end of the cord is threaded into the opening between the straight bar of the D-ring and all the strands (left side in the photo). It's worked through until the knotted end comes out the other end (right side in the photo). It needs to be pulled a little tight.

When the collar is tightened and finished, you'll be unable to tell that there's cord under the loops. The excess is trimmed off flush.

Spur Straps

2008-03-24T18:43:00.003-05:00

Here are some spur straps currently in progress.

This is a Carlos border with solid brass cart buckle.

And some tooled Sheridan-style straps near completion.

Mohair Collar, 4

2008-03-24T01:00:00.012-05:00

Back to the D-ring on the left hook, the lower tail passes over the bar, down through the ring, up between Strand 3 and Strand 2, over Strand 3, back under the bar, up through the ring, through the loop, and snug.

Note the slight cant given to this D on the hooks. Tying the strands at an upward angle from the center, making a V-shape, will help it lay against the horse much better than tying the strands with the D in a straight placement.

The process is repeated until 15 strands have been tied, zig-zagging back and forth between the two D-rings.

Here's what things should be looking like on the right-hand D-ring. Everything is still very loose, no need to tighten anything much or worry about the knots lying nicely yet.

Mohair Collar, 3

2008-03-24T00:17:00.006-05:00

Now starting the Strand 2, the lower loose end from the very first knot I did is now brought to the D-ring on the right hook also. It's passed over the straight bar and down through the ring.
Coming up between Strand 1 and Strand 2, the tail end will be crossed back down over Strand 2.Then the tail is passed under the bar and brought up through the ring, leaving a loop open left of the bar.
Passing the tail through this loop completes the knot and Strand 2 is in place.

Mohair Collar, 2

2008-03-23T22:39:00.010-05:00

Of the two long tails now tied to the D-ring, I pull the upper strand to the D-ring on the other end of my tying frame and pass it over the top of the straight side.

For my 15-strand collars, I use 3" D-rings for the outer rings and a 3 1/2" for the center. 17 or 19-strand collars require 3 1/2" on all three rings.

I don't worry about keeping anything tight at this point; everything will be tied very loosely until much later.

Pass the free end up and cross over the first strand.

Then under the bar and up through the ring.

And finally through the loop and snug. This forms the Strand 1 of the collar.

Tying a Mohair Breast Collar

2008-03-23T21:25:00.014-05:00

I have a standing order for all the mohair breast collars I can make. Steer ropers like them for jerk-down competition, as well as working ranch cowboys.

Here are a few of the steps I use in tying the mohair parts:

I start with a 3 1/2" center D-ring and 25' of mohair cord. I prefer bevelled D-rings for my collars. The bevel must face upward on the tying frame hooks.

After locating the center of the cord, it is looped over the D and pulled to the right a few inches. I'll be working to my right, but this section will be on the horse's left shoulder when the collar is in use.

Then both tail ends are run through the loop and pulled all the way forming the first knot.

Snug it up and this is what you'll have. It forms a Lark's Head Knot.

Welcome to the shop!

2008-03-04T18:36:00.005-06:00

Raised on a ranch, the daughter and granddaughter of ranchers, married to a rancher, and currently ranching, I have long used and been interested in cowboy gear. I've wanted to work with leather since I was very small.

Custer Leather is involved primarily in custom-made chaps, spur straps, belts, tack, mohair cinches and breast collars, and saddle repair. The occasional gun holster, knife sheath, rifle scabbard, or suspenders order is also accepted.

American leathers are used in my shop, usually Hermann Oak or Wickett & Craig. Heavy, solid brass or stainless steel hardware is standard. Mohair goods are tied one at a time, by me, from American mohair. My goods are built one at a time, by me. I'm very proud to be part of the cowboy lifestyle in this capacity and always encourage feedback and comments from customers on how to improve design or construction. Satisfaction is important to me and if that's not possible, I'll make it right.

I'd be pleased to make something for you.