Matching an older piece....

ChuckBurrows · August 24, 2009, 05:57:25 AM

is a pain in the patootie!

The original knifesheath made 9/2007....

The gunrig made 8/2009

Matching leather and color is always tough - on the sheath the lowere part is rawhide but that wasn't going to work on the belt and holster so I used some buffalo for a close but not exact match - add to that beads especially when you didn't write down the colors used and then add in that dye lots change ......
The holster is for a Walker but I only have a mockup - I used my 1860 Army in the pics so that's the gun looks small for the holster........

anyway hope ay'll enjoy the look see.......

Slowhand Bob · August 24, 2009, 09:23:12 AM

Awesome as usual Chuck. It is very hard to judge true colors after they are run through the camera and then a computer but the leather looks pretty close to being nailed. I frequently do less well than this on multiple pieces being dyed the same color at the same time and even with submersion dying perfect matches are hard with various weight parts!! The beeds I can see a variation in but let me guess on the sheath, is the knife sheath showing a tiny bit more of a red hue? That is the curse of a true artist, you always see less in your work than the perfection that the rest of us bear witness to!

Chuck, it appears that you wrapped the fringe overlay and tucked it into the main seams, sheath and holster, to be sewn, is this right? Though I am not fully sure how you covered the holsters main seam with the beads but that is my assumption BUT how did you make the blind overlay attachment on the sheath?

Marshal Will Wingam · August 24, 2009, 09:38:08 AM

Doggone, that makes a great rig, pard. I like the repeat bead/spot patterns from one piece to another. Very good look on that holster. the color match can be slightly off, but the photos sure don't show it. I wouldn't think it would be critical to have an exact match anyway. Over time, the leather will darken and the pieces will eventually get closer matched. Dissimilar leathers won't match anyway so it will only add character to the rig. Your customer should be happy with that.

JD Alan · August 24, 2009, 10:58:42 AM

If he's not happy with it, be sure to let me know, as I would be happy to purchase it!

I'm wondering if the sheath is so much larger than the knife for an intimidation factor? "Watch out, this is a really big knife"

No matter what the reason, or so called umatched colors or beads, it is one incredible example of leaherwork.

Mogorilla · August 24, 2009, 12:24:09 PM

Looks great. can I ask where you get your belt buckles? I really like the look of that round one!

Slowhand Bob · August 24, 2009, 01:20:25 PM

I think Chuck has a deep dark secret. In the early post Civil War period a ship, loaded to the water line with leather hardware and beads of the time, sank in the shallow waters just off shore in the Great Lakes. While a young boy of only four years of age, vacationing with his parents at the Great Lakes, Chuck found the ships remains while swimming. Little Chuck had been learning leather craft for the past couple of years and immediately recognized that this discovery was something that might prove valuable in later years so swore an oath to himself to keep his secret and return one day to claim his prize. Well the rest is history and as to that belt buckle, well that is a story for another day!

Chuck, you will never top this one so just let her fly.

Marshal Will Wingam · August 25, 2009, 12:02:35 AM

Man, I thought I could spin a yarn.

JD Alan · August 25, 2009, 01:35:55 AM

Four years old? Heck of a swimmer

Johnny McCrae · August 25, 2009, 08:07:12 AM

Howdy Chuck,

Beautiful! It is always a genuine pleasure viewing your work. It is like a trip to a museum. Thank you again for sharing your art with us,

Gun Butcher · August 25, 2009, 04:04:51 PM

Chuck, it looks to me like you nailed it pretty close. That is some great work man.

RollingThunder · August 25, 2009, 07:17:11 PM

Quote from: Marshal Will Wingam on August 25, 2009, 12:02:35 AM
Man, I thought I could spin a yarn.

A yarn Marshall? Heck, he spun enough rope on that one to rig the Constitution.

ChuckBurrows · August 31, 2009, 01:32:51 AM

Sorry to be so slow responding........

QuoteChuck, it appears that you wrapped the fringe overlay and tucked it into the main seams, sheath and holster, to be sewn, is this right? Though I am not fully sure how you covered the holsters main seam with the beads but that is my assumption BUT how did you make the blind overlay attachment on the sheath?

The lower half of the holster was covered with buffalo hide which is glued on and trimmed to match the edge of the holster Then I added the tacks and beaded through all thicknesses on the four rows not including the main seam. One row runs along the center of the holster as was done on the sheath (i.e. just above the "sight track" - It can't be seen in these pics) and the other three along the edge to the inside of the tacks. On these four I ran a groove on the inside so the threads would be protected.
On the upper "cuff" the three wide rows of beadwork and the rest of the beadwork except along the top and main seam were done before attaching the cuff to the main body and before the belt loop was sewn down. The cuff, which wraps all the way around the holster was then glued to the holster leaving the edge along the main seam unglued for now. Then the beadwork along the top edge was done and the cuffs edges along the back, top and bottom. was sewn to the holster. The belt loop was then sewn down at the bottom.
All of the above was done before sewing up the main seam.
I then sewed the main seam from top to toe and around the toe. I then beaded along the seam over the base thread.
The long fringe along the edge of the cuff was fitted between the two layers of the cuff only, which overlaps the holster body by about a 1/4". I hen added coloring and aging and.............et voilà I was done..........
The sheath was done slightly different - the lower and cuff were all beaded before gluing to the liner except for the outside edge. On the sheath the cover overlapped the liner like the cuff was done on the holster and then beaded.
Hope that all makes sense - easier to do it than type although it took a lot longer than typing.......

Quotecan I ask where you get your belt buckles?

Mo - I forged this one myself out of some cheap hardware flat stock and then did the file work along the edge. Crazy Crow though sells round and rectangular/square iron buckles from India - you can then do your own filework. I don't like the crude tongues they use so when I use them I either re-shape the tongue or make my own replacements. You can also get iron buckles from Mountaintop Trading Company.

QuoteI think Chuck has a deep dark secret. In the early post Civil War period a ship, loaded to the water line with leather hardware and beads of the time, sank in the shallow waters just off shore in the Great Lakes. While a young boy of only four years of age, vacationing with his parents at the Great Lakes, Chuck found the ships remains while swimming. Little Chuck had been learning leather craft for the past couple of years and immediately recognized that this discovery was something that might prove valuable in later years so swore an oath to himself to keep his secret and return one day to claim his prize. Well the rest is history and as to that belt buckle, well that is a story for another day!

Now ya see this is just how rumours start......so to set the record straight..........
1) It was just prior to the end of the War of 1812 not post Civil War. To be exact it was just a few hours before my 14th birthday (not fourth as some have mistakenly written) and the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815
2) It was in the shallow waters of the Mississippi Delta near Barataria not the Great Lakes....they took a wrong turn and went up the wrong bayou - when the tide turned they found themselves high and dry in enemy territory so abandoned ship.......
3) I found it because being a local of the area - my Grandpappy on my mother's side "worked" for Mssr Lafitte - I had been scouting/keeping an eye on the lobster backs for General Jackson and his troops who were setting up to fight the Brits with the help of Mssr Lafitte and his men....
4) I left home in 1818 and headed to St. Louis looking for sign of my Pa who had the itchy feet - he had come down river from Pennsylvania in 1798 and met my ma and stayed until the itch got too bad. He had left in 1810 looking for that proverbial pot at the end of the rainbow - being of Irish, Welsh, Tuscarora, and English stock (but we don't mention that last one too often) may have had something to do with his wander lust. Arriving in St Louis, I found out Pa had gone up river with Senor Lisa's fur trading company in 1811 and there had not been word of him since then. I worked for a gunsmith/blacksmith by the name of Jake Hawken in St Louis until I had a grub stake and then headed west to Santa Fe with Mr. Becknell in 1821. Deciding the life of a wagon bound trader wasn't for me I headed out with some fur trappers and wandered over the west from New Mexico to California, and from Canada to Mexico. I spent the next 30+ years as a trapper, buffalo hunter, scout, and a couple of other less savory "professions" we won't discuss .
5) Now it is true that I had been working leather for a couple of years when I discovered the ship - in fact I had been apprenticed at age 12 to a saddle/harness maker on the outskirts of New Orleans. Also ture is I did keep my secret for almost forty years. In the mid-1850's I went back east and visited family still living on the Delta. After visiting for a while, I returned to the Southern Rockies, which I now called home, with a couple of freight wagons full of "plunder" (I did share with ma's family) and added a leather shop to the trading post/blacksmith shop I had set up amongst the Utes in what is now SW Colorado...........the rest is history as they say.......

FWIW - my mother's family, who are Cajun, Spanish, Choctaw and Irish, really are from the Delta near Barataria and other places in Southern Louisiana, and my Pa really was from Penna and his heritage is as noted....

JD Alan · August 31, 2009, 07:59:03 AM

You may have missed your calling Chuck, or maybe you've found a new one to work on in your "spare time": writing period fiction.

Another idea is a coffee table book with pictures of your work, along with facts about the time periods they represent. I know I'd buy one.

It's always good to have a back up plan for when the body doesn't seem to behave like we want it to

Marshal Will Wingam · August 31, 2009, 12:07:29 PM

Wow, Chuck. That was a great read.

Thanks for the explanation on the work, too.

Mogorilla · August 31, 2009, 12:08:55 PM

Thanks Chuck. I wondered if you personally adapted one. Very unique look on the buckle. I have one of the Crazy Crow round brass ones, if I get daring, it might get a little file action. Thanks again!

Slowhand Bob · August 31, 2009, 02:15:33 PM

Chuck, my hats off to you pard. It is amazing how much of yourself you put into every rig and they surely shine. Thanks for the response to my question.