Изделия из кожи

Heat the water and soap and s t i r u n t i l t h e s o a p h a s a l l dissolved.

A d d t h e f a t a n d l e t t h e m i x t u r e b o i l , s t i r r i n g a l l t h e w h i l e . A f t e r a f e w m i n u t e s i t can be set aside to cool.

When cool it should be firm but light to the touch. If it is watery then put it back on the heat and continue stirring until t h e w a t e r h a s r e d u c e d a l i t t l e more.

Do not overfill the pan or leave it unattended on the stove.

I sometimes add one part of beeswax to this mixture as this then gives the leather a dressing at the same time .

Another mixture, which also acts as a leather dressing, is 4 parts fat, 1 part wax and 2 parts glycerine. Simply melt together

and then set aside to cool. Stir a c o u p l e o f t i m e s w h i l e t h e mixture cools to prevent the ingredients from separating.

Plaiting soap is also a great help when plaiting belts, and its use will result in a much tighter job.

When working with greased s t r a n ds you will find that you have to wrap the strands around t h e f i n g e r s i n o r d e r t o g e t a good pull, it does not take long to develop a technique for doing this.

Pull each strand tight b e f o r e

The fall is a strip of leather attached to the end of the whip.

better to have a fall that can be r e p l a c e d r a t h e r t h a n l e t t h e plaited end take the damage.

The fall is usually made from the same leather as the rest of the whip, but redhide falls are considered the best because they do not dry out and crack as readily as greenhide.

The exact dimensions are according to taste, but 700mm long is average. The width is d e c i d e d b y t h e t h i c k n e s s o f leather, it should be both thin and strong.

It is best to cut the fall from b e s t a n d t h i c k e s t p a r t o f t h e

working it into the next position.

side, along the backbone, and it can then be made almost square in section for most of its length.

For the sake of appearance a scrap of leather can be wrapped a r o u n d t h e f a l l a n d p u l l e d vigorously up and down to round off the edges, or they can be skived.

The fall is made a little wider at the top and a slit is put in it j u s t l a r g e e n o u g h t o t a k e t h e end of the whip.

It is tied on as shown in figs 2 5 - 29, and when the last hitch has been made the end is put t h r o u g h t h e s l i t a s s h o w n i n fig.28 and then the fall is pulled down hard. This prevents the fastening coming loose.

When a whip is cracked the sharp noise is caused by the cracker at the end of the whip breaking the sound barrier.

Traditionally the cracker is made from horse hair which the stockman pulls directly from the horse's tail.

Nylon twine also makes excellent crackers and we use spools classed as 210/18 ply in

our saddlery. Other materials can also be used including most synthetic twines. In the old days silk thread was once very popular.

The traditional way of making a c r a c k e r i s t o t a k e a f e w lengths of horse hair or twine around 700 mm long and grip o n e e n d firmly in the teeth while twisting the other. The sketch shows a stockman friend doing this .

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The direction of the twist does not matter with horse hair but with twine it is thought best to twist it in the opposite direction to which it has been made, but for all practical purposes this does not matter.

If a number of crackers are to be made the job can be speeded up by bending a small crank from a scrap of fencing wire. This takes only a few seconds and all that is then

After a certain amount of twisting has been done the cord thus formed will be seen to begin to kink. At this stage it is grasped in the middle as shown in the second sketch, and the two ends will be seen to spiral around each other as if by magic and so create the cracker.

needed is a nail or hook to take the other end of the twine (this cannot be done with horse hair).

Figs 33-35 show how the cracker is formed.

Any strong timber can be used for a whip handle, but old stockmen warn against using any wood that splits into long sharp slivers, as this could cause injuries in a fall from a horse.

Cane is popular for whip handles. In north Queensland this

The keeper should be of strong supple leather skived thin at each end as shown.

It is a good idea to cut a shallow groove in the end of the handle so that the binding cannot slip, fig. 44.

Figs 45-47 show the best way to fasten the binding. It may t a k e a m i n u t e o r t w o t o understand the way of finishing off but it is well worth learning.

The binding is usually done with strong twi ne. Leather lace can also be used in the same way but is not as strong.

I

can be obtained from the lawyer vine that grows in the jungle.

Offcuts can also be obtained f r o m t h e m a k e r s o f c a n e furniture.

Length is to taste, but usually around 450 - 500mm.

44

To get the binding as tight as possible tie one end of the twine to something and wind the handle around the twine instead of winding the twine around the handle.

The leather for covering the handle can be taken from the thinnest part of the hide. Cut two strips each one metre long, or longer if the handle is extra thick.

Trim them down to half width in the middle as shown in fig.50. The width of the strands is calculated by wrapping a scrap of the same leather around the handle and making a mark.

Divide this measure into four parts to calculate the width of the strands. They will be around 20mm.

Wrap the strands around the handle 150mm from the end and begin plaiting as shown in figs. 51-52.

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Continue as in figs. 53-54 using the same 4 plait as was used to make the whip.

The second move consists of passing each strand under the one next to it.

60

63

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The third move follows the first move as shown in fig.62. In this way each strand is locked under the strands that were put down first.

A fid or a screwdriver will be needed to open up the plaiting to do this move.

When all four ends have been tucked through they can be trimmed flush and should look like fig.63.

Roll the knob firmly beneath the hand on a flat surface to get it smooth.

This knob must be formed as tightly as possible.