A MIGHTY FINE CHRISTMAS TO ALL YOU VARMINTS OUT THERE!

We sincerely hope that you and your family enjoy a wonderful Christmas filled with blessings beyond your dreams! Prayers to those who are celebrating without a loved one and wishes for abundance to those who may be doing without this holiday season. From the Legendary Leather Clan to yours . . . Enjoy!

MAKE ROOM FOR ANOTHER HOLSTER . . .

Yes, folks, Mr. Legendary Leather received another special request for a holster. Mr. Hit Factor from Michigan wanted a holster for his little missus . . . a holster that would hold a Smith & Wesson K-frame 22 revolver with a 6 inch barrel.

Mr. Legendary Leather used his own Smith & Wesson K-frame 38 Special as a model for this holster. In making his holsters, Mr. Legendary Leather prefers the gun that will be used in the holster, or a gun that is similar in size. In this case, the gun used as a model was the same frame size but a different caliber (which has no bearing on the holster). Molding the leather to the gun itself in the crafting process is what makes a particular gun mate finely with its holster.

A mighty fine thanks to Mr. Hit Factor for trusting the craftsmanship of Mr. Legendary Leather. We hope that he and the missus will be happy with the holster. For those of you who would like to visit Mr. Hit Factor's website, simply go to http://hitfactorshooting.com/

DETAILED DESIGN VS SIMPLE . . .

Mr. Legendary Leather is known for the versatility in his style. Original to a more primitive Native American style, Mr. Legendary Leather has come along way since then, adding carving/tooling to his repertoire. He has also adapted his work allowing for the customer's tastes. Everyone has their likes and dislikes and many times, even though it may not be a style to his liking, Mr. Legendary Leather will create a piece with the customer's specifications.

Enter "Dakota Kid". Mr. Legendary Leather created a knife/sheath set for the Dakota Kid a few months back. Dakota Kid was traveling back to the midwest and wanted a gift for his cousin. Upon his return, Dakota Kid, knowing how Mr. Legendary Leather is always looking for items he can use in his crafting, kindly brought back some antlers and a request for two more knife/sheath sets.

The Dakota Kid prefers his sheaths on the simple/plain side. Mr. Legendary Leather, a might more detailed in his ways but always happy to accomodate, found a certain pleasure and satisfaction in the plainly crafted sheaths and has decided, when time permits, to make another plain sheath to add to his finely crafted goods. The Dakota Kid was heard saying, "Maybe I'll have to keep both of these for myself."

Much gratitudes toward the Dakota Kid for kindly bringing them thar antlers on home to Mr. Legendary Leather!

A MIGHTY FINE THANKSGIVIN' . . . .

Hopin' all you varmints have a blessed Thanksgiving . . . ENJOY!

HOLSTER THEM THAR GUNS . . .

Back to the project at hand. As you recall, Mr. Legendary Leather had been commissioned by Sinistral Kid at last month's SASS event to reproduce a holster identical to his original holster that holds a 45 caliber pistol. This would be another 'first' for Mr. Legendary Leather, however he was ready to take on this new challenge of the bovine hide.


Sinistral Kid, who is left handed, needed an identical reproduction of his original . . . key word being 'identical and not 'mirror'. If you stop and think about holster rigs, the holsters are mirror images of themselves allowing for left and right handed draw. However, Sinistral Kid wanted to be able to use his left  hand to draw on both holsters. That means the holster on his right side would be identical, allowing for a left-handed cross-draw. 

After researching how to make an identical pattern and acquiring the necessary tools, Mr. Legendary Leather was able to duplicate the pattern and tool the leather matching the original holster. The Missus thought she was pretty impressed at this point of the crafting process . . .

. . . however, she was really impressed with the finished product!

Mr. Legendary Leather's only regret is that he doesn't have his own cartouche (an oval or oblong shape added to a finished piece of original craftsmanship containing characters that represent the name of the creator) to similarly match the one on the front strap of the original holster. Sinistral Kid was kind enough to offer Mr. Legendary Leather the opportunity to place his own cartouche on the finished piece.

The color is always hard to match to an exactness. Different leathers take the dye and oils differently. The age and use of the original piece will also play a major role in trying to match colors. With age and use, Sinistral Kid's new holster will gain a patina that will closely resemble his original.

Much thanks to Sinistral Kid for putting his faith, trust, and original holster in Mr. Legendary Leather's hands. He enjoyed crafting this one and we sincerely hope you enjoy using it!

A note of thanks to Yellowboy for helping Mr. Legendary Leather research the pattern creation.

THE LEGENDARY LEATHER CLAN . . .

Taking a brief pause from Lefty Dave's holster project, Mr. Legendary Leather would like to share some photos from last month's SASS event at 'The Gunfight Behind the Jersey Lilly' in Corona.



We all know how Mr. Legendary Leather likes to sell his 'wares' at these Cowboy events (I honestly think the man believes he is a cowboy) and this was his first time showing off his new sign . . . and tent to boot.



Enter 'Little Miss Do-Gooder Amy' who was right down kindly enough to take these mighty fine photos of the Legendary Leather Clan.



Thanks to Mr. Jed Irons for lending the Little Miss Amy and her great photo abilities. The rest of her kindly photos have been passed on to family and friends near and far and are much appreciated!

Thanks to all you varmints who so generously supported Mr. Legendary Leather with your purchases of the finely crafted LL bovine hide!

HOLSTER PROJECT . . .

A mighty fine THANK YOU to all those Vets out there!

On a side note . . . what do this holster and Mr. Legendary Leather have in common? Well, Mr. Legendary Leather has kindly been asked to reproduce this finely crafted piece of bovine hide. Mr. Legendary Leather met Sinistral Kid at the 'The Gunfight Behind the Jersey Lilly' last month in Corona. Sinistral Kid, a kindly gent, requested a match for his holster so as to have a matching pair. We'll keep you posted on Mr. Legendary Leather's progress as he attempts yet another project unrelated to his "knife/sheath" comfort zone.



BUSINESS CARDS WITH A WESTERN FLAIR . . .

As Mr. Legendary Leather prepares his leather goods for the "Gunfight Behind the Jersey Lilly" in Norco later this month, he figured now would be the time to reveal his new business cards.

Pressman George made Mr. Legendary Leather an offer he couldn't refuse. Nothin' more be said that Pressman George did a mighty fine job!

All be told, the new business cards added to Mr. Legendary Leather's crafted goods surely take that finely crafted bovine hide to a new level!

For those varmints who are looking for a good printer, contact George Chou at Dot Generator:

http://www.dotgen.com/

SPECIAL REQUEST BY THE MISSUS . . .

The Missus wants it to be known that the special request she put into Mr. Legendary Leather's 'pot-o-projects' is finally completed!

As most of you know, the Legendary Leather household is filled with knives, not to mention the best kitchen knives any chuck wagon master would envy. Well, years ago, the Missus mentioned that the kitchen drawer full of knives was missing a simple little paring knife. Mr. Legendary Leather took it upon himself to seek out the best little paring knife he could find for the Missus . . . and the Missus was mighty satisfied with her small 3" bladed paring knife. However, the knife was so small that if often got lost in the drawer full of big knives. So another request from the Missus was made . . . how's 'bout one of them mighty fine crafted sheaths from Mr. Legendary Leather?

And so it has come that, after taking a back seat to a wagon full of special projects and requests, that the Missus finally has the best darn lookin' carved sheath that would hold a paring knife that any respectin' wife of a "wanna-be-cowboy" could wish fer!

Just take a gander at that mighty fine carvin' . . . ain't it a beauty?! Mind you, the whole sheath is only six inches long.

MR. LEGENDARY LEATHER AS A GRAPHIC DESIGNER AGAIN!

Yup, you read it right! Mr. Legendary Leather has made it through one full workweek at his new job. Yes. Mr. Legendary Leather is now out of the unemployment line and back to work.

It's hard to believe that the Missus started this blog for Mr. Legendary Leather out of her frustrations with her 'constant shadow'. Through the frustration, she saw that with his spare time, Mr. Legendary Leather's crafting skills had turned out some very nice pieces of western/cowboy leather work and she knew that it would be much appreciated by those 'loco cowboys'.

Yes, 5 days short of being laid off for a year, Mr. Legendary Leather became a graphic designer again, full time. Throughout the journey of that year of unemployment, Mr. Legendary Leather has sold many of his one-of-a-kind creations and also found a "following" of fans. We both know that the path we've traveled over the past year has changed all three of us. We know God set us on that path for a reason. I'm sure that path will continue to take many curves and turns as we travel it day to day, month to month, for years to come. However, Mr. Legendary Leather has now become a permanent signpost on that path with new adventures waiting on the horizon. Bold new adventures.

Oddly enough, the Missus has found herself missing her constant shadow now that he's back to work.

MORE ON THE SUBJECT OF 'WESTERNSPICE' . . .

Now that you are familiar with the design skills of WesternSpice, the Missus would like to boast about her artistic skills whiles she has a captured audience.

WesternSpice is blessed with the creative qualities from both of her parents. Horses are the center of her universe, and are what light her artistic passions. If she isn't enthusiastically volunteering her time at the stables caring for the four-hooved beasts, she's at home sitting quietly in a corner sketching them. She possesses an uncanning quality for seeing the "equine" within and enjoys drawing horses containing the personalities of family and friends.

This is "Picador". This his how WesternSpice views her father, Mr. Legendary Leather.

 Here's a family portrait. There's the Missus in the middle and WesternSpice in the front. The Missus must admit, it's the most recent "family portrait" we have. You can view the creations of WesternSpice at
http://www.etsy.com/shop/negretefmly

http://www.zazzle.com/westernspice/gifts

WESTERNSPICE PROJECT FINALIZED . . .

By putting her spurs in the door and demanding action, WesternSpice has managed her way through the final fittings of her half chaps/leggings that she designed. In collaboration, both Mr. Legendary Leather and WesternSpice were able to work through the logistics of WesternSpice's design. For those of you who misssed it the first time around, here's the blueprints that WesternSpice sketched . . .

And now for the reveal . . .

 . . . and the Missus is happy to report that father and daughter (each with an equally large ego) were able to complete the project in a manner in which each is completely satisfied with the end result!



WESTERNSPICE GETS IN ON THE ACTION . . .

Mr. Legendary Leather has been mighty busy filling 'special requests'. So much so that WesternSpice has finally put her spurs down on this one. You see, Mr. Legendary Leather promised WesternSpice that he would make her a lil' somethin' before the next big show in October. WesternSpice drew up the blueprints in June . . . where they have sat all summer waiting patiently for Mr. Legendary Leather to begin the first cuts.

The blueprints WesternSpice concocted were for a pair of half chaps/leggings  . . . western style, naturally. Now she's stuck her spurs in the door and demanded some action. Mr. Legendary Leather had no choice but to make the first cuts.

The Missus is mighty glad that all she has to do is report on the progress . . . cuttin' and craftin' all those pieces is out of her league!

WesternSpice has taken a likin' to the "fleur de lys" design in recent months. Are you as interested in seeing how this will play out in the scheme of her design as I am?

. . . AND THE WINNER IS . . .

Mr. Legendary Leather would like to congratulate Ms. Filly Hilly from Dublin, Ohio for her unusual suggestion that got Mr. Legendary Leather to thinkin' 'bout a way to redefine the buckskin addition on the elk handled sheath. Ms. Hilly's thoughts were totally out of the box on this one. Why should you varmints only have two choices . . . natural shaped buckskin or fringed buckskin? A nice combination of the two would be mighty fine, also. Ms. Hilly suggested creating fringe on the lower half of the buckskin . . . and in condsiderin' that suggestion, Mr. Legendary Leather decided he'd rather have fringe on the top half of the buckskin because he preferred the ragged natural form of the lower half. Either way, it was Ms. Hilly who got Mr. Legendary Leather's dusy old attic space to thinkin'!

. . . and for Mr. Jed Irons . . . here's how the sheath now looks if it were hung from a belt.

Thanks again to all of you who voted!

THE VOTES ARE IN!

Thanks to those of you who voted on the appearance of Mr. Legendary Leather's latest creation (Bleached Elk Antler Handled Knife and Primitive Sheath Set). We had several votes, both through the blog and through e-mail. Mr. Legendary Leather has made his decision, however you will have to wait for his next post to see new pictures of the alterations he will be making.

Now don't get those panty-chaps in a bundle. Here's a hint: Mr. Legendary Leather is considering a very unique option from a viewer, however it will most likely be a "reverse" alteration from their suggestion. Confused? Stay tuned . . .

YOUR VOTE IS NEEDED . . .

When last we left you, Mr. Legendary Leather was creatively thinking of a primitive sheath that would compliment the mighty fine knife he had crafted from Mr. Hot Tamale's generous donation of bleached elk antlers. Well, here it is and I think you'll agree that he was a crafty little devil at that.

Take note of the unusually shaped buckskin added to the right side of the sheath.

 

 

Mr. Legendary Leather crudely carved a floral design on the front of the sheath in keeping with the rustic look the bleached elk antler handle and primitive blade gave to oveall look of the set.

By "crudely" carving the design instead of "tooling', a more primitive and rustic appearance is given.

Now here's where your vote is needed. Regarding the buckskin piece that has been added to the right side of the sheath . . . do you think Mr. Legendary Leather should leave it the way it is (unusually shaped) or do you think he should cut it into a "fringed" edging?

VOTE!

ELK ANTLERS . . .

Mr. Hot Tamale from New Mexico was a little hesitant to ask Mr. Legendary Leather if he would be interested in some elk antlers that were discovered on his New Mexico spread . . . after all, Mr. Hot Tamale was a little worried that this sunbleached rack of antlers might not be any good. Mr. Legendary Leather informed him that he would be most gratified to take them off his hands.

The experts are still out on the best way to bring color back into sunbleached antlers . . . oil, stain, dye, soaking them in coffee, and even rubbing them with pine or aspen branches (the natural way elk take care of the problem) have been tried and true for some taxidermists. But for now, Mr. Legendary Leather has decided to stick with the old, rustic, sunbleached look for his next project. 

 After his first cut, Mr. Legendary Leather was happy to find that the antlers were still solid inside and look mighty fine with the primitive blade he picked out.

Once the hole was drilled to fit the full tang of the blade (using epoxy), Mr. Legendary Leather wrapped copper wire and a bit of solder to add strength and character to overall appearance of his new project. Are you as curious as I am to see what Mr. Legendary Leather envisions as his next step?

FROM BELTS TO KNIVES . . .

Well, Mr. Fur Trader from Georgia has agreed to hire Mr. Legendary Leather for retrieving the lost six inches from his well-loved belt. However, Mr. Legendary Leather will be using another method than the one mentioned in the previous post. Stay tuned for updates on the method Mr. Legendary Leather will be using.

Meanwhile, back at the shop, Mr. Legendary Leather is embarking upon another project whilst he eagerly awaits the arrival of Mr. Fur Trader's belt to be repaired.

Enter Mr. Hot Tamale from New Mexico, who came upon a nice pair of sun-bleached antlers on his property upon moving to the homestead. He knew Mr. Legendary Leather  . . . a scrounging varmint by nature . . . could put them thar antlers to good use someday.

Mr. Legendary Leather has made the first cuts and is eagerly crafting a new knife and sheath from the generous rack Mr. Hot Tamale so kindly donated. Stay tuned for more details on how this most recent project progresses!

ANOTHER BELT REPAIR . . .

Some of you may recall back in March Mr. Legendary Leather had just finished up a special request project from someone in Michigan who wanted a cartridge belt made to replace his old worn out one. That was quite the project for Mr. Legendary Leather, however it turned out right fine and the gentleman was quite happy with the result.

Well, Mr. Legendary Leather has another belt-related request. Fur Tradin' Bob, situated in Georgia, has a belt that has mysteriously shrunk six inches in size since he last wore it right around 7 years ago. Fur Tradin' Bob wants to know if there is any possible way to splice in those extra six inches he lost. Mr. Legendary Leather has sent these photos of just one way anyone might be able to add some inches to any well-loved belt that they aren't quite willing to part with.

This second photo shows the "decorative" possibilities for those 'reenactors' in the crowd who sometimes require a bit of 'authenticity' added to their garb.

Stay tuned to see of Fur Tradin' Bob will hire Mr. Legendary Leather to reclaim those lost belt inches!

WEST END OUTLAWS COWBOY SHOOT . . .

Well folks, here's your chance to take a look at Mr. Legendary Leather in action. He and his shootin' buddy, Mr. Irons, headed out early Saturday morning, dressed in western gear, for a day of competitive cowboy shootin'.
A fun time was had by all.

http://youtu.be/39Kf3ELEOkA

Take a peek at Mr. Irons . . . you can tell that this varmint loves his shootin'!

http://youtu.be/tyW7I6VtRa0

The Missus is proud to mention that match winner/clean match, Fredrick Jackson Turner (alias), brought special attentiion to Mr. Legendary Leather's hand crafted leather recoil pad (mentioned in the previous post) with some mighty fine kind words . . . you're a good kind of varmint, Mr. Jackson!

RE-ACTION & RE-ADJUSTMENTS TO THE RE-COIL . . .

How many of you varmints have had to deal with bruising from the recoil on your rifles? Ouch! Those of you with a little sense up in yer "cowboy shootin' pea-brains" have probably adjusted to the problem by adding a recoil pad to your rifle. Well, Mr. Legendary Leather has designed one for his Marlin 1894.

This one is more decorative than resourseful, however it does include a nice leather piece at the butt end that can be fitted with extra padding to serve its purpose.

Now that he has completed his prototype, Mr. Legendary Leather hopes to create a design that will fit the more commonly used Winchester 97.

BELLY UP you varmints! It's almost like "dressing up" yer rifles for playtime!