Branding in South Dakota

My old buddy and king of the chap makers, Jack Gully http://kbarjleather.com Invited me up to South Dakota last week to attend a branding down on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation. I'm sure glad I went. Avery May and crew really had it going on. I have never worked in big crews like this before and it was quite a treat. We ran 7 ropers, and probably around 100 flankers all afternoon, all at once.
I'll have more pictures as I get them.

I can't thank the May family enough for putting me up(and putting up with Jack), it was the trip of a lifetime.

2 things about South Dakota: I never knew you could ride a horse in a straight line that far, and there are no thorns on the bushes. Quite different than I'm used to in Texas.

Knives

This one has a buffalo horn handle. The barbed wire stamp that Armoralleather added looked great.

Utility knives. 2 1/2, 2 3/4 and 3 inch blades. 125.00$ ea, plus shipping

A stacked handle, 5160/8670/15n20 damascus steel, 300.00$ plus shipping

Inlayed spurs

This set of spurs is a graduation gift. Inlay ed fine silver and buffalo nickels for decorations.

I really like the look of the inlay on a spur or a bit. Especially after it gets a little age on it. A little bit old timey maybe?  There is a lot of hand work involved, and I am not listening to a machine running might be another reason. Plus, there aren't many inlayed spurs floating around out there.

Pictures from the week

My daughter Jessica took these, I thought they were good.
 http://www.badaranch.com/Photography.html

https://www.facebook.com/BadARanch

Preg checking hiefers

Jessica, Joe,  Hillary, and I runnoft to a benefit sorting and roping Saturday. A cowboy and horse shoer friend of ours got kicked, breaking his leg, by an old gentle mare and is unable to work. We were all proud to help out and had a lot of fun.

Joe and Joe Paul

Low milage .....

one owner, used spurs.

I took these on a trade in for a different style set of spurs. They are 1018/nickel damascus steel, with buffalo nickels on the buttons. One inch bands, and an inch and a half shank. Inch and an eighth rowels.

500.00$ plus shipping
SOLD!

You can click the picture for a larger image, and email for more details.

Cows get in the darndest places

I moved a set of cows to another pasture the other evening, and noticed one laying down. My first thought was that it was one of my late calvers, or a heifer I had bought recently and didn't know was bred. After closing some gates, I went back and found her and discovered she had somehow tangled her self up in some cable. Most of it was around her horns and neck, but some how she had thrown a half hitch around a back leg so that the more she moved, the tighter the cable got around her neck. She was in bad shape. I called Kyle and told him where I was (remembering that my wife and chiropractor had both recently told me that I was getting a little long in the tooth for this foolishness alone), and he caught a horse. She proved quite a handful catch. We tied her down and started cutting cable and digging it out of the cuts, which were at least two inches deep all the way around her her neck, just below her head. We gave her 60cc's of la 200 to help the cause and turned her loose. This cable came off someones deer stand. It still had the "s" hooks and turn buckle on it and looked brand new. She could have gotten out and then gotten back in, or someone could have thrown it over the fence, who knows.

A damascus bit....

This bit was built with a 3/8ths" mouthpiece and a damascus hinge. 1018/nickel damascus steel and a fine silver inlay on the top edge. I also inlay ed copper bars on the mouth piece.

It's for sale. 550.00$ plus shipping

Clay Koenig and I finished these buckles this week end. They will be given away Saturday at the ranch rodeo in Baird, Texas.

Nate made knife salesman of the month with these two. He gets free parking on the front row, close to the door at the shop for the rest of April. Thanks Nate!

Giraffe bone handles

 Kyle headed out yesterday morning, his faithful dog at the ready.