rhm

Okay, I haven't done this before, so let's see how it goes. Might be a disaster. I'm an optimist. You?

I have this saddle here, that I recovered this morning (details below) and am ready to decorate. I'd like to try freehand embossing something new and interesting. Do you have an idea? I'm thinking $125 for the finished saddle, with brass rivets, embossed any way you like.


Okay, so for more details... the whole story is that I didn't go to work on account of the snow today and was working on this saddle this morning in between procrastinating other stuff. It is now unfinished, wet and floppy, held to the frame with stainless steel screws, ready for rivets, final shaping of the leather, and any decoration. The decoration could be... anything. I've been playing with freehand embossing leather lately, and was thinking of some of the possible designs... running wolf? naked lady? your college mascot? I'm more interested in your ideas than in my own. I also have pretty good copies of several classic saddle stamps: an early Italia one (looks like an elliptical Brooks stamp); Frejus; Sprint (as seen on old Schwinns); Lohmann (as seen on pre-war German bikes); Ideale; Norman; maybe others I've forgotten about.

If there's a whole lot of interest, and a whole lot of interesting ideas for designs, I'll chose the idea I like best. If all the ideas are bad, I reserve the right to reject them all (Dallas can explain).


The frame is a black Brooks 'standard' type from the 60's or 70's, so like what's on a standard width B.17, B.15, Wrights, Lycett, etc. But I have modified it in three ways: I tilted the cantle plate forward, bringing more curvature to the top (so more like a Professional type shape) and I pounded the sides of the cantle down a little, reducing the width a little (it was 6 1/4", now more like 5 3/4"); I straightened out one of the bends in the bottom of the rails, with the effect of tipping the nose downward and lengthening the whole thing by about 1/4"; and I changed the tension bolt to one with an allen head, so to tighten the saddle you can use an allen wrench from the front.

The frame has bag loops without eyelets, like a recent Brooks saddle; I can add eyelets like an old Brooks saddle ($15 extra), or cut the loops off entirely. Your call. I can even do big pounded out copper rivets but that will delay the process until I can work outside ($25 extra).

rhm

Oh, and if you don't know what I mean by 'freehand embossing' here's an example, the first one I tried, a few weeks ago:





Traditional leather embossing involves making pretty deep cuts into the surface of the leather to emphasize certain edges; I don't make any such cuts for fear of structurally weakening the leather. The design is made entirely by selectively pressing down the leather. Mostly that means pressing down the background and shaping the edges of the foreground. If you're wondering "but how will it hold up?" well, so am I! The design will presumably lose detail if the saddle gets soaked, but should not disappear completely. We shall see.

sloar 

Nice work! I tried my hand at leather carving with a saddle I made for a triumph chopper I built. Not an easy craft. Well done sir!

Essthreetee

Dang Rudi, if I had any extra money I would have you do it with my avatar. But alas...someone will get a cool unique saddle.

unworthy1

a swallow on a "swallow"...very nice and artistic too! My Dad was quite an avid leather carver/embosser (hobbyist) in the old classic Western style of stylized floral stuff you'd see on practically every (Western) saddle or holster...ad naseum...
I never took an interest in that part of the hobby, but DID do some "hippy" leather work as a kid and have inherited his tools.
Now I'm kind of toying with the idea of learning to do the "floral" style I never liked as a Yout since I think it might be a pretty grippy surface treatment on a Brooks saddle, and have yet to see one done that way (though there MUST have been, it's so obvious)
Anyhow, I digress.
a Brilliant offer for somebody to accept and sure to be a future heirloom for the lucky (and wise) customer who takes it.

noglider 

I've always been a fan of naked ladies.

Up to 105 already? Maybe it should go on a 105-equipped bike.

By the way, I was at the opening festivity of Nomad Cycle in Long Island City, and Damon mentioned he'll be selling your saddles.

gaucho777 

Me, too. We're still talking "floral design" right? The Belladonna lily? Umm...never mind.

Rudi, the embossed bird saddle looks incredible--as does all your work. Hope we get to see how #105 turns out.

pastorbobnlnh 

How about an embossing of a gas hose filling handle enclosed in a circle with a line through it?

TimmyT 

Or here's an idea, for the jet propulsion crowd:

rhm

Naked lady it is. I'm glad we have a consensus.

noglider 

Wait, I thought you were going to wait until you have a customer before you choose the design. No?

Henry III

How can you argrue with a naked lady?

rhm

That was the idea, but the idea was half baked. When i posted the first photos, as I said, the saddle was wet and ready to be decorated. I waited as long as I could, but if I keep it wet too long the leather is probably going to start to mildew and eventually rot. Having a little time, I started the embossing yesterday evening.

indeed, arguing with the lady would be the last thing on my mind!

The real pushback, if any, will come from those who take issue with the objectification if the female form. I won't be arguing with them either.

nlerner

I would have voted for the Keep on Truckin' dude.

David325

Final result should be interesting...

rhm

Here's a preview. Sorry 'bout the crummy photo; cell phone camera, artificial light, what do you expect. As the leather dries it will take finer tooling, but it's a tricky medium.

pastorbobnlnh 

@rhm, your talents seem to be never ending. Reminiscent of the art work on the front of WWII bombers.

Maybe you should change up your motto just a bit: "Soft porn on Old Saddles"

Just possibly, in order to keep your street creed legit, maybe a naked man on the other side?

Henry III

...and the party comes to a stretching halt.









Hahaha.

ThermionicScott 

I was gonna say, you guys are missing a golden opportunity to cajole Rudi into having to stamp something really awkward onto this saddle!

rhm

For anything really awkward, I would require payment in advance. But frankly, and realistically, it is very hard to make me do something I don't want to do. I wish it were otherwise; but things that don't interest me just don't get done.

ThermionicScott 

I'm very much the same way -- life becomes a way of finding paths you're interested in taking in order to get necessary things done.

Do you have a gallery of all your saddles to date? I didn't see one on the A New Vintage link.

noglider 

Excellent work, Rudi. Big smiles here.

Have you shown this to Damon?

crank_addict

Rudi- As always, great workmanship!
PM sent

TimmyT 

rhm = rock hard manhood

Lascauxcaveman 

Hmm... I never really though of it, but now that bring it up, the shape of a Swift saddle is kinda reminiscent of a... Well, esp for you guys that have to have the nose of the saddle tilted way up