Back in the day it was common to take a knife to your new Brooks saddle and trim any unnecessary leather away, a process known as 'blocking'. Some went at it with more vigour than others and some even took a hammer to the cantle to give it more of a curve; I think that's where the term blocking came from as you first shaped a block of wood on which to place the cantle when you hammered away at it.
I have a couple of blocked saddles that I bought that way but yesterday I did my very first own. While researching the process I found just a few examples on the internet but I'm sure some of the esteemed members of this forum have their own and I for one would love to see them. I'll start by showing you mine. Some will remember the saddle from the thread I started, called
Darkening a New Honey Brooks
This was how it looked after sanding and dying:
[IMG]
IMG_3391 by
Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]
After cutting the leather back to the cantle:
[IMG]
IMG_8724 by
Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]
From behind, after sanding the surface - the crooked badge:
[IMG]
IMG_3374 by
Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]
Now - no crooked badge
[IMG]
IMG_8725 by
Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]
From the side:
[IMG]
IMG_8726 by
Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]