Diego

I spent the last couple days of last week helping some friends move cattle from one allotment to the next. I didn't think to take my camera so no pictures. It felt real good to get out in the hills on horseback. I rode Diego both days and he did well. He is turning into a real nice horse. The only problem I had with him is he threw a shoe and I had to try and stay out of the rocks on the last day. This coming Wednesday I'll be doing a clinic for the Cassia County 4-H Working Ranch Horse Program. I'll have about 10 young riders eager to learn to work a cow. It will take most of the day. I think I'll take Diego as a demonstration horse. It should be fun.

This post looked pretty bare with no photos so I turned Diego out into the arena and snapped a few pictures of him. As you can see he is a thick well built horse with a good hip. He was easy to start and has been fun to work with. He has progressed quickly in his training, has a pleasant personality and is eager to please.

 Diego's registered name is Colonels Double Oak. He is by an Equistat Leading Reined Cow Horse Sire, Colonels Oak, and out of the mare, Double Nita. Nita is a full sister to the National Reined Cow Horse World Championship Snaffle Bit Futurity Finalist (5th place) Santana Dry. Although he is certainly bred to be a show quality Reined Cow Horse, I have not shown in any Cow Horse Events since 2005. I have kept and trained him as a horse for pleasure- to trail ride, to do ranch work on, and to just have fun with. Diego turned 6 years old this spring.

 His full sister was my most successful show horse, Miss Colonel Nita. I won the 2005 Intermountain Reined Cow Horse Novice Non Pro Snaffle Bit Futurity Circuit Championship riding her. We placed in the money at every show we entered that year. Diego is the same quality of horse as his sister.

I originally intended to ride him until he became a finished bridle horse in the Great Basin Buckaroo Tradition and sell him, either privately or at the Red Bluff Bull and Gelding Sale in California. He has become such a nice horse that it is going to be tough to let him go. To complicate matters, my 12 year old granddaughter is becoming a good rider- she will need  to 'step up' from the old mare to a better horse soon. She has been trying out Diego and his 3/4 sister, a mare we call Tornado. After the County Fair in August we'll decide which horse she wants to continue with and consequently if I'll consider selling Diego.

Copper Plum

Thankfully I have been real busy for the last 3 weeks. The first three days of last week I worked on three knives. Two were consigned to the Copper Plum, a handmade jewelry and clothing boutique in Burley, Idaho. One of the owners asked if I could make something appropriate for Father's Day. So I made a Nessmuk Outdoor Knife with a reclaimed Oak Handle and a Drop Point Hunter with a Buffalo Horn handle. I built a basketweave pancake style sheath for the Nessmuk and a full coverage pouch style sheath for the Drop Point. Both knives turned out real nice and they are confident they can get them sold.

Finished this up last weekend for a graduation gift. The Father of the graduate was literally waiting for me to take it out of the engraving ball.

Nessmuk Knife

The Nessmuk knife was developed in the 1880's by George Washington Sears, an outdoor writer who wrote for FORREST AND STREAM, the predecessor of today's FIELD AND STREAM magazine. Sears wrote under the pen name of Nessmuk, a native american friend and outdoor mentor, specializing in canoeing and camping subjects. Sears was not very satisfied with the large Bowie and sword type knives of the era so he developed a shorter broad blade with a curved edge. This knife excelled at camp chores, skinning and field dressing game, and food preparation.

Although this knife is based on the Nessmuk knife Sears developed, I have taken advantage of modern materials to make it. I start out with a piece of 154 CM stainless steel. 154 CM is one of the premier knife steels made today. It does not tarnish or rust, it is tough and holds an edge very well. The handle, made from black linen Micarta, is one of the best handle materials made. It does not absorb water, crack, chip, swell or flake like many natural materials will. Plus the layers of linen in the Micarta gives it a nice appearance. This is just a tough, attractive, well balanced knife that is nearly maintenance free. I haven't been making these for very long but it has proved to be the most popular knife I've made.

 

I've been including a tooled pancake style leather sheath with this knife. This style of sheath holds the knife tight against the body so it does not flop around. With it being canted back 45 degrees, it holds the knife up out of the way while riding horses or driving but still gives good access to your pocket.

Pill Box

Feels good to get to spend more time out in the silver shop since I've finished up the kitchen remodel. Just finished up a little pill box.

This one is 1 inch in diameter and 1/2 inch tall. I hand engraved a flower and leaf motif on the lid. You could actually put pills in it I guess but the person I made this for will use it to put her children's teeth in while they wait for the tooth fairy to come. How many more uses are there for a little sterling box?

Kitchen

I've been really busy this last month- that's the reason I haven't been posting lately. We (my wife and I) have been remodeling our kitchen along with trying to keep up with work and the horses.

I did a lot of the work myself and think it has turned out pretty well. We bought new cabinets and I put in the new floor, poured a concrete countertop and set the travertine and slate backsplash. This was my first attempt at setting natural stone tile. I really like the concrete countertop. I poured it in place and embedded crushed black glass and pieces of abalone shell in the top layer. After it cured for a week or so I ground and polished the surface with diamond grinding pads.

What do you think? I like it but what really counts is that my wife loves it.

Owyee Picture Jasper in a sterling setting. When I first saw this stone I knew it would make a very nice pendant. I used a sterling back and bezel with a twisted wire rope to set the stone. I thought it looked a little incomplete so I melted some scrap sterling into little balls and soldered them onto the edge. Sorry, this one is sold but I have several other nice stones I can make similar pendants from.