Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding

During a one year stay I had the good fortune to stumble across a second hand bookstore where the library of Bruce Grant was for sale. Among the joys for a knot friend where the Ashley book of knots, the Encyclopedia of Knots and fancy ropework, Whips and Whipmaking, and more notably Leather Braiding and The Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding, both by Bruce Grant. To get your first impression of the subject by the authors own copies of the books is of course a trip in itself, but as the delicious shock subsided, the books continued to shine on their own. Using drawings, rather than photographs, is a superior way to guide the reader through apprenticeship of the art. This book serves the important purpose of preserving an old craft, and it does it well; the text is clear, and the development from the simple to the more complex eases the reader over all obstacles. This is the Ashley of leather braiding.

Bruce Grant shared his genius with the world by writing the "Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding. This book has text and illustration, for how the knots and plaits are constructed. Patterns also included for items that may have been lost forever if he never wrote them down.

Grant's survey of leather braiding is an essential reference for those interested in leather working, covering riatas, bosals, quertas, whips, fancy knots and more. He also covers methods of duplicating complicated knots from an extant piece. The book covers most of his volume _How to Make Cowboy Horsegear_.