The seams, edges, back yoke, and pocket tops of this vest are all braided with 1/4" wide lacing cut from the same 4 oz. moccasin cowhide leather that the pieces of the vest were cut from - top quality, full grain leather that is the best I have ever found - thick, rugged, and tanned in the USA. Full grain means it has no (shiny) finish on it. It takes a clean hide for unfinished leather - finishes are often just used to cover scars, blemishes, etc.
Over the last 40 years, I've custom built hundreds of vests. You can see over 50 of them on my vest's home page. While they are all braided, that's pretty much where their similarities end. After seeing the many features I offer, folks contact me with their own ideas/designs and we discuss how I should build one for them. Each vest ends up truly being a unique, handmade, long lasting, one of a kind piece.
These smaller pictures of the vest are clickable for larger images.
here's a closer look of the pockets
the back yoke of the vest.
After the Don received his vest he emailed me the following response:
"Dave, I received the vest yesterday, and it's just as I hoped for. I think I mentioned in one of our early e-mail exchanges that I'll gladly pay for quality. The unknown is often whether or not quality will be furnished. I knew from you it would be, and it has. So, thanks for a real good job. I like it a lot, Don"
Check out these links to other braided leather things that I make and read my guest book, on my home page, to see what others have said about the leathers they have purchased from me.
