Saddle maker shares secrets of trade

    Nick Reed loves to explore the great outdoors on horseback. Reed lives a few miles northeast of Washington where he keeps a dozen riding animals, namely six horses, four mules, a donkey and a stud pony. For many years, Reed has crafted chaps, chinks and bridles. In the 1990s, Reed decided to combine his affinity for horses and his leatherwork and began making saddles. He has not slowed down since then and has gone on to produce other leather wares such as cell phone holders.

    Reed grew up with horses and has always had an interest in equestrian affairs. In 1993, he began making articles of clothing to wear while riding. For the first few years of his hobby, he did not receive any instruction whatsoever. 

     ?I taught myself all the way up to saddle school,? said Reed. ?I went to saddle school when I was 37 years old.?

    Reed turned his attention to saddle making in 1996. He said he has taken private lessons from a handful of makers, who have given him quite the education in saddle making. Reed remembers paying a pretty penny for training he received four years ago.

    ?I went to a private maker for training in 2006,? he said. ?The training cost me $400 a day. Not many people are dedicated enough to spend $400 a day to learn how to make a saddle.?

    Reed said he trained for four or five days, but was not allowed to touch anything in the maker?s shop.

    ?I had to take notes and pictures and film,? said Reed. ?It was worth it. I became a better maker because of it.?

    Reed was in his shop Tuesday afternoon working on ornaments for chaps. He said that he wets the leather first so that it will take an impression when he hits it with a punch, or stamp. He takes a stamping tool with a head about a quarter-inch in diameter and pounds it into the leather. He does this repeatedly across the piece of leather until the eye-catching pattern is complete. Reed dries the leather with a hair dryer to lighten its dark brown color.

    Although Reed said he isn?t training an apprentice, that doesn?t mean he works alone. Reed?s wife Sue spends time in the shop, too, using punches to adorn the cowhide with floral and barbed wire patterns. 

    The pattern Reed puts on the leather can also be done with a machine press, but Reed says he can tell the difference between his work and the work of a machine. 

    ?The quality is much better when it?s done by hand,? he said.

    Reed said that his favorite part of making saddles and horse-riding accessories is the process of putting all the pieces together.

    ?I enjoy the construction the most,? he said. ?I like making the pieces fit, just like a carpenter.?

    Reed said his work is similar to carpentry in that it requires attention to detail and an imagination.

For more, see our August 4 print edition.