January 2023

Shop Talk

A Celebration of All Things Leather

Shop Talk1 min read
Shoptalk!
Editorial Director MISTY SHAW Editor DENYS MANNINEN Designer MICHELLE NELSON Advertising Coordinator/Office Manager SAVANNAH KELLER Accounting Manager NATHANIEL VORE ■
Shop Talk2 min read
Editor’s Note
While snow blowing my driveway the other morning, I had a thought. I remembered that I made a commitment to write an editor’s note for every single issue in 2022, something I hadn’t consistently done since we acquired ShopTalk! back in 2017. I asked
Shop Talk4 min read
Contributors
A writer and performer based in Texas, Gene Fowler has written for Cowboys & Indians, Oxford American, San Francisco Chronicle, True West, and many other publications. His books include Maverick, Border Radio, Crazy Water, and Metro Music. Nick Perno
Shop Talk1 min read
The Tandy Leather Craftool® All-In-One Airbrush
The Tandy Leather Craftool® All-In-One Airbrush is a great tool for detailed finishing. This gravity-fed brush is portable, rechargeable, and easy to operate right out of the box. Get yours today at your local Tandy store or online at tandyleather.co
Shop Talk3 min read
The 2022 Pendleton Leather Show: Growing and Evolving
It’s a show with history. The Pendleton Leather Show first started out as the Leather Crafters & Saddlers Journal Show – organized by Ferdco Sewing Machines; that was more than 20 years ago. Today, it’s one of the most beloved shows in the industry a
Shop Talk5 min read
Magnus’ Marketing Minute
Michael Magnus is an advertising professional who supports the growth of the leather industry through his marketing agency, Magnus Opus. Among his client partnerships are Silver Creek Leather Co., manufacturers of Realeather® Crafts and Lace, and Jim
Shop Talk4 min read
Disposing of Tools
The final installation in this series of articles is maybe the hardest to write, but could be the most important. What will happen with my tools when I’m done? Leather tools are a specialty tool and that brings some considerations into the mix. Leath
Shop Talk6 min read
The Hide Report
The Italian Association of Tanners UNIC held its general assembly in Milan on November 25th. During the meeting, they reflected and analyzed the current situation of the sector in Italy. At the same time, they defined some of the strategies that they
Shop Talk11 min read
Prosser Martin: Del Rio’s Cowboy Outfitter
The late Prosser Martin of Del Rio, Texas, first crossed my radar in the 1980s, when I read a book about Dr. John R. Brinkley, the border townʼs notorious Goat Gland Man and radio station tycoon of the 1930s. “Prosser Martin, the nationʼs most widely
Shop Talk18 min read
The Extraordinary Talent of Bill Knight
William “Bill” Henry Knight is widely considered one of the greatest stampers of all time. Due to family obligations, he cut his stamping career short, leaving leatherwork at the height of his craft, at age 40. But before he did that, within a conden
Shop Talk2 min read
Silver Dollar Jim
Prosser Martin often said the most expensive saddle he ever made, a $10,000 blue, silver-mounted beauty, went to Houston millionaire James West, aka Silver Dollar Jim. And it’s a pretty safe bet that of all of Prosser’s thousands of customers, Silver
Shop Talk8 min read
Back In The Saddle
Let’s jump back in time about 150 years. A great fire has turned Chicago into a city of ashes. The James Gang had robbed its first train robbery. Cowboys are driving thousands of cattle up from Texas to the railheads in Kansas. And Charles D. Cheaney
Shop Talk6 min read
Call Them ‘Botas’
Since his early teenage years, Ruben Cobos has been captivated by the beauty of well-crafted leather boots. “I learned bootmaking in Juárez, Mexico, when I was about 15 years old. My dad used to live in part of the city. I would walk to his shop,” he
Shop Talk6 min read
Dan Preston Passes
Daniel S. Preston passed away on the morning of October 14, 2022, in a hotel in Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. The former owner and editor of ShopTalk! magazine died as he had lived, a solitary man. By now you’ve realized that this isn’t going to be a “he
Shop Talk1 min read
How to Sharpen a Head Knife
• Sharpening Stones: Course, medium and fine.• Stropping film: Both 3 and 1 micron. To Start, establish an angle to sharpen the Head Knife blade. Recommended is a twenty (20) degree angle which is measured from the corner of the blade to the base of
Shop Talk3 min read
How Leaders Can Help to Improve Talent Retention
According to Brandon Hall Group’s study, Retaining Your Top Talent, less than one-third of organizations describe their efforts to retain top talent as successful. It’s not surprising, therefore, that fewer than 4 in 10 employers (38 percent) say the
Shop Talk2 min read
Classifieds
NEW SUBSCRIBERS WANTED. Now is the time to renew and see what you have been missing! Give us a call at (435) 565-6052, e-mail: savannah@burns1876.com or visit www.shoptalk-magazine.com. GREAT OPPORTUNITY. Burns 1876 is now hiring saddlemakers, bootma

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