What is the purpose of an additional loop?
The additional leather loop on one of my handmade leather dog collars serves to hold the point of the dog collar tightly against the collar. The extra loop is the one on the right of the picture, after the dee ring. It is stitched in place and blocked square. It make the collar look nicer by not leaving the point flapping around. It can also help if you have more than one dog that like to chew one another's collars.
Australian nut bridle leather and so...
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How about treating your dog to a handmade plaited leather dog collar from Oakside Saddlery. It's not even too late for Christmas to place your order for a bespoke leather dog collar.
My plaited leather dog collars are made from a single piece of Oak Bark Tanned Bridle Leather. This one is full grain London Tan colour from J&FJ Bakers in Colyton. I use a mystery braid to make these leather dog collars. A mystery braid has no cuts across the leather nor any joins to weaken the collar. Have a loo...
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An option on my handmade leather Sighthound Collars is to have the inside lined and padded. This padding can help to protect a sighthound's long neck when they are on the lead.
I use a soft leather to line the inside of the leather dog collar. This is stitched by hand to the collar. In this collars case the dog collar has also been lined with a thick layer of neoprene between the two pieces of leather. This further reduces pressure on your dog's neck.
Handmade from Black Oak bark tanned Bridle ...
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So you have just got your new furry friend and need to treat them to a new dog collar. Once you start looking around you realise that there are a vast array of dog collars to choose from. From high visibility collars, to rope, chain, to leather. Each of these collars comes with their pros and cons.

Now this may sound strange but for a puppy I would recommend finding a collar with a lot of adjustment that your dog can grow in to. No matter how much you look it up and think how big there a...

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Any dog, Any size!


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Fed up with a long, flappy, end on your lovely handmade leather dog collar?
Then simply opt for the additional loop option and I will hand stitch an extra leather loop after the dee ring. This loop keeps the point tightly against the collar and prevents it from spoiling your pets perfect pose for that excellent photograph.
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Personalisation of any item is a good thing! And how better to express this than by ordering handmade.

Colour

The three leather dog collars above are; from left, Dark Havana, Black, and Australian Nut.Dark Havana is a dark brown coloured leather, Australian Nut has a reddish hint to it, and black is, well, black! 

Stitching is carried out by hand and can either blend in or contrast. So above we have brown stitching on a dark Havana collar, Yellow stitching on an Australian Nut collar, and on the...

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The point when making leather is the part of a belt or strap that passes through the buckle. There are a variety of designs and styles that a Cordwainer can use, and sometimes traditional methods dictate what style of point a strap should have. Nowadays, on leather belts and the like, this is just a case of personal preference.

There are two styles of point that I use and both are traditional designs.

Cathedral Point

The cathedral point, or harness point, is probably the most common point end in...

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Measuring your dog for a slip collar

The measurement that I require to make your leather handmade slip collar is not the same as a traditional collar. This is due to the way that a leather slip collar fits on your dog. As a slip collar does not open it needs to be able to pass completely over your dog's head without pinching or rubbing.

To measure you will need;

• A fabric tape measure,

• and your dog of course!

Simply take your tape and measure around the largest part of your dog's head....

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The Sighthound Collar

A sighthound is a type of hound that catches its prey by using shear speed and agility. It uses, as the name would suggest, its keen vision to keep this prey in sight at all times. Sighthounds have a long, lean, and flexible body; long legs and neck, and a deep chest. This all comes together to create the perfect, high-speed, hunter.

Breeds of dog associated with being a Sighthound include;

• Greyhound

• Whippet,

• Lurcher

• Afghan Hound

• Borzoi

• Wolfhound

• Saluki

To name but a few.

Sighthoun...

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Plaited collar

My plaited dog collars are made from English Bridle leather, the pre-eminent leather available. It is hard wearing, long-lasting and has an excellent finish. My plaited leather collars are available in either Black, Dark Havana, or Australian Nut Bridle leather with the entire collar made from a single piece of leather, with no joins in the plait.

Buckle

The buckles that I use are either; solid brass roller buckles or stainless steel West End Buckles. I use stainless steel West En...

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Dog Collars have been in use by mankind for thousands of years. Images can be found in Ancient Egyptian paintings dating back to 3500BC. These collars were made from leather and had the dogs name on them. The Ancient Greeks used dogs to protect their livestock and used large spiked collars. The Ancient Romans were devoted to their dogs, and collars have been found with with messages in them showing appreciation to their dogs.

Dogs have been used, and sadly abused, by humans for many years; hu...

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Hi all,

My name is Simon, I am the Cordwainer at Oakside. My two websites are www.oaksidesaddlery.co.uk and www.oaksidebelts.co.uk. I specialise in hand stitching heavy English Bridle leather and making bespoke leather dog collars and leads, horse bridles and hand made leather Belts.

I hope to be able to use this blog to inform you about some of the products that I make, give you an insight into leather and the skills that I use, and to also provide some advice to help you make an informed deci...
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