PRAIRIE GROVE -- The leather saddles are gorgeous but Jim Harwell of Prairie Grove doesn't think of himself as an artist. He considers saddle making a craft and probably would refer to himself as a craftsman, if anyone asked.
Harwell, who has a farm called JJ & River Ranch on Shumate Crossing in Washington County, also owns a saddle business called Harwell Horse and Mule. In his large shop on the farm, he builds custom saddles with tanned leather and handcrafted workmanship. His workshop is filled with the rich colors of multiple saddles.
Harwell said he was a woodcarver and began messing around with making saddles more than 20 years ago. He discovered it was something he wanted to pursue. He began to learn all he could about the process and graduated from Outlaw Saddlery School in 1996, an intensive course that involved 10-hour days, six days a week for eight weeks.
Harwell worked in construction before he retired six years ago and at one time owned a tack shop in Fayetteville in the late 1990s. It closed because of financial reasons, Harwell noting it is hard to make a living with a tack shop unless you are very serious about the business.
Since he retired, Harwell said he works on saddles as needed and as much as he likes. He doesn't advertise his business, though he has a website for it. Mostly, his customers come through word of mouth and some business cards that he may hand out.
"I'm retired and I don't want to work for a living," Harwell said.
Building a saddle is a long, tedious process that involves lots of patience.
"Patience is the key. If you get in a hurry, you will mess up."
A saddle starts with an initial piece called a saddle tree, made out of wood. Harwell orders his saddle trees from Timberline in Utah and said his are made of real wood. Many saddle trees are made of rosin and Harwell describes that as a "plastic tree." He prefers real wood because it is stronger.
The saddle tree is covered with rawhide and Harwell spends time "skiving" the rawhide, smoothing off rough places and making sure the piece is smooth and flat. Up to this point, Harwell has put in about 15 hours on a custom saddle.
Next, Harwell works on the remainder of the saddle and he uses leather from cowhide or buffalo hide to make the saddle. He used to order elk for his saddles but said the Chinese are buying all the elk and it has driven up prices so that he can't afford it anymore.
His saddles are completely made of leather.
He estimates it takes about 100 hours of work per saddle, with the cost of materials ranging from $1,300 to $1,500. The basic price for a custom saddle is $2,500.
"It's not a cheap deal," he said.
While making a saddle, Harwell said he spends time teaching people about fitting a horse properly with the saddle.
"You want the horse to be as comfortable as he can be with someone sitting on his back," Harwell said.
Most of the saddles Harwell builds are half-seats and these became more popular following the 1990 movie Quigly Down Under set in Australia. His saddles usually weigh about 45 pounds but he just finished his first saddle for a donkey and it weighed 27 pounds. He guesses he has built 50-100 saddles during the past 20 years.
In addition to making a custom saddle, Harwell also repairs saddles and he makes other cowboy gear and accessories, such as chaps, chinks, saddle bags, bridles and breast collars. He also makes other items, such as gun holsters and knife sheaths.
Harwell said he likes saddle-making because obviously he enjoys doing things with his hands. Also, he likes making saddles because he knows how the saddle will be used and the purpose for each piece.
His goal, he said, is to make the perfect saddle.
"But I haven't yet."
General News on 07/22/2015