"Handmade Texas Legend"

Did you know there's a place in San Angelo Texas that makes

custom cowboy boots?

Recently my two younger sisters and I were privileged

to have a private tour of this unique place.

Meet Jason McClelland,

owner and our tour guide...

He is holding one of the books which records the measurements
and other specifics for each customer's boots.

Ostrich is one of many choices in types of leather. 

Alligator is another choice.
We found it most interesting that some of the leather
came from alligator farms where the alligators were fitted
with jackets to protect the leather from scratches or scars!

This is almost the beginning of the tour.
I missed taking a photo of the equipment that cuts the leather.
I didn't have my good camera,
but whipped out my cell phone and, with permission,
began to capture the rest of the tour with pictures.

 

Molds of many kinds filled the shelves.

Our guide is showing us how the designs
are sewn in each individual boot.

Special sewing machines are used, of course!

After the designs are sewn on...

...the boot is turned inside out...

These are "boot pullers"...

...which are needed to pull them"right-side-out" again.

We were shown many different phases of completion...

No wonder it takes about 18 months from when the initial
order is taken until it is completed!

Mr. McClelland points out what makes his boots different
from ordinary factory made cowboy boots.

Although it was on a weekend,
we were privileged to see a couple of people
working on their areas of expertise.

Sewing this area by hand gives the boot
reinforcement not found on routine boots.

It looked like hard work to me
to put that needle through the leather
and snug it tightly.

Guess what kind of leather this gray boot is...
It's elephant hide!
It felt soft and almost velvety to the touch.

Here Mr. McClelland is showing us how the heel size
is chosen and put in place.

This machine sands and polishes the heel.

Then the heel and sole are colored.

We've nearly finished the tour...

But wait...
One more important bit of information...
Each custom made boot has its own number...

...And that number is recorded in these books of records.

With that number, these boots can be repaired
for the life of the boot.

Wow!

That's almost as good as God's promise to the Israelites

when they were marching through the wilderness 

for 40 years on their way to the Holy Land from Egypt.

Deuteronomy 29:5 says,

"I took you through the wilderness for forty years

and through all that time

the clothes on your backs didn't wear out,

the sandals on your feet didn't wear out...

proving to you that I am in fact

GOD, your God."

Should you be interested in visiting this interesting place,

or in ordering a pair of these handmade boots,

here is the contact information:

Or you can click on this link:
Handmade Cowboy Boots

Many thanks to Mr. McClelland for taking the time to explain how this procedure is done.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour,

and I also hope I've gotten all my facts straight for this post!

With so much interesting information, 

it was hard to do it justice!

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