Random Maker

Random Maker

 

M. Shelhart & Co. – A Father & Son Make Cowboy Leather in California.

 

If you ask Mike and Chad Shelhart the secret of creating solid leatherworks—gun rigs, chaps, saddles—they’ll tell you up front:  Listening.  Observing.  Taking classic designs and giving them a modern twist.

 

It’s a mix of old and new.

 

And it started back in 1974, when Mike Shelhart helped put on a Wild West Show (with CMSA Hall of Famer Phil Spangenberger) at the Great Western Gun Show.  He’d been looking for some authentic looking gunleather, but couldn’t find just what he wanted.  He dug around in some books and found one based on a Butch Cassidy model–and made his own (“I’ve still got it, buried around here somewhere”).  You might call it a life-changing event.

 

Jump ahead to 1994.  Mike and his teenage son Chad show up at a cowboy action shooting match in California, wanting to see what was going on.  “We looked at the gun rigs,” remembers Mike.  “And I turned to Chad and said, ‘We can build our own.’”

 

They did.  And when they showed up later at another match, carrying their own holsters, a guy saw them and wanted one for himself.  Well, things evolved from there:  “We went from a garage to a shop in Torrance, CA.  Then six years ago we moved out to Murrieta and put up another shop and got a little more automated with dye cutting machines and other production machines.”

 

M. Shelhart was born.  It was a pretty big change for a guy who spent 20 years as an exec in the computer industry; he’d gone from high tech to traditional craftsmanship faster than you can say “Roy Rogers.”

 

But for a guy who’d grown up on Roy and Gene Autry and John Wayne, it made sense.  And it also made sense to teach the craft to his son, who shared the fascination with the West.  He, too, was good at listening and observing.
The key, of course, is finding good leather.  Both Mike and Chad learned that early on.  M. Shelhart works with Hermann Oak, which has been around since the 1880s.  They mold the color in during that tanning process, which keeps the flexibility of the leather and avoids fading.

 

Then the Shelharts dye cut the holsters for consistency and precision.  But they mold them by hand, to give them a custom feel and look that can’t be matched by machines.

 

And Chad put all of that to good use back in 2002, when a friend introduced him to mounted shooting.  And just like his dad, he took a look at the gun rigs being used by the competitors and said, “We can build our own.”

 

Chad modified an action shooting holster—it was long, had too much leather and was hard to make a quick gun change at the barrel.  But he was a fast learner; he listened, he observed, and he gained insights from his own experience.  He kept refining the holster, improving it while keeping that classic look.  And as the rig got better, so did his times (he’s now a Level 3—Mike sticks to motorcycles).

 

The current model is the result.  Chad says, “The holsters are lined with a pigskin material which creates sort of a locking mechanism when you put the gun into the holster.  So the gun goes in securely, and it also comes out easy when you pull it.”
Father Mike adds, “The liner comes out and rolls over the edge of the holster, so if you don’t get it exactly in there it won’t split the holster or break the top down.  The holsters are molded rock hard.  And they’re molded around the trigger guard so you can get your finger in there and your thumb on the hammer.”

 

The belt fits right around the waist area, just above where the trouser belt sits.  It’s tapered and cinches from behind.  And the M. Shelhart rig has a holster tab in back, a piece of leather that is molded to the width of the belt and to the top of the flap that rolls over.  Once you’ve positioned the holster, it will not move.

 

The Ladies Mounted version has a Bronco belt system that provides greater support in the back that keeps the rig from moving up or down or to either side.  “Several of the ladies tell us that it helps their posture and is more comfortable to wear because it fits their body naturally,” says Mike.

 

For M. Shelhart, the idea is the same, whether it is mounted shooting or other holsters, saddles, or chaps:  “We’ve kinda created a hybrid style of holster.  It’s an authentic modern holster, I guess you’d say.  It relates back to the Old West, but its up to date on technology.  We’ll take a traditional stamping that might have been used back in the 1880s and we’ll convert that into an updated looking rig.”

 

More recently, M. Shelhart has gone into other products—especially chaps, which make up about 50% of their business.  And again, they use history as their guide; several shotgun chap models have the classic look and feel of the ones made by F.A. Meanea and J.S. Collins back in the 1880s.  There are also three versions of the legendary batwing chaps, which became popular around the turn of the century—and were worn by John Wayne, Ben Johnson and other great cowboys of the silver screen.

 

In fact, the Shelhart chaps have gotten their own big screen treatment, worn by Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson in Shanghai Noon. They’ve also been seen on television shows like Texas Ranch House (PBS) and Wild West Tech (The History Channel).  And, of course, they’re popular with folks in SASS and CMSA.

 

But no matter what they make—gun rigs, chaps, saddles, or various accessories–the Shelharts continue to learn by listening, observing and trying new things.  Mike says they’re perfectionists, always looking to better what they’ve got.  Yet they rely on the classic look of the Old West, something that’s hard to improve on.

 

For more information, visit M. Shelhart at mshelhart.com
 

 

Related posts:

1. Random Maker   Shasta Leatherworks California Maker Stitches a Different Kind...
2. Random Maker - Susan Henning Leather Susan Henning didn’t start out to make great gun...
3. Random Maker   Custom Leather with a Silver Twist Minnesota Leather...
4. Cactus Custom Saddlery   AN ARIZONA MAKER WHO’S CUSTOM MEANS COMPETITION  ...
5. Random Maker   An Engineer of Gunleather Dave Anderson revels in...
6. Random Maker   Gordy Alderson. Bit maker comes by his trade...
7. The Poppie Rig   Your Guns Will Not Fall Out!   Boy, does...
8. Random Maker   Lisa Bolin turns a love of horses into...
9. 11 Great Purveyors of Gunleather   Western Shooting Horse’s pick of the 11 Best...
10. Florida Hobbit Big Medicine Comes in a Little Package Named Sandy...