Mandolin straps

[MonicaJacobson]

Hey all,

Here are a few pictures of some mandolin straps I just made. I made one for our mandolin (mandolins, I should say -- is it possible to own only one mandolin?) first, and I think it's pretty comfortable, but I don't have much to compare it to, as I've never used a strap before this one. Now, when I was doing research prior to making these, I did search a little through mandolin cafe and noticed that a lot of people prefer shoestrings, which is actually quite smart. There was even a mention of a piano wire?! And as such, I'd welcome any feedback from all of you long-time mandolin players and strap users!

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[Bill Snyder]

A nosy question. What is your connection to Martin?

[MonicaJacobson]

Martin who?

Just kidding -- I'm his wife. In fact, I'm the one he made the dragon mandolin for 8-9 years ago. I'm fairly certain he only married me to get it back. So what does that mean for me now that his newest one sounds better than the dragon one? Scary thought, let me tell you.

P.S. I've been spying on all of you over his shoulder for a while.

[GTison]

I'm in want of that jade colored one. I love that color. I like flat straps. I made mine out of scrap leather, with a thong on the end. the others are very nice too. PM me if you would like to sell these.

[Bill Snyder]

Monica, my first post on this forum was a question about that dragon-hole mandolin. I posted under the username Curious because I was getting ready to build a mandolin and I was curious about how he had arched the top on it.

[Ron McMillan]

Nice work, Monica. I make my own straps, some of them from leather - but being absent of your artistic talents, I have to settle for a much more plain look.

ron

[Ivan Kelsall]

I'm with GTison - The Jade green one is very beautiful,& i love the 'Native American' (?) theme,
Ivan

[MonicaJacobson]

Ha! Small world! Poor guy, he was stuck without a shop for five years after we got married. It was terrible.

Now that you know, did you make the mandolin?

[MonicaJacobson]

Thanks for the input, Ron, Ivan, and GTison! We just splurged at the leather shop yesterday and bought huge sides of chrome tanned leather for a shop-apron (which I've promised to make Marty for Christmas) and other things. This stuff is significantly softer, and would make beautiful braided leather straps.

I'm talking to myself. What I mean to say is that you guys should avoid going into a leather store at all costs. I imagine you have lots of other uses for your money without getting sucked into a new hobby.