Making Custom Chinks
Making custom chinks is well worth the time.
As a high school social studies teacher, one of my favorite topics to teach is about cultures. Every fall I get a room full of squirmy freshmen, and my job is to teach them geography. When you think of geography, you may think about maps, landscapes, and locating the 7 continents. Physical geography certainly is one part of geography. The second half of geography is called human geography. It’s where you study the people of the world. Part of this aspect of geography is the study of how people live or culture. To teach culture, I break it down into two categories; folk culture and pop culture. Folk cultures are culture groups that do things based on history or tradition, and pop culture is living in a way that is popular at the current moment. Simply put, folk culture is, “we’ve always dressed this way,” and pop culture is that picture you look at 20 years later and say, “why in the world did I wear that!”
Horsemen around the world have developed unique horse cultures. No matter where men have utilized the horse, they have all had to overcome the same fundamental challenges. However, they all do it in their own unique way. The result is the distinct cultures we have today. All people created things like bits, saddles, and clothing suited for riding. However, each culture is unique in its answers to the same basic questions. One challenge horsemen have is to create clothing well-suited for the demands of living and working with horses. In some areas, this has led to the development of leather leg covers.
Most horsemen know that in America, the custom of chaps can be traced back to colonial Spanish people. Living and working in locations choked with brush and thorns, it didn’t take long for people’s pants to be cut to ribbons. As a result, people constructed leather leg coverings. Even relatively early on, these coverings took on different forms. There were armas, arimitas, or chaparejos. Over time, there emerged both full-leg and half-leg coverings. In some areas, chinks are one style that has become popular.
Today, lots of people who wear chaps or chinks don’t have to worry about thorns or bushes. However, they are still part of people’s customs. Whether for work or show, chinks or chaps are an important aspect of many people’s horse gear.
Personally, I wear both chinks and chaps. At the current moment, we’re caught in the middle of a pretty rough winter. During cold weather, I like to wear full-length leggings. I like them because they keep my legs warmer and keep the snow out of my boots. However, as things start to heat up, I’ll ditch them for a pair of chinks. Chinks are cooler and (I find) more comfortable. I can also move easier in them which is nice when doing my groundwork. Although I don’t live in an area with much brush, I still like something on my legs in general. For some reason or another, I wear out jeans terribly fast. Chinks help my jeans last longer, which is a plus.
Recently, I decided I needed a new pair of chinks. Although I could have bought a pair, I decided to make my own. Browse around this website, and you’ll discover I enjoy making my own gear. I find it not only ensures I get gear that I like, but that it builds skills in me that I can access for the rest of my life. My hope is that some of this content can encourage you to build skills and knowledge within yourself that you can take with you for the rest of your own life. I feel like this has been good for me, and hope it can help you.
If you are interested in making your own custom chinks, read on for a brief description of my crafting process. You may also appreciate the video below showing the process.
Materials
Initially, when I set out to make a pair of custom chinks for myself, I purchased a side of 4-5 oz. veg tan leather. However, after visiting with a friend of mine who is an exceptional leatherworker, he encouraged me to purchase a side of oil tan leather. There were a few reasons.
First, the oil tan is specifically tanned for items like chinks that will see exposure to all of the elements. Secondly, the oil tan is softer and more flexible than veg tan. Of course, this is more comfortable for a pair of chinks. Finally, I was going to have to oil the veg tan anyway. The downside of oiling with neatsfoot oil is that the item you oil can often become grimy and the residue will rub off on you and your clothes. Oil tan leather has none of those downsides, so it’s a great choice for a pair of chinks.
Fortunately, the stamped portions of the chinks still needed veg tan, so I had more than enough for the job. After getting my hands on the oil tan, I can say it was well worth the extra cost. It’s perfect for these custom chinks.
Another material that was special for this project was the template I used. The template I used came from Tandy. Although I didn’t use the template exactly, it did provide good instructions and gave me a really good starting place. I’d recommend it if you need a template.
There is a chance you’ll also need some hardware for your project. I bought the buckle and conchos from Jeremiah Watt.
Aside from the oil tan and template, the process takes only normal leather working tools and materials.
Process
The process of making your own custom chinks isn’t difficult. Chinks consist of just a few pieces. You have the body, the yoke, belt, side plates, and a few pieces for leg straps. After getting the pieces cut, you can do edge work like beveling, grooving, slicking, and punching your sewing holes. It might be worth noting that these steps are necessary for the veg tan. The oil tan doesn’t take the edge work nearly as well.
After that, you can stamp and carve the yokes and leg plate. This is where artistry really comes into play. Some people want highly decorative chaps, while others settle for a more modest appearance. Personally, I feel like my pair of chinks falls somewhere in the middle and I’m happy with how they turned out.
In addition to stamping and carving, you can also dress up your own custom chinks by dying, painting, and antiquing if you’d like.
With your veg tan ready to go, you’re ready to start assembling all the pieces. For my project, I assembled the parts in this order. First was the buckles and back cover that reinforce the chinks. Second was attaching the leg straps. For the style that I created, these were attached by conchos that also help attach the leg plates. Next, I sewed the leg plates into the chap body. After that, the yokes were also sewn in, incorporating the belt and buckle at the same time. After attaching a small length of leather across the front, I cut the fringe as was done.
If you’re like me, sewing is your least favorite part about leatherworking. Still, I know I want the chinks, so I can tolerate the process.
In the end, making custom chinks is not a bad way to invest your time. They don’t take an extraordinarily big effort, and they are something you can use for years to come. Whether you are wearing them for show, work, or trail riding, you’ll find chinks or chaps are still useful pieces of gear for active horsemen. Their utility is a big part of the reason they have stuck with the American West horse culture for so long.