LONE STAR CUTLERY -HOUSTON, TEXAS presents

"BRANDING TIME"

5th in series of 6 dedicated to The Texas Cowboy

LIMITED EDITION OF 300

CONDITION: New Old Stock. No signs of use, has original edge. Comes with the original box and display card. Has oxidized over time and will benefit from a polishing 

"Branding Time," a one-blade lock back, made in Solingen, Germany, 440C stainless, brass liners, nickel silver bolsters, rose colored bone handles and is serial numbered on the bolster.

This is the prelude to the end. Cattle are rounded up from all the bushes, creek bottoms and high places. Much time is spent herding cattle to one central location for branding. Hot, dusty, hard work—not an easy life. Cowboys haze a bunch of cattle into corral where a couple of mounted hands rope and tie with piggin string, then the man with red hot branding iron slaps the brand on hip of cattle. Brand identifies the cattle. Brands were often changed by cinch ring artists; the cinch ring was taken from the saddle, dropped in fire till red hot, then new brand was traced over the old one.

Sometimes at branding time other ranchers had reps on location to pick out cattle they owned. Often a dispute over brand would arise if it looked like it had been changed. At times, to settle the dispute, the steer was killed and skinned and the original brand would show from inside the skin. As a bonus for doing this, a good meal was provided for a few days. Hot, dusty work-tempers short-oft times fights would erupt, if a cowhand thought another not pulling his share of the work load. This was not a pleasant time for the weak at heart. One must be tough-long days, short nights, smell of burning hair and bellowing of cattle. Inhuman? Perhaps, but in those days there were no modern paints or chemicals as are used today—no metal tags available-had to make do with what they had.