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  #17 Chip Merchant

  Chip Merchant-

  Chip and his family live in Beavercreek, Oregon, where he enjoys building bits and spurs and various other silver pieces.  Chip has been blessed with good mentors and making good friends along the way.  Chip attended two Ernie Marsh workshops and an engraving class with Diane Scalese.  Chip is extremely thankful to have been given the knowledge and tools from these expert craftsmen.

  Chips goals are to create traditional one of a kind pieces that are of exceptional quality.  Chip challenges himself to improve on each piece he designs, engraves and creates.  Function and quality craftsmanship are the two elements that Chip strives to have in every piece he creates so that the gear he builds will be passed down for many generations to come.

  Auction Ended
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  #14 Barak Freeman

  Barak Freeman-

  Barak Freeman is a self-taught silversmith who originally became interested in silverwork as a teenager.  He wanted nice gear but couldn’t afford it on his cowboying wages so he started reading silversmithing books, watching old VHS tapes and learning through trial and error.

  Barak likes to produce functional pieces that can and will be used.  He would rather see his work hanging on someone’s horse than hanging on a wall.  He especially enjoys doing inlay work on his bits.

  He currently lives in Spring Creek, Nevada with his wife and two young sons.  He owns and operates his own trucking company and enjoys spending time with his family, roping, riding colts and teaching his kids.

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  #16 Lane Cremer

  Lane Cremer-

  Lane is from Big Timber, Montana where he is a full time rancher and builds knifes bits and spurs in his spare time.  Lane got his start building spurs out of rasps in college and became fascinated with the art aspect of California style gear. It wasn’t too long after his interests peaked when he bought an engraving machine and started scratching up steel. Over the years he had the privilege to learn from some of the best makers in the business: Ernie Marsh, Wilson Capron, Dave Alderson, Shawn Didyoung, Eddy Mardis, and Russell Yates. In the past couple of years, he has become fascinated with the forging of Damascus steel, so he bought a log splitter and modified it into a forging press for making steel. Lane is constantly trying to push the boundaries of his abilities, but his main priority has always been to build high quality, fully functional pieces to last for generations to come.

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  #21 Tell Deatrich

  Tell Deatrich-

  Tell has been a full time rancher since 2015 and he is able to work in his shop during the winter months.  Tell generally makes knives but has started engraving in recent years.  Building western jewelry and gear has mostly been an exercise in engraving, though he has had a long time interest in building bits and spurs.  The artistry involved in creating functional pieces that are pleasing to the eye is a great challenge.  Tell enjoys seeing other makers tackle the artistry aspect and he also enjoys this challenge himself.

  The 2023 bit entry was challenging, but he wanted the viewer to recall the original diamond shape that was prominent in the original Garcia bit.  Keeping this bit traditional Tell also wanted to have his own original style in his design.  The border of the concho reflects the modified diamond shape and the slight engraving on the cricket.  It was also important to have the viewer be reminded of the crescent moon as they look over the mouthpiece and the rein chain stirrups.

   

  It should be noted that the mouthpiece is 5 1/8^th inches wide.

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