Osage County 'Living Legend' Bit & Spur Maker Still Hard At Work After More Than 50 Years

His career spans more than five decades, making bits and spurs for cowboys and cowgirls around the world.

Thursday, June 17th 2021, 3:05 pm



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In a little metal shop right outside Wynona, you’ll hear the sound of a handsaw before you ever step through the door. It’s where one of the world’s greatest bit makers is hard at work making bits and spurs for cowboys and cowgirls around the globe.

Many call John D. Israel a living legend. He’s been perfecting his craft in his little corner of Osage County for more than 50 years.

“I try to make [the bits] as comfortable as I can for the horses,” Israel said while sawing on a piece of metal.

A bit goes in a horse's mouth to help the rider communicate what direction they want it to go.

“You've got world champions of every discipline using his bits,” said Osage County cowgirl, Joni Nash.

Nash has one of the first bits John ever made. It was a gift from her dad when she moved from Georgia to Oklahoma years ago.

“He said, 'Well if you're gonna live in that part of the country, you're gonna need one of these.' And he gave me one of his John Israel's,” Nash said.

Not long after she moved, Nash met Israel in person and he quickly became one of her most cherished friends. They swap stories over coffee and eat a steak dinner in Barnsdall every Thursday night.

“John's a hero to a lot of people,” she said. “And a dear friend to so many. To know John is to love him and you won't find anybody to argue that fact.”

That's probably why his shop always full of people; visitors are always stopping by and if he’s not working in front of an audience.

“He don't even know how famous he is. He don't,” said Nash.

Israel sells to folks all over the world, taking orders through his flip phone or old landline telephone. And he’s never advertised because his work has always spoken for itself, oftentimes on the cover of national magazines.

“All them old [cutting horse] guys, they was awful good to me, they helped me, they used my bits and when on one comes out on front of that cutting horse Chatter, you couldn't get any better advertisement than that. No wonder I didn't ever have to advertise,” Israel said. “It just means a lot when you make something that somebody wants.”

At 81 years old, he still makes every bit by hand, sawing, hammering, welding and carefully inspecting each one.

“Every one I make, I think, 'this one's gonna be my best one,' every time I make one.”

Those who swear by John's craftsmanship all his bits are the best. And because he's an old cowboy himself, John knows what works.

“He's probably forgotten more about a horse than I'll ever know,” Nash said.

“During the 70s and 80s I'd ride horses in the day time, then make bits of evening and in them days I was making spurs, too,” said Israel.

He's famous for his spurs, as well.

“It's a cowboy's dream to have a pair of Israel spurs,” said cowboy Nick Carter.

Israel stopped making spurs a few years ago to focus on bit-making, so anyone who owns a pair knows the treasure they have.

“They’re real special. I worked all summer [in 1990] mowing his yards for these spurs,” said cowboy Nick Carter. “I was going to a big ropin' on the Fourth of July and you'll notice when the spurs was finished, 7-3-90. Just in time.”

A lot of kids around Osage County learned how to rope and ride at Israel’s place. They also learned what hard work looks like and what it takes to be a person of character and integrity.

“He's got a lot of good stories and he's done it all. You meet guys around here, and girls, too, and they'll say, 'Oh, I learned to rope at Uncle John's.' Cause everybody was welcome and he raised a lot of kids and everybody calls him Uncle John whether he is or not," Nash said.

These days John works in the mornings and makes about six bits a week, has a waiting list that might take years to get to and no plans of hanging up his hat.

“I don't think I'd make a very good retiree,” he said.

Pictures cover the walls of John's shop. They show his bits in action over the years and his customers-turned-friends. And while many of the photos are long faded, the legacy John's created couldn't be more clear.

“To say that he's a hero in his trade, yes. But he's the caliber of man that books are written about and you're fortunate to know one like him,” said Nash.

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