About as close to a western style as I've seen are the Unicanitor saddles with stitching patterns typically seen on cowboy boots. I once bought a late '60s Schwinn Paramount just for such a saddle, replaced the saddle with a plain Unicanitor and promptly resold the bike for exactly what I paid for it. Here's a (not so good) photo of the saddle on it's new home atop a Pogliaghi (cue Ennio Morricone music).
http://www.theracingbicycle.com/
Jay Van De Velde Seal Beach,CA
thteach@sonic.net wrote: Has anyone on the list ever encountered or created a leather bike saddle with ornate tooled patterns? I personally haven't seen any.
What I'm envisioning is something that is commonly done in the USA on western style belts, western horse saddles, and wallets. These tooled designs aren't necessarily be limited to those articles or western motifs.
Assuming the tooling doesn't affect the comfort of a bike saddle (and that might be a big assumption!) or the durability it seems as though it is an aspect of bicycle artistry that hasn't been given much attention.
If there isn't much to report then it might be an opportunity for Brooks or an independent craftsperson to be creative.
Todd Teachout
Hercules, CA