TCAA 2025 Circle Santa Barbara Bit

This is my first time building a circle Santa Barbara style shank, even though it’s been around a long time. The varying panel sizes made it a challenge to keep the whole bit visually balanced. I usually start with a traditional foundation, then bring in ornamentation drawn from architecture, fine guns, and knives. On this one, I used fine silver and 24k gold inlays to frame the borders of the shank—those became the anchors for the design. I engraved the steel within those framed areas, and the top portion of the shank gave me room for more detailed English-style scrollwork.

The mouthpiece is a forged cathedral—a classic that’s stood the test of time.