DoubleKCustomLeathercraft

I agree with the others. To add, pics will help a lot too

Totally appreciate your input. You bring up valid points. Yes he is picky, but easy going too, and he definitely uses some really nice high end custom shotguns, among many other types of firearms. Five figure guns that are specifically made to his measurements. I love his collections, but they're so far out of reach for someone like myself lol. I was thinking if using veg tan with leather hardener as an option. It was his suggestion to use the plastic in the first place, and handed me a couple small sheets to use. I do have to consider the thickness of it all coming together at the chargers because it's a friction mount, and I believe their original pistol l purpose was to be used with horn. I did and will tap and use matching brass set screws. I was wanting to find a better solution than plastic. I will glue, and stitch whatever I decide to go with for that reason. I made the first one in a way that build up shouldn't be bad but not impossible of course. It's going to happen some. I have to stitch it all together in a specific order to make any overlapping pieces fit as flat as possible. Making sure the overlap is like a roof, working from the bottom so that things will flow like water. Thanks for the suggestions

I really don't know myself. It's a completely foreign sport for me. I was behind the gun counter for 15 years, sold all the modern supplies for BP. I don't think I once had a costumer that was shooting bp shotguns. I know nothing about any of it though. If someone came in, they needed to know what they were looking for or I would get a coworker that knew a little more than nothing. This client here is really into the traditional black powder shooting and hunting. I believe he also does reenactments. I recently did a holster for his handgun that he was fairly specific on. Match the period specific.

I'm sure I know what you're talking about, but cannot think of what is called offhand. I'm thinking if using this white plastic sheeting I forgot I had leftover from a doing a shower upgrade for my (half) sister's mother. It'll take her to get it into a funnel like shape that tight. If not, then a poly pattern sheet that I have. I need it to be thin and light at the same time as form fitting, while also being able to stitch it all together. That's why I decided to go with a thinner sheet plastic that what I original thought.

It's designed for both shot and powder. I think I'll end up using a plastic sheet similar to the thickness of a milk jug. I can manipulate that into the right shape funnel which means no pattern adjustments. It's already a difficult build, so I'm gonna try and keep any modifications easy. I'm lost when it comes to black powder and the accessories, but it works and he loves it enough that he wants to get one made for his son (eventually). The prices of materials have jumped significantly more than either of us expected. He's gotta get funds together. In the meantime I'll be making the final of five identical holsters. The whole family is full of collectors and his dad gifted them all colt woodsman 22 pistols.

You're not wrong. One side holds powder and the other holds shot. He's an upland hunter and this works well for the shotgun I guess. I know little about black powder. When I made the first one, I did a lot of research along with digging through my stacks of patterns. I dunno where I got it, but i found a single shot snake pattern in my collection and went from there. He really loves it. Now he wants to get one made for his son, when the funds come in. I started above about the sticker shock we both got haha

Thank you all for the suggestions. I think I've figured out what I'm going to do now. A plastic sheeting will probably work best. I can make it the right shape without having to make any adjustments to the pattern. For now though, the order has been postponed. I can't blame him. Those shot chargers are 110 bucks a piece now. When I made his first one in the picture they were only 70 bucks a piece so he got a little sticker shocked. I did too lol He's getting a holster for his colt woodsman first. This will be the final of 5 identical holsters. His dad and brothers all have the same model colts.

Thank you. It threw the centering off a little, but not a bad as I expected it to. The customer was made aware of this, and he didn't seem to mind much. Some people are easy going and don't let the small thing bother them. He's that type of person.

Nice. Got it done, looks pretty good. Having lined pouches for blackpowder and shot I feel your pain keeping things all together and lined up. Not sure what you used for lining here? I ended up using waxed cotton canvas to keep things moving freely and mostly waterproof, although the bison was fairly water resistant anyway. Nothing, I mean NOTHING sticks well to waxes. I used heat and tried to clean the wax off the edges, and that didn't really help. But I didn't need to punch stitch holes through the canvas. I figured that out after an hour or effing around trying to get things lined up so I could punch everything. The needles go right through haha. So in the end it wasn't too bad, but it was difficult none the less. Ensuring there's at least a folded edge so the stitches don't pull through, while keeping it all nice and flat against the leather (glues and cements don't work) was really frustrating and I think I went through double the material before I got it right. Any kind of pouch with loose lining is a nightmare to make imo

I just got an order for a double shot snake. I've made one before, for the same costumer but it's been a few years. Definitely not a very common item, even at all the black powder supply companies online. There's no need to make any changes to my pattern, but he suggested using something on the transfer from the shot bag to the spouts to help keep their shape. I was thinking something like a funnel but not a thick piece of plastic. Was looking for something thinner but crush resistant. I have no clue what to call these tapered tubes other than that, tapered tube. That's not working for me on Google and was curious if anyone has any recommendations where to start? I could go with plastic sheeting but i think that'll crush. Anywhere here's a picture. The area I'm taking about is between the 2 powder/shot spouts connection and the main body. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

DG is one of the biggest influences to my work. His measurements for a belt haven't failed me either, when the right info is given. Nailed it! 😆

It's something I think we all end up having to deal with at some point. I've had my share of "improvising" several things. It usually end up being a complete hassle, and disappointment because it wasn't part of the plan. Sometimes it'll look really nice and sometimes you wish you could just throw it in the fire pit. I hate improvising because it usually doesn't look like the quality I like to represent. Miscommunication is probably the biggest culprit. I know with belts, there's no standard to measure. Some makers measure one way while others measure it right...Oops I mean measure another way lol. Kids are the hardest because they're growing, and sometimes it's fast. I've only made a couple belts for kids. Not many people want to spend hundreds on a belt for a kid that's going to outgrow it. I add length so that holes can be added while they grow. And I know the belts I make will last a lifetime if not abused

Use contact cement to glue the two pieces together. It will make everything stay together longer, and make stitching easier. I try not to have any "square" stitch lines. Ovalsare more appealing to the eye. On the sweat shield (back part where the grip rests) I wound trim back so that your hand can grip the grip without interference. You're off to a good start. Nice thing about leather, it lasts and ages well. Keep it up.

Just as an addition here. They do make a 45 acp rivet like the shotgun shell. I know it's got the 270 winchester rivets on Amazon, but i think the 45 acp was from weaver or tandy. You'll see it on this holster.

I recently posted a tooled belt that I made it is English bridle leather. Well my client gave me his pants size instead of his belt size. I didn't question this because I had made him a belt for his son recently and thought he had given me his belt measurement. Y'all know what they say about assuming. Another lesson learned, question everything. He told me 30" which I thought was a little short but he does have a smaller frame. I verified twice before I cut the blank to length and went to work. When I delivered it to him, it was way short. About 4" too short and this belt was 100% personalized, difficult to tool and a lot of work went into it. If the personalization wasn't on it I'd have just made a new belt and sold the shorter one. So I told him that I would figure something out. This is the second time I've had to extend a belt. The other was a short simple extension. That was years ago, and I have learned a few things since then. Which sometimes makes for more work, but I'm the end it's higher quality. After looking around a bit online reading some information and looking at pictures on this site, I decided to go with a stitched billet extension over the buckled billet extension that adds a second buckle and set of holes. Two buckled on one belt looks funny to me. I didn't have any more English bridle to work with. I purchased the strap and used the cutoff (about 12") to practice carving since this is my first time working with english bridle. I tried to color match as best I could with what dye colors I work with. I added some tooling the the extension to help blend the build together. I think it came out decent, and the extension is mostly hidden when the belt is worn. My only complaint is the color difference but I know he'll be happy with it. Buckshot isn't perfectly centered anymore, but it's really close still. Hermann Oak English bridle strap (weaver) Hermann Oak holster (veg) tanned side (weaver) extension Weaver's Water Buffalo for lining Jim Linnell's montana inspired belt pattern. He's an excellent leathersmith and artist. I don't do his work justice but I love his patterns Solid brass Chicago screws and rivet on the extension Stainless steel roller buckle (weaver) Ritza 1mm cream thread, hand stitched Feibings Dark brown antique with Feibings leather balm

Well, what you did was right, because it came out clean.

I've often thought about seeing up a press of some kind to punch my stitch lines. It's hard to keep the angle right when working with odd shapes so I gave up on that idea pretty quick.

Bags can be hard, they're time consuming and they use a lot of leather. I have made a few purses and a laptop bag. I prefer not making them so I price any bag items extremely high in hopes of not getting the order. If they still want me to do the work then it's a good payday. As an example, the laptop bag was a $1200 profit for me after materials not including my time though. I rarely charge for design/build time unless it's a one off piece, like this. It was made from bison with veg tan lining for support, a divider inside, external pocket and pen sleeves. Kept the natural edge on the flap which made for a really sweet look. By far my best bag.

I really enjoy minimal carry items like this. My wallet only holds an ID on one side, a single card slot on the other with a pocket behind both for foldable cash. As mentioned above. The glue up looks a little loose if you used glue or cement. Hard to tell from the pictures. Getting the leather compressed during glue will make a easier to finish edge. Edge work can make or break a project. While some line the rustic look others like the finer finished look. Because of this being a nice sleek card holder, I think it would look better with a fine finished edge. Sand until it's perfectly flush with all pieces. I go a high as 600 grit. Then burnish the edges to mirror. They'll be super smooth and soft feeling while sealing the edges together. You might still see multiple layers but it should feel like it's one. I'll personally never use edge paint but some leathers won't burnish and edge paint may be necessary. Just not necessary in my line of products

Beautiful axe sheath. Man... that's a lot of layers on the top edge. I bet that was a chore to stitch. And to end up with such a nice clean stitch line on both sides is near impossible for most of us. Great job!

I don't use this method with chrome or oil tan. It will do nothing but stretch the leather. That's all done with a safety skife. I dunno about using a power planer for anything with leather. That sounds downright dangerous. You know the ol shop rules. No loose clothing around a spinning tools, ie; planers, lathes, saws, etc. Leather can be considered loose clothing in this case. I'm not an expert by any measure, but please don't do this. I don't think it'll work, and it really does sound like a disaster in the making. Keep your fingers safe my guy. I do a lot of skiving by hand. I've used chisels, skife knives, that hand plane, head knives, and even my outdoor edge skinning knife. The safety skife and that little hand plane is all I use now. I've messed up tons of times, especially on soft chrome. Just take some scrap and practice. Every leather worker has scrap to practice just about anything you want with. I got most my practice because I hate the loose fluffy grain on the flesh side. I cut that off my sides and skive until I get a tight grain. Then even it all out and use for lighter projects like wallets.

Thanks. It's not easy to get the right shot. Especially belts. For example, I took over 50 photos of a holster and belt combo just to get the one that I use for my business cards and signage. I took a few years of photography in high school and really excelled at that. Won some awards and had a few photos published in some photography books.

Thank you everyone. It was a job to carve and tool for sure and put my skills to the test. This is the reason I love working with leather.

I know you ended up buying something since the original post. But for future reference. Weaver make a 1¾" trace punch which is perfect for holster slots. They're spendy, $205. I make a ton of holsters. I should really consider investing in one myself, but I'm a cheapa** 😆

I had a costumer that wanted a new belt with his nickname and some tooling on it. I primarily make holsters and I'll cut a few straps for belts out of a side before I go to town on holster making. Well I ran out if belt straps quicker than I did the rest of the side, and didn't need or want to down 330 bucks on a side right now since I'm stocked up with what I need. I went onto weaver's site and found that they're selling Hermann Oak English bridle belt straps, which are veg tanned. It took me awhile to find the information here on how to properly case bridle leather. It's not the same as HO strap or holster tanned sides at all. I soaked the strap, left it in the fridge overnight like I would with regular veg tan. All that did was make it super stiff almost frozen feeling almost frozen. I did since more digging on the site here, and asked for input. Figured out that because of the waxes and oils in English bridle, cold is not what you want. Heat. Some say heat the tools, others say use a heat gun on the strap. It's been warm, so i left it overnight again soaked. Pulled it out the next morning and it felt like I expected it to the first time. Left it hanging for about an hour to dry to the right moisture feel and went to town. It's harder to tool than any leather I've worked with, but in the end I think it all worked out great. I don't think I'll tool English bridle again though. It's a nice belt, great feel but not different enough to justify the extra hours to tool