DoubleKCustomLeathercraft

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

I'm having trouble understanding exactly what you're asking. You are attaching a leather billet as a loop to a strap? This billet is looped through the bag slot, and back to the strap with both ends sandwich said strap? If this is the case, I would stitch the section that's looped and not attached to the start first. That way you're not stitching the loop closed or having to deal with a tight area that regular needles are too long for. As for making the stitch look good on both sides. All I can say is punch your holes straight and perpendicular. They do have diamond stitching chisels are "backwards" so you can punch clean stitch holes from both sides of the project. You can use your awl also. I end up using my awl all the time because, and I hate it! Wish I had longer chisels but then they'd bend. It takes practice to get stitches straight front to back. What I do on something long like a belt is I'll use my 6 prong chisel, make sure I have it lined up so that it goes through evenly from the edge. Then I'll set 3 of those 6 prongs into the already punched stitches. This helps keep the tool at the same angle eliminating the misaligned stitch holes on the back side. That's what's worked for me to get front and back stitching that looks good in either direction.

Thank you Tom. I played around with the excess piece that I cut off. I felt that it tools well enough, but just a bit more difficult than regular HO veg. I did eventually find a bunch of indoor from 10-15 years ago using Google which sent me back here. So I was able to find the information I was looking for. But I couldn't find this post that I made to make an update haha. I'll see how this goes, and if it's up to my standards I'll most likely post pics in show off. Thanks again

Ok. I was checking through my account on activity and couldn't find anything. So I just assumed they disappeared. I'll have to remember to check the form categories I post in more thoroughly. Thanks

I'm trying to figure out why my posts keep disappearing. I've asked a couple questions in the past week. First was trying to find out what style of carving was on a belt (I've resolved that on my own) and how to work with bridle leather. Specifically HO English bridle. Both posts disappeared within the day posted. Did I violate any rules here? I really doubt I did. It's been a little while since posting anything in Leatherworker.net only because I've been busy. And it's only a could months or so. I like this site, but if this continues to happen then I have zero reason to be here. I just want to know why?

Does anyone tool English bridle leather and is there any secret to tooling/stamping? I got another order for a belt but I ran out of belt blanks... Since I don't sell many belts, I usually only cut a few out of a each side. I didn't want to order a whole side quite yet because I have plenty to continue making holsters. So I jumped onto weaver's website and came across Hermann Oak english bridle 10/12oz 1½" belt straps. They're veg tanned and can be stamped and tooled. And since I only use Hermann oak veg tan I thought this might be a great option. I got the strap a couple days ago. It's a nice solid piece of leather with nice tight top grain. I'm not so happy with the flesh side. It's been finished and it's obvious there's a ton of loose fleshy leather. I'll line it anyway, but that's a red flag for me. It wouldn't be a part of the hide I would use for holsters because that typically tells me there's no real solid body to the leather. This strap feels solid though I gave tooling a shot on the cutoff, which is where the most loose flush side is. It definitely feels tight and sold. So solid it's hard as hell to tool. It carves easily enough, burnishes like a dream, but it almost feels like I'm tooling a dry piece of leather. I need to hit my tools quite a bit harder than I'm used to, which is putting my tooling skills to the test. Before I start the actual belt, I had to ask the questions above Thanks

Thanks GatoGordo

It's no longer in my possession. I didn't think to take a picture of the back. I'm meeting with a client today that's looking for a similar d design, but he's wanting something more exclusive. A one off build that won't be repeated. I've done a few and they usually keep the pattern or artwork that I've used a part of the price. I'll make sure to take pictures front and back though.

I subscribed to your YouTube channel. I don't post anything in comments much, and I don't use my business name at all. Just wanted you to know.