DoubleKCustomLeathercraft

I have a customer that ordered a gym belt from me a few years ago. He tried a couple new styles and he wasn't comfortable so he asked me to reproduce a "classic" style from when he was a body builder (40 years ago) The belt itself is even older than that. It was his dad's and made in the 60's I guess. He liked it enough to order a second one with a full western theme carving on the back support. And I liked the feel of it (two lower back surgeries) that I made myself one as a core and back support I use when felling trees, splitting wood, anything that's going to require strain on my back. And some days I just wear it because it is so comfortable and supportive. Ok, now that I've explained all that I have a couple questions. Is there anything else in the construction of these belts? I used a stiffener in all 3 that I've made to help add extra support. You can keep it "thinner" without compromising support. Do you really want suede? It's soft and comfy at first bit it can absorb more sweat and become kind of rough to the touch over time. Full grain will still soak up sweat but if softens it a bit over time. Almost like oiling a baseball glove. My recommendation is to get it full grain veg tan. Double layer will always reduce stretch and sag over a single layer. Thicker isn't always stronger or better. You want tight full grain, no mushy stuff. It's hard to shop for something like this online. Getting your hands on them and feeling the difference would really give you a better idea of what you want. Of course these companies do have a reputation to uphold so I'm sure they use great quality stuff. I probably didn't help much but maybe there's a couple things I mentioned to get you thinking.

I make my carry belts around the 18 oz thickness, with a stiffener between the two layers. They take a month to break in but they'll be the last belt you'll need to buy. Casual belts are also just a thick, but no reinforcement. The reason is 100% durability, quality, and feel. I haven't met a person that doesn't like the feel of a nice heavy belt. Whether it's for work, day to day wear, special occasion... doesn't matter. Thin belts stretch and sag right away, and in a year or less they need replaced.

I really appreciate that. Thanks

It's been a busy week for me. I fell behind on some orders due to a chimney fire. That's all taken care of. So I have to give this last week a good push to get caught up and ready to ship out some orders. A few of the holsters still need the belt loops cut and and edge work done. But I'm delivering the two woodsman holsters and snapping turtle knife sheath today and wanted a picture of all these orders together. The rest get shipped Monday and I'm on to the next project. Some of these were already projects being worked on before falling behind. Holsters: Glock in the background (left), 2 carved 1911 (skull, Bull elk) carved Taurus 65 (fish), 2 colt woodsman holsters with rampart colt carved (this is #3 and #4 for this customer's order of 5 identical holsters) and a colt anaconda in the background (right) Snapping turtle tail inlaid knife sheath, and filet knife sheath with deer antler closure Entry welcome sign on the natural edge with elk carved and wrapped with twisted copper wire. I mounted this on a piece of blue pine I milled with my chainsaw mill, the planed it by hand to is final thickness. This is came out pretty cool because there's a big wrinkle that folds in the leather that is perfectly for the elks shoulder

Very interesting to see a camo to used to create a serpentine pattern. This is why I come to this site. Get to see different ideas that I wouldn't think to do. It's nicely done. The only thing I can think of that finishes any leather project is edge work and stitching. I think you could improve on the edge work a bit. It can take some time to get it right depending on the leather. Every piece is different to. All in all nicely done. Hope it gets a good showing at the school auction

There's a leather company up here in Montana that does custom belts. I can't remember the name of the top of my head. They have 3 piece belt, and what this does is allows them to produce the two ends (buckle and billet) at standard lengths, then the custom part is sewn on and sets across the back. They also refer to these as 3 piece. Dunno if there's a right or wrong answer, because any belt with 3 pieces essentially falls into this category.

I use 4B-6B for marking or drawing patterns directly onto the face. It marks well without too much effort and can be erased easily enough.

The problem I've run into when using silver or white pen for marking any side of the leather is drawing the ink through while cutting. Then not realizing it's on the cutting surface, and it marks up the face. I've started using soft charcoal or graphite pencils to mark natural, and white color pencil for dark leather. That way they can be easily cleaned off the surface if my knife draws it through the leather

I made a shoulder holster because of demand. Too many calls to be ignored. It took me a month of design, failure, adjustments, all mostly cardboard so no real loss. Then I made 3 different prototypes of the shoulder harness and picked what felt most comfortable after some wearing and that became my staying point for others. I've been wearing my shoulder holster as my EDC for almost 3 years now. You'll like a shoulder holster for your drives over a hip holster. You may even look into making a chest rig. They tend to hold the gun to the body a bit tighter and don't impede any arm movement

It's not easy to recreate a movie prop like that. You did an amazing job.

Agree 100%. Things change and so does taste. It's kinda like tattoos. Some are works that stand the test of time, and others are in the "what was I thinking!?" category

Thanks. Ya I'm still taking it all in. Reading what's been posted and seeing where I need to improve.

West of Kalispell. Marion. Almost bought some land in trout creek but then the covid land rush up here got a little crazy.

Very interesting take on the coozie. I've never thought about putting a liner like that in one. Awesome work and great idea. I just finished a couple coozies about a week ago. A father and son that are into elk hunting.

Hey all. My name is Kevin and I've recently joined the forum. I didn't realize there was an introduction area and had posted a slight intro in Show Off with a snapping turtle leather holster. Anyway, y'all can check that out if interested. My business name is Double K Custom Leathercraft, and I'm based out of NW Montana. I specialize in holsters, but I also make gun belts, western gun rigs, carved and tooled belts and knife sheaths regularly. The bulk of my business is holsters or something firearm related. My most popular items are my shoulder holster or chest holster (2 different styles) designs.

Check out snapping turtle leather company. You'll get way better price than ebay. I found it on ebay for $175 and the snapping turtle leather co was I think $65 with shipping. I'd have to look at the invoice, but it's better than half the price as buying from someone on ebay

Thanks, appreciate it. This particular holster probably doesn't get used much. He bought the Kimber Sapphire and just wanted something to show off. I think edc is a sig.

Thanks. I thought about the belt slots, but that was after the fact.

It's been well over a year since I made this holster for a customer that wanted something unique and flashy at the same time. It's definitely up the in the top 3 favorite holsters I've made. Any critiques are helpful.

Thanks everyone. It was exciting to get to work with such a unique looking leather. I can definitely see a belt being inlaid with a couple tail sections. It might be a future project for myself

Hey everyone. Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Kevin and in 2021 I decided that it was time to open up shop. I don't currently have a website, and my business is primarily word of mouth, repeat customers and a lot of tourists up here in NW Montana. I named my business Double K Custom Leathercraft because my first initial, and my dog Kalamity which makes the second K. Anyway, I just found this site the other day when I was looking at some snapping turtle holsters so I decided to join because I think I can learn a lot from y'all. I was recently turned onto snapping turtle leather by a great customer of mine. I didn't know it existed and I'm quite happy working with it. It's not easy, but not the most difficult leather I've worked with. I wanted to share the holster I made for his dad's 75th birthday.