jfdavis58

I do an extensive amount of research on any new leather technique before I try it personally. Other than the occasional forgotten holster that gets scorched or burned in an oven or so dried as to shrink and deform, I'm aware of no other side effects from the oven itself. The item being dried should be supported and as free as possible, metal and glass surfaces in contact with the leather will glaze the surface. Of course, excessive temperature might cause the leather to burn. I use the oven in my kitchen from time to time. I set the grates/rackes as high as possible and hang the holsters from thin wire hooks. Should be fairly easy to visualize, if not I'll take a photo and send it along; the oven is mess so I'll need to clean it up first.

Interesting idea. No worries about 'sunburn'? Light bulbs-assuming incandescent-are not the most efficient means to heat something; their purpose is to illuminate. Additionally they will be harder and harder to find because of green legislation. I've considered the tabletop/countertop toaster oven-especially those of the convection variety. Built in timers for most but the low settings are something I've not had time to research-need 150° and that's a bit low for an oven.

I'm aware the OP wants an 'up' or 'down'. From photographs no holsters 'safety' can be determined. There is no sure way to determine the actual depth of your boning-in inside the trigger guard from the photographs. He doesn't show the inside for inspection. I could give an opinion but "they are like certain types of oriface-everyone's got one". I've seen people safely carry with far less holster and I seen folk carry unsafely with far more holster. Safety as a 'whole' concept/thought process/activity does not reside entirely in the holster; I doubt more than a small fraction of 'safety' resides 'in the holster'. You, as the maker, must make the safety decision on your ware yourself. Logically and legally the person using the holster is responsible for it's serviceability and safe use. I've got a safe full of Xds and Glocks all of which have that two piece trigger. And I think am sure every one needs the center part fully depressed before the trigger will depress. On the subject, all my M&Ps including the Shields have variants on the two piece trigger (and manual thumb safety on the slide) to prevent AD. There is considerable lee-way for boning-in the trigger guard; and one would need to bone-in the trigger itself to reach the center bar on the first group of handguns. That's a lot of acute angles to accommodate with a material possessing a natural 'spring'. As for the M&Ps there is that other safety that should be engaged! Of course as a maker one should insure the serviceability of the 'inside' of the holster along with all other makers responsibilities. Carrying a loaded handgun is not something trivial. As a holster maker I like to see a potential customer handle the gun (safely) before I take an order--hard to do over the internet. So I lifted portions of both Galco and Bianchi's disclaimer documents included with their wares. Jamming a gun into a damaged, or obstructed holster is the responsibility of the person handling the gun. Carrying a loaded gun is, likewise first last and foremost, the responsibility of the person handling the gun. My responsibilities end with a serviceable product. Weather or not this protects me has yet to be determined.

Can you get your finger under the leather and onto the trigger enough to make the hammer/striker fall? While that is probably the main question one could also check to see if the gun falls free when the holster is inverted-gun down toward floor. The gun should NOT fall free. Then there is the other kind of safe: with the holster on the users belt in the proper position, can the gun be readily drawn? From my position these are question you must answer yourself. Do you have doubts? It looks like a serviceable holster as far as one can tell from a photographs.

I started with a wooden 'hammer'; noisy. VERY NOISY. Moved to poly-it was part fad and part practical back then. It was much quieter. Bought two sizes. While tooling there is(was) a noticeable rebound/bounce with early poly heads vs wood. Moved to rawhide, again part fad, part practical. No rebound/bounce. Head degrades over time. Got four or five that form a sequence of sizes and weights. The smaller/ligher ones are particularly good for figure carving and very thin leather tooling. Moved back to modern poly with a weighted maul for setting snaps, etc--then bought a press. Still use for large oblong holes and strap end punches. Returned to weighted rawhide hammer for makers mark and other larger stamps/medium punches. Played with a couple different poly-head mallets/wackers. Nice but... Now, given some thought to the matter, I've pretty much decided that until I hit the lottery, find myself back-ordered for 6 months or more or just lose my mind there will be no new tools for a while. Well until something pretty comes along. Or there is a sale. Or I win one. I suspect YMMV like mine did. Good luck.

Lotsa hides out there, grab some frog (some folks call it toad). They're $8-12 per whole hide. It's the only leather I know where you can identify an external organ-or absence of one. I think most folks identify it as the _______; more likely its where the tail is cut out/off. Either way it's a fitting description of this personality type.

Same as Billsotx, but get them with coupons (40%off) from craft stores-Michaels/Hobby Lobby. Find them with other storage containers and in the beads and jewelry area.

If you get proportions you like, you might have somebody like Joyce @ Black River Laser cut a template for you. She has two sets of tapered billet/buckle ends already but apparently doesn't use many 1.25 buckles--sets are (1.75 to 1) & (1.5 to 1, 1.25 to 0.75 and 1 to 0.625 (5/8)). You might try using the 1.5 to 1 and just stop at a set of guidelines parallel to the edges and inset 1/8 in. Joyce has been very good to me; I've got many of her products: http://www.blackriverlaser.com

I have the wooden cutter-well used. In fact I was advised by a Tandy manager that the metal draw gauge was largely a waste of money-go figure. I find a couple of Irwin Quick clamps help when you need a third hand and using a good knife to cut a 'start' for the strap cutter often remedies the initial pucker. Another shout-out for the Black River guide-where the handout that comes in the package states they can be 'sanded' to remove sharp edges (or be custom resized). Thanks for the 'card' tip!

Fiebing's Deglazer is 70-90% Ethyl acetate the remainder being ethyl alcohol. Ethyl acetate vaporizes rapidly; so much so that after a few months storage in a 'tightly stoppered' container only a small amount may remain in the can-it of course being mostly the alcohol remnants. Only Fiebings seems to know the mechanism by which the deglazer works. I suspect that it 'denatures' and dissolves oils from the fingers, dissipating and drying the remaining materials into and off of the leather mostly as a dead dry dust. I keep a can just in case but find that with normal hand washing and careful handling it is rarely needed. The one or two times I thought I needed it, it didn't seem to do much by way of removal (that a clean dry cloth could have readily accomplished with one or two swipes) and I got a strong headache from the fumes. The leather surface did become harder, subsequently the dye absorbed faster. If my hands feel anything other than dry I wash them with a simple bar soap or on occasion use a pump delivered hand sanitizer (mostly an alcohol substance). Denatured alcohol is adulterated--contaminated by a non-human friendly liquid to make drinking it unpalatable and dangerous. Gasoline is one such additive; benzene and similar aromatic hydrocarbons are also used. Unless you buy your ethanol from a drug/chemical supplier (with appropriate license) as pharm grade or get it as grain alcohol from a liquor dispenser (Everclear and expensively taxed) you ALWAYS GET denatured alcohol in the USA. Ethanol a heavily regulated and taxed commodity! Carbon-tetrachloride is know (by more than just the state of California) to be carcinogenic, toxic and generally harmful to most living things. It's tightly controlled and heavily regulated-not easily obtained by the general public. It's principle use in times gone by was to clean ribbon based typewriters of accumulated ink residue, paper dust and other materials referred to as crud, junk or ***** (deleted for social reasons). Logically it was and may still be used in the newspaper and printing trades especially if the still employ older metal based offset production. Fingernail polish and fingernail polish remover are usually (partially or wholly) adulterated acetone(by perfume and softening agents as well as the color ingredients). Acetone can be found in the paint aisle of most home improvement centers and requires nothing more than common sense in storage and handling. Vinegar is acetic acid in water, diluted heavily. As acids go it wouldn't be very strong anywhere outside a lab or industrial situation; even then it's seldom above about 35%. The white version more filtered than the red/tan to brown looking varieties. All of these substances work against the very things most prized in leather: it's suppleness, resiliency and resistance to other contaminations. Several can in fact contaminate leather to the degree that it must be discarded. Except for vinegar all have adverse effect on humans and require some care in handling.

Lots of threads, many directions. Some with excellent information, a few not so much. If i were in charge I'd think about collecting them in one topic area; seems like that would be a bigger positive benefit than letting them be scattered throughout all tools. Missing good information because it's hidden in the weeds (so to speak) is expensive and frustrating. Just 2 cents worth...

I make holsters and belts and small molded cases. The biggest factor in this type of work is the 'waiting time'; waiting for dye, glue or protective coating to dry, waiting for the leather to dry. So... I cut many projects at once. This saves material and helps to fill the waiting times. I don't make knives, so I come at this strictly from the POV of an end user; I don't know the technical jargon so I hope you can understand my explanations. Leather being a natural product has all the normal natural attributes (expected and unexpected variables). For cutting the one to understand seems to be the variation of material density: some areas of a hide are soft, others hard. Low and high density. Generally neither a visual or hand tactile inspection will fully reveal these areas. A good quality knife cuts both areas very well. You can feel (with a little experience) this variation in density as you cut. Low density areas cut easy, high density areas cut harder-the biggest 'feel' coming in the sense of forward velocity. Critically the knife continues to cut as it passes through each area! What's important is that as the blade dulls you can feel an overall slowing of cutting velocity----time to strop! A few passes on a stop on both sides of the blade and you're back to speed. A low quality blade doesn't afford that 'feel'. You will be cutting along, nearing a critical junction or curve and the blade will slow as if encountering a dense region. You'll push harder, the leather puckers and the blade stalls-it just stops cutting. No real sense of slowing of the cutting velocity occurred. Stropping helps some, providing you didn't bury the blade tip in the supporting cutting surface when you bore down with more force. That situation will require some honing to correct! Overall though, the 'stalling' seems random: this area of medium density cut fine but that thin leather I cut subsequently, puckered and tore (yes with all the attendant cussing). I'm 75% thru the skiv and the edge goes and the moment is lost. I 'tip' three strap ends but the fourth just gets a deep dent. On and on. This became such a problem I took to cutting holsters blanks on a woodworkers skill (table top scroll) saw! Which actually works pretty well; if you don't mind the leather dust, and tool noise. And the waste! I knew something had to change when I nearly sawed through a thumb! I live and work and most importantly buy LOCALLY as much as possible. A very talented knife maker lives in my town. I took a chance on his (high quality equally high price) leather round knife. After significant practice with the knife in all the ways I intended to use it, I left a testimonial which ended with the word Euphoric. I did manage to nick both hands; once on a palm and once on my little finger-both bled nicely. He is an incredible consummate professional and a lot of fun to visit. His wife is a wonderful and enchanting individual. Now I own four of his knives. I am aware of other such talents in the craft, many are members here. I'm sure if you wanted any would provide the details of their wares. I don't recall where the Skil-Saw is stashed.

I have two. Sitting in a drawer in the toolbox. Sharpen and strop-a lot. If you don't know better, they work OK. Sharpen and strop some more. Is the ferrel un broken--that's good-the brass band around the handle where the tang of the blade penetrates. Sharpen and strop. Hope you're getting the message. Sharpen and strop. $50.00 is/was right near MSRP; not bad if your needs are modest. Sharpen and strop. Quality varies some from year to year; later years less than earlier. (I won't say it again.)

I have my own preferences and that's where they shall remain. I find it ironic that the group most wanting of detailed boning is the concealed carry crowd. First it is never going to be seen except by the user (at least it shouldn't be) and two, if seen the boning removes all doubt as to what it contains. Just 2 cents...

Practice, lots of it. Eventually you develop a feel for what will be about right. You might also try some fun-foam from the local craft store. Pins, staples and glue will hold it in about the right shape; remove them and cutting through the glue yields an approximate pattern. It comes in thin and thick sheets.

I have a couple curved blades-both are PITA. Stropping is a wrist ache and sharpening, well how many have a curved hone of any kind??? Well, as a matter of fact, I do. The cost is, well a factor. What are you cutting? That will be the first question a custom maker will ask. Second will be "how much are you cutting?" I've had four letter arraignments with a number of knives. Then I guess you could say I went all in and bought from a custom maker. Now I have three, all sharper than anything I've ever had, all delightful to use, all easy to maintain. http://www.leatherwranglers.com

Raise your prices. It's an old marketing trick but it works. It knocks all the fence-sitters off and they create a small panic. The only thing faster than light is rumors and well, figure it out.

It may sound odd but I never test sharpness on any part of my anatomy. Leather knives cut leather, test them there, on leather, same with sewing awls and swivel knives (pricking irons, needles ...). This fellow wasn't actually a dumb *&*&^. It was a learned habit. His dad gave him a pocket knife and stone as a lad. "Always keep a sharp knife in your pocket" was the accompanying advice. His dad did the drag the thumb test so he followed along in blissful ignorance. Over the years he had developed a thick layer of scar tissues but he said he hadn't drawn significant blood in years. After seeing me cut out the holster blank he deduced I used some trick: lots of force, some magic, something. He just didn't know much about modern tool steels and assumed it was only slightly sharper than his pocket knife. Which of course wouldn't cut leather very well if at all. I stayed in touch for quite a long while and he made many referrals, always telling a prospective to avoid touching my tools, especially my knives like they were possessed. It would be funny if there hadn't been so much blood. I recalled the story when he made a second holster order just a couple days ago. No fuss, "I need this, call me when it's ready".

Probably shouldn't admit this for two reasons: there has already been enough blood and this lesson learned is far too serious, but here it is anyway. Never put a knife down on the bench without it's sheath and a corollary (that's something that follows logically from the first part), never cut leather in front of a customer! I was trying to be a nice guy, the customer was a pain. He wanted his holster his way, i.e. his pattern. And he wanted me to do the initial cutting where he could see it done (his den). I agreed to 'discuss his pattern' but explained that once used it was mine (knowing there would be significant modification). About ninety minutes (unpaid) and we had a sort of hybrid pattern he could live with. He still wanted to see it cut. I had (here's the stupid part) put the sheathed knife in my bag and brought along the cutting surface and sufficient leather. He picked the spot to cut from. Everything was still cordial. The knife, a Leather Wranglers Round knife. The customer watched in absolute fascination as I cut and repositioned the leather and cut again, several time. I heard him loudly exhale when I made the last cut and the 'blank' fell free. I set the knife down and of course he snatched it up remarking that it must be" very sharp". Before I could say don't try the edge he ran his thumb along about 60% of the edge--down to the bone and about 45% of the total circumference of his thumb. Hearing him howl when the sensation reached his brain was epic. I took him to the ER and they put in 12 stitches. As we were leaving the hospital I told him he was very lucky. He didn't quite feel as optimistic. That's when I showed him my BOSS. I bet he still doesn't have much color in his face.

Two days ago I had one of those 'moments'. It seemed entirely appropriate to aim my airbrush at the opposite hands palm and let fly. Full strength black dye in a pretty star pattern covering 90% of my palm. Not a paper towel or usable rag anywhere in sight. I use an expensive bar soap called "The Masters Artist Soap" which I get at Santa Fe Artisans (http://www.artisansantafeonlinestore.com). You may find small travel sized bars in some art supply departments at hobby and craft stores. The wrapper is a dark cream color but the soap isvery dark green to black, the manufacturor claims that it is non abrasive but there a little chunks of something that reveal themselves as you wear the bar down. It's expensive but the bar is very hard and lasts a long time. It removes dye, paint, finishing materials and even some glues without removing skin. Smells good too. There is also a formulation to clean and preserve brushes. If all you need is to clean up a bit before using a different color or picking up a tool most hand sanitizers will also cut dye and paint. You do need to wipe your hands dry to actually remove both the sanitizer and what ever was on your hand to begin with--this will remove some skin and dry your skin considerably.

First and fore most a husband and father so, a handyman, cook, gardener, driver, educator, judge, councilor, medic, best friend, housekeeper, dog trainer, garbageman, taskmaster... Trained and educated as Chemical Engineer. Did some grad school until ... (another expensive story). Wrote process modeling and control software, manuals and installation guides; translated and updates various numerical, statistical and property estimation software to newer languages and computers. Mid career did accident reconstruction and fault assignment (expert witness until too many threats caused safety concerns). Dabbled since high school in photography and made a few extra bucks shooting any event except weddings (actually developed a great aversion to 'wedding planning' mothers) and some product photography. 20 odd years ruining leather for folks foolish enough to pay for the service. Joined here about a year ago (give or take) and spend lots of time lurking in the shadows.

If you think you got it 'figured-out', you don't.

Scrap? Leather? ??? What doesn't go into smaller projects or small pieces for larger projects goes into testing and practice. Testing: edge sharpness, dye color, tool impressions, etc; practice: trimming, skiving, swivel knife, etc (including demonstrations to friend and customers). By the time I get finished with my 'scrap' it's garbage. There is seldom more than a small ziplock bag of un-harmed leftovers anywhere in my shop. In fact I bought several dozen pounds of scrap just to 'try things' or try things again.

This is a question I faced at one point. I do a variety of hand-crafts and already wear bifocals so which power is best? I had a cheap visor from I don't know where so... Lucky for me there is a lot of hand crafting in my area and people are generally open to letting you try things if you show a respectful interest. In the end I went to a place called Rio Grande (Jewelry Supply) and bought the whole kit: visor, 2,3,4,5,7 &10X, loupe (forget the magnification-but I bought an extra to use both eyes) and a relatively hard plastic case to store everything. There is also a battery powered light. Seemed pricy at the time ($200+a little), but totally indispensable now. I use the 2X and 3X for all kinds of normal distance work including carving and tooling leather. They work pretty good when the work is 14-18 inches from my face with a depth of field that keeps tools scattered around the work area in discernible clarity. By the time you cycle to the 10X the depth of field is about 1/4 inch and the focal distance is 2-3 inches from the eye; but I can see small nicks and tarnish on blade edges! I use the loupe the least but I just checked the instruction sheet for X. It's 2.5 times more magnification. Rio Grande ships fast and the cost is reasonable.

An interesting question to be sure. If money was no object I would buy: An RV (1) to travel the country, a new truck (2) to go to the shooting range in style, a remodel on several rooms of the house (kitchen (3), both bathrooms (4 & 5)), tickets on a cruise ship to make my wife happy (a package so (#6)), several new pieces of furniture: a bed (7), a solid chair for my new desk (assumes I still pay bills and write silly posts to forums---8 as a pair) and a obscenely comfortable easy chair/recliner(9), and for #10, a new Tranto knife from Leather Wranglers because I just plain want one and with money being no object, I would only need to use it when I wanted because I would be retired.