Mongo

I started with a Boss. I've had a Cobra class 4 for 7 months now. The Cobra is a far easier machine to use; the Boss is sitting in the corner collecting dust. It was a hard decision to spend the money on the Cobra, but I am far happy with that investment than the $1400 I spent on the Boss.

I was helped out by another holster maker in Arizona. Thanks for all the suggestions.

+1 on the straight shank. I've finally bought a full set, but I use the #2 and #3 the most. They are great edgers.

Your not losing your mind. I found one listing on the internet for them as "Partner Pens" but most of the other places listed them as Rediflow.

Bob, I normally don't dye until after my burnished edges have dried. I was considering burnishing after dyeing the edges of my black stuff because of the problem I described earlier. Yes, I use a parafin and bees' wax 50/50 mix on the edges as my final step. It's something I picked-up from the John Bianchi DVDs. I seem to get a better "look" on the edge by hand buffing with a piece of canvas rather than going back to the power burnishing wheel after applying the wax. I found a set of refillable felt tip markers in the www.dickblick.com art catalogue (Akua-Kolor variety Pen Set $22.00 #A37205-1009). I haven't ordered them yet, but they look like they would work well for edging. I've been looking for the RediFlow pens locally and haven't found them. I'll check the internet sources you other guys have mentioned.

Hi Bob! I have added some of your ideas to my burnishing and edge fitting process after reading about your method on a different thread. I do have one problem that sometimes occurs. When I burnish before dyeing edges, sometimes some places on the edge don't want to take the dye. It doesn't matter if I use alcohol or oil base dye. Well known knife and leathersmith Chuck Burrows recommended cleaning the leather with alcohol right before dyeing and that does seem to help. Do you have any ideas on the topic? This problem is most troubling when I'm doing a black rig. I've attached a photo of edges on a recent project.

Not your fault Hivemind. Denster, I called them once about 2" webbing a couple of years ago and they wouldn't budge from their $250 minimum order. Right now, I don't have the demand for these belts to justify the cost. Thank you very much for trying to help.

Hivemind, From what Sturges website states, I think they could do it. It does state, however, under the FAQ section, that their minimum order is $500. If you know for a fact that they will take a smaller order, please let me know. I'd spend $100 just to have some in stock, but I don't think I want to stick $500 into it.

I have a customer that wants a 3" wide Mill's style belt for his .45-70 rifle. I've got a source for the buckles and I can get webbing up to 2", but I've had no luck finding 3" cotton webbing. I would really prefer it in the natural color (not bleached white or mustard).

The poly board has worked very well for me.

I am in no way connected to these guys, but I just got a great deal on some C S Osborne edgers. I like bissonette style edgers. Right now Siegel of California is running them for under $20 a piece. That's about half price. They also had other Osborne stuff on sale. I just thought I'd pass this info on. siegelofca.com is the website.

I agree that you need a thicker piece. www.use-enco.com is where I got mine with free shipping. Check with them for specials on shipping. I got my first stone at a memorial shop. They gave me a nice section of granite for free. It was scrap and they were going to throw it out. Go ask at a couple of places; they can only say no and they might say yes.

Bobby, Thanks for the advise. I'm going to look for the partner pens.

Hidepounder, I was intrigued with your idea of using the Fiebing’s glycerin bar soap in the burnishing process. I picked some up today and I am very curious to see how it works. In the past, I’ve had trouble with the edge taking the dye when I’ve used anything except water for my initial burnishing. Anything with wax really caused a problem. I agree with your comment on Edge Kote, I’ve never been happy with it how it turns out. My starting sanding, edging, and burnishing process is very similar to yours. However when it comes to dyeing, I like to use Fiebing’s Professional Oil Dye on the body of my holsters and belts. I normally go back over the edges with a darker color after I have dyed the whole piece. Then I apply a finish to the whole piece. After drying and polishing, I apply a wax mixture of 50% bee’s wax and 50% paraffin to the edges and burnish the edges again. Do you feel that the Fiebing’s alcohol dye works better for edges than the Fiebing’s oil dye? Also, when you dye your edges, are you “free-handing” them with a brush, or have you discovered a better technique? I just looked at your gallery. You are indeed an artist. I feel that I am a very competent Western style holster maker, but I haven’t done any carving in over 20 years. I looked at your beginning tutorial on the subject. I would love to look at anything else you have to say on the subject.

KcKenny, Harbor Freight Tools sells a cheap table top drill press. I just bought another one. I didn't assemble this one. I just took the head and put my bolt with my burnishing wheel right in it. It works very well. To sand I just put a drum sander into the drill bit. It works very well for a $49 investment. The RPMs are just about perfect.

Thanks Hidepounder. I just got off their website. That's exactly what I was looking for.

I bought a Boss three years ago after trying one at a Tandy Leather Factory showroom. I could not get my machine to sew correctly for any extended amount of time. It requires constant tension adjustment whenever you changed thicknesses of leather. I finally purchased a Cobra class 4 and I am well pleased. I do use the Tippman as a hole punch for thick welts. If I had it to do over, I would have bought a good Jukki 441 copy from the start. Just my two cents on the topic.

Tandy use to carry a small leather thickness gauge with a dial indicator. Of course I never bought it when it was in stock. Now that I want one, they're gone. Does anyone still sell them?

I'm waiting for my Cobra class 4 to arrive. I'm very jealous of you guys that already have your new "toys".

I recently tried blue painters' tape on a lined gun belt to keep it clean while I handstitched it. The tape was on there for about a week and it did take a little leather off the lining when I took the tape off. The belt was not ruined, but I will never do that again. I have never tried the FROG brand tape.

Troop, You can use a small felt "wheel" that they sell for the dremel for tight areas. Keep the edge damp and turn the dremel speed down.

They came in yesterday and work great!

Thanks Tom. I just placed an order.

I agree with Hidepounder, after edging and sanding, I use a burnishing wheel made of white felt 1 1/2" circles stacked together on bolt that runs at a slow speed on a tabletop drill press that is laying on its side. I wet the edge before burnishing. My final burnishing, however, I use a mixture of bee's wax and pariffin and a piece of canvas. My edges look like Hidepounders (sorry I just got my digital camera - don't know how to pictures on yet). You can't beat canvas for a perfect edge.

I've made metal reinforced holsters for cowboy action shooting and have also used metal to reinforce the holster hanger loops for a buscadero gun belt. Both times I used aluminum. For the buscadero belt I just cut some ovals from an extra piece of aluminum guttering, but for the holster I got a thicker sheet of aluminum from Lowes. I used a band saw to cut it to shape and then I filed and sanded off the sharp edges. The aluminum in the holster ran from the skirt to the back side of the holster so the shooter can adjust how far the holsters stand away from his body. My customers are happy with the results.