katsass

Glockinator, Ditto and +1 for what LOBO has to say. That's the way go. Mike

Well, Cheryl, those funny things are well burnt-in replicas of old southwestern brands, The 'pigpen', 'Ladder-H', 'Tailed-8'. 'Pitchfork', (one I don't remember) 'Scissors' and you can just see the start of the 'Fishook'. The Doc wanted it darker brown - -and I argued with him over that, but he insisted. I wanted it more like this one - - and although HE likes it darker - tain't my cup-o-tea. Mike

Well Mike, maybe your dad has decided to become a two gun man LOL. Out here the blue uniformed guys are almost a hundred miles away, It's tan pants or green pants - - wore them both. I have an outlet for my "mirror image" mistakes - few though they have been, If it was for a gun I didn't posses, it went to a long-time friend (over 50 years) and another retiree for the green pants crowd. I think that in almost 50 years, he's gotten two holsters for different 1911s, and one for a K-Frame S&W. Mike

Thanks Spook, I wore it for a while, but found that I could open a little smaller, pocket clip Spiderco, one-handed just as easilly. For a pretty good sized Buck, it is handy though. Mike

FWIW from the grumpy old guy; I use a single layer of 12/14oz skirting leather, line it with 2/3oz and leave the two ends at the 12/14oz weight. I do skive the buckle area. and hand stitch all ov it except the fold for the buckle. A pic.or four. Mike

Mike, you done good. The stitching looks pretty damned even, the design is your own and well thought out (good grip clearance, mag release clear and safety lever clear) you did a nice job on edging and burnishing, the one corner is well rounded, and the belt slot in close in - - nothing at all to bitch about. OH, and since it (i believe) it was to be right-handed, and you wouldn't want something unusable for yourself just hanging around, there are a few of us south-paws on here that would graciously accept it - - just to get it out of your way. By the way - we've ALL done the same thing at one time or another. Mike

Thank you Mike, I do appreciate your comments and am glad to see that you decided to jump in and give it a go. I, along with others, would like to see your completed project, even if you don't feel that it ends up exactly as you wish it had. The picture in one's mind often does not coincide with the finished product - - it happens to all of us. I include a pic of a holster done for my Doctor - to HIS desires. I don't particularly like the damned thing, it just didn't come out the way I would like - - but HE loves it. It's exactly what he wanted. My intent in writing this was to get someone interested enough in working with leather to go ahead and give it a go, knowing that the cost would not be excessive. Be advised that a shortcoming of this sort of project is that, once completed, the lady of the house may decide that since you can do stuff with dead cow skin - - a nice leather purse may be 'strongly suggested'. Take your time and enjoy yourself. Mike

FWIW from the grump; I only use WET (carborundum) stones for my tools. I do have an assortment of hard stones for gunsmithing that use only oil. I do have a set of Lansky's that are used dry, but come with oil for cleaning the stones. So - it kind of depends on the stone IMO. Mike P.S. For old oil impregnated stones, hot water, a good liquid dish soap, and a stiff brush, cleans them up pretty damned well. Takes a bit of work though - - and a thorough drying.

Doug, PM w/pics sent. Mike

I had him build them pretty long, for ease of working with, just round-over all edges, then slightly taper one side of the front end a little, to help getting it into the damp leather. On the double stack ones I'll have him keep the same thickness all of the way, except for the slight taper for ease of working with. I don't think that it would be of any real benefit to have them tapered down to try and match the open end of the mags. to match different models. Mike

Actually I have had a couple of customers mention it. Coincidentally, I had a woodworker friend make me up some of square bottomed wooden molding dummies for single stack .45 and 9mm just this week, and am waiting for similar ones for double stack mags in the same calibers. I'm looking into a double stack .40 caliber just to see if there is enough difference to warrant him making a set of those. Our Highway Patrol carries .40 caliber S&W autos, but the public around this neck of the woods hasn't seemed to pick up on them to any great degree. Mike

From the grump; ditto on what T.O. says, BUT, I don't suggest that artificial sinew is a good type of stuff to use for most stitching. If wanting to use a synthetic thread for general stitching, I'd suggest 'Nyltex', hell for strong and has a good appearance when done. Artificial sinew is, IMO, used only where a 'primitive' appearance is wanted. It's not nearly as strong as a true stitching thread, and not as easy to work with.. Mike

Dayam!!!! I like that!!! Mike

Ditto what Chief says. I ended up with a full side of 12/14oz stuff from a friend that gave up on leather work long ago. It had been rolled up and stashed in the overhead of his garage for over 10 years. It was (is) pretty rough on the flesh side. When I need a bit of heavy leather I slick that flesh side up on a 4" wide, table mounted belt sander with a fine grit belt. Back the leather up with a piece of flat wood and hit it for a short time on the belt and I have a clean, smooth piece to work with. As said, you must go with the grain. Mike

For what it's worth from the grump; I usually make my holsters for 1911 sized guns out of two layers of 4/5oz shoulder. Doing this, true 'molding' works well, but if you intend to 'bone' the rig - - it ain't going to take too well. I find that the 'two layer' method firms up to a greater degree than does a single layer of corresponding weight, and to boot, the holster is lined. I believe Dwight found this out when he made a holster of 'two layer' method. A pic of my last avenger style, made for a Sig 226 from two layers of 4/5oz. Mike

FWIW from the grumy old guy; Here's some pics of a similar type sheath prototype I put together a while ago. Mike

From the grump; I know what you are talking about. As I stitch something, the thread ALWAYS ends up looking a bit dingy - - BEFORE I apply a finish. When doing my work ,I always dye after cutting the project out. Allow 24 hours to dry , then buff the snot out of all dyed pieces, followed by a wipe-down with a damp sponge. I then assemble and finally, go to punching the holes for stitching. The result is still a rather dingy appearance to white thread - - UNTIL I apply my finish. I use a 50/50 mix of Mop&Glow and water, misted on with an airbrush. For whatever reason, the stitching brightens right up. A pic of a holster done that way. Mike

Gentlemen, thank you all for your kind comments. This was written on one of those nights when sleep refuses to come due the discomfort caused by the residual effects of old injurys and the ravages of time. Looking at it now, I think I should have prefaced it better, indicating that my comments were simply that, comments, and the reader should try to follow Mr. Stohlman's directions in each step. I ended up asleep in my recliner at some ungodly hour of the morning, with a cat in my lap, just as I havve many times before. This pic is the only one ever taken of me when in that sort of condition. It was taken over 40 yeears ago, and Ma Kat thought it was 'cute'. I was on sick leave from my dept. due to a job incurred injury, and proves one point in my determination that "cat's is like wimin, they'll take advantage of a poor old man every chance they gits". I have to (mostly) exclude Ma Kat from that observation however, she's been with me for 48 years come February - - and why or how, I have no idea. Mike

Of course you're in the right spot!! You already have folks from both ends of the country saying 'howdy'. I think that you'll find a pot-load of fantastic leatherworkers on here, and they are all willing and able to help you with just about any project or problem that comes your way. We are always our own harshest critic, so ignore that feeling and let us see some of your work, I suspect that you'll be pleased with the outcome. Now, before I ruin my image as the grumpy old guy, I'll just say 'have a great day and enjoy yourself here. Mike P.S. Hope you are too close to the fires up there.

From the grump; Dwight has it down a pot-load better than I do. I've made a molding dummy for a couple of auto pistols, but never tried a wheelgun. I'm NOT about to try one. The way I did it was to locate a good sized pic (on the computer) of the gun in question, and print it. I then found (again, on the net) the actual dimensions of the shooter. I then re-size the original pic on a copy machine, to the actual size of the gun (and knowing the width of the gun) make a paper pattern from that for the leather. When re-sizing I draw a dark line on the original, as close to exactly five inches as possible, and use that as a guide. Then finally cut and carve a block of wood to the actual dimensions and shape of the slide and trigger guard areas only - because that's about all that is in the leather. Takes time,and effort - - and the customer pays for that service, but it works. Mike

Well St8Line, 'bout all I can say is 'thanks'. I know that I don't do as many others, and that I was taught to stitch in a somewhat different way than others - - but, what the hell, it works for me. I use a Dremel with a 3/64" bit to teach beginning leather workers, and am damned sure that many stay with it instead of going on with the awl, as I show them, but, unless the bit is too damned big, I don't think there are many out there that can tell any difference. As far as I'm concerned, whatever cooks the rooster works for me. Thanks again. Mike

"So to recap for an old fool, start witht the leather totally dry, groove - (if thick enough leather), run the over stitch wheel to mark the stitch holes, make the holes using an awl with the stitching holes (at an angle) barly large enogh to allow the needle to pass through the leather. Sitch using even tension. Once stitched, lightly moisten the leather and go over the stitches with the overstitch wheel. That about sum it up? I will give this a shot later this week \ week end." _________________________________________________________________________________ kwelna; Looks like you have it. Give it a go, but remember, there is no 'one way only' in leather. If something works out better for you, and you obtain the result you want - -go for it. And as an aside, it's getting time for me to get the old Ponsness-Warren out and set up to load 12 gauge trap loads. I also have one of the original Hollywood turret presses that I can set up with three sets of dies - - two pistol and one rifle . May get carried away and load up some .44 Spl. too. Mike

Bob, thank you for your gracious comment, and may I say that you do some fine work (took a look at your etsy page). At one time, back in the 1970s, i felt that i could do some pretty fair leather carving - - I quit that part of the craft and went to inlay work instead. I felt that my carving and tooling just wasn't what I wanted it to be. Here's a pic of the very last thing I did with carving - - a leather covered rifle stock (still under construction). one of 7 done for the same man. They were the biggest pain in the backside I ever attempted, and NEVER again. I apologise for the poor quality of the pics - - they are digital photos taken of 35mm prints, taken back then. Mike

From the grump; I sand with differing grits of sanding drums in a 3/8" variable speed hand held drill, locked in a homemade fixture so that whatever is chucked in it is on the horizontal. After sanding square and smooth, I switch to a hardwood burnisher (made by Spinner) in the drill, . I then edge, moisten the leather, use a touch of Neutrogena (glycerin) bar soap along the edge, and go to burnishing. . I then polish the edge with a homemade wheel made from a 3/8" stove bolt wrapped tightly (and cemented down) with a strip of denim from an old pair of Levi's. I load the wheel with beeswax while running. I feel that the ability to vary speeds easily, assists in edge finishing. Mike

Thank you for the kind comments Phil. Actually, heavy welts in holsters are not all that uncommon, however, this one is more so than most. This is due to the fact that I began working on it prior to having my paws on the actual firearm. The firearm's owner told me what he desired and what pistol the holster was for. It wasn't until four days after I began work, when I obtained his gun, did I find out that didn't know what the hell he was talking about. The heavy welt was the only way to salvage my work. Mike