katsass

You are about correct. I push ALMOST through from the front, then go to the opposite side and 'fish' around 'till I hit the right place.. The first hole placement is critical, as after it is done, I run my overstitch on the back for the location of all following holes. For a holster such as this one (pic) it can be a real challenge. Mike

I do miss the national flags that used to appear on each person's descriptive outline. It's a bit disconcerting to comment that one might go to the local Pigly-Wiggly to pick up a cake of beeswax, only to find out that the recipient resides in Whodunit, Bavaria. It was easy to see the country of origin with a quick glance to the side of the page. Just saying. Mike

Don. Sounds as though you fully understand that the small drill bit needs that extra speed, most folks don't seem to, and wonder why the bit 'wanders' on them. My one suggestion would be to drop down a size in the bit, to 3/64". Back when, I tried the 1/16" and found that due to the amount of leather removed, the thread was looser in the holes than I would like. That, even after moistening the leather and running the overstitch. When I get a student (that can put up with me) I start them out on stitching by having them drill their holes with the 3/64" bit, (basically, it's a pilot hole) then opening them slightly with the awl. The holes are still pretty tight, and I (along with them) find the pliers a help. I was taught, back as a kid, that if you can pull the needle through the leather by hand, the holes are too damned big. Ultimately they 'get' how to use the awl and continue without the pre-drilling. I feel that when doing this initially, it boosts their confidence by producing pretty decent stitching sooner than trying the awl alone. For those of us getting a little long in the tooth and experiencing the nasty discomfort of arthritis (that the younger generation has no understanding of) anything we can do to assist ourselves is fair game. I personally have a couple of bad disks in my lower back, and have experienced four leg and knee surgeries and a knee replacement. I also find that my hand strength isn't what it used to be. The products of 5 years of service during the S.E Asian thing, and 35 years in law enforcement. Standing at my bench can become rather painful. I think, however, that the smaller bit and the use of pliers, even though slower, will produce a tighter, better appearing stitch. The holes will virtually disappear. Pics of some of my stitching. Mike

From the grump; both ramrod and David have brought up good, viable points to help you out. Now, as I have said before, i was taught by a WWI cavalry soldier when I was a kid. He taught me - - contrary to anything else ever heard - - that when using the awl, you work it GENTLY, (most folks seem to jab with gusto) with your opposite thumb backing up the leather. You learn VERY quickly to ease the sharp damned thing into the leather, right where you want it, then get your thumb out of the way and open the hole only as far as you need.. It's a slower process, but you can be sure of placement and ultimately depth. Be sure that I had a tender thumb for a while, but now I can ease that pointy thing in 'till I just feel the tip, and don't get any blood showing. UH - it takes practice, painful practice and I'm not suggesting it. As for an awl, mine is an old (around 40 years old) Osborne, single fixed blade. The handle has a flat side that I sanded into it which places my thumb in the same place every time I hold it. That, in turn, places the blade at the proper angle when I use it. I don't care much for the multi blade types. Mike

I wrote this kind of long tutorial/history for the first timer wanting to make a holster.Hope it gives someone a bit of assistance. Mike I see on this forum, a goodly number of folks deciding that making their own holster as the way to go to save some $$, start a new hobby, get a hand-made useful item for their personal use, or, for whatever the hell reason they have decide to go this route. Always, the first question to come up is “what do I NEED to make a holster?”, and I see a pot-load of individual’s differing ideas of the necessities. Now, I AM a grumpy old fa, uh -- man - - at times, I admit that, but I do have to shake my head at some of the ‘necessities’ I have seen listed, and the cost associated therein. What I am about to describe are the ‘tools’ and method I used in the construction of my very first holster, made in the early 1950s, for a .22 pistol given as a gift for my birthday. Done mostly with what was on hand, readily available to most folk, or easily obtained at small cost. I bought two items, other than leather; needles and thread - - that’s all I had the money for. I do here include a book (which I didn't have at the time) which gives a comprehensive description of the construction of a holster, written by a true expert. That book is ‘How To Make Holsters” by Al Stohlman. At only $12 or so, it IS a necessity IMO. OK, after getting the book, you need PATIENCE. When starting out on a new project we all want to get it finished as quickly as possible so as to hold, observe, cuddle, treasure and show off out new masterpiece. Ignore that desire - - as a very nice lady once said on this very forum, “leatherwork is not for those seeking instant gratification” - - - I say it more pointedly. Slow the hell down, and take your time! You have your book - - have READ it, and now NEED a pattern. You may have decided on one from the book, or you will be able to draw one for yourself from the instructions in the book. You are smart enough to NOT try to come up with a super-dooper inside/outside, cross-draw gizmo to carry your favorite shooter in, knowing that that sort of thing will take more expertise and ability than you possess at this time. A simple, one piece, pouch type holster will provide you with the experience needed to progress to more complex designs down the road, and you know that this type of holster has served the gun toting public very satisfactorily for well over a century. Now you NEED leather. There are all sorts of dead cow skin; latigo, bridle, chrome-tanned, oil tanned, tooling, rawhide, etc. Tooling, (or veg-tanned) leather is what you want, the others are generally tanned with chemicals, the residue of which can damage the finish of you shooter, or, for other reasons have proved unsuitable. How thick or how ‘heavy’ a piece of leather is need? For most handguns, 8/9oz leather is quite satisfactory. Leather is measured by the ‘weight’ of the stuff - - in ounces (oz). Each oz of weight is equal to about 1/64” in thickness, so you want a chunk of dead cow skin, vegetable (veg) tanned, about 8 to 9 64ths of an inch in thickness. You can do the math to convert to decimal designation or the metric system, but it ain‘t necessary. Leather also comes in differing qualities, and from different parts of the poor deceased critter’s hide. For holsters I recommend (as most makers do) shoulder leather. I also recommend that you look around as to suppliers.. There are quite a few dealers that advertise on this website. I personally use Springfield Leather. They’ll sell as little as two square feet of what you want. Many use the Tandy Leather Factory because of the availability of their stores - - (disclaimer here) I refuse to use their leather because IN MY OPINION they sell rather low quality stuff (to put it nicely). You have your pattern and your leather, now you NEED something to use to cut out your pattern - - a damned sharp knife. One that is controllable enough to cut nice smooth curves, so your favorite chef’s knife from the kitchen ain’t going to work. A razor knife works well, a heavy-duty X-Acto knife, or even a box cutter with a new blade will do. Most homes seem to have something along this line that will work. Just make sure it’s SHARP. After your (soon to be) masterpiece is cut out, you’ll want to smooth out those cut edges. Sandpaper will do the trick, so that’s another NEED. About 180 grit initially, will knock down the rough stuff, and a follow up with about 220 grit will smooth and round-over the edges well for burnishing. All you need for burnishing is a little water and a piece of coarse denim or canvas type cloth. A piece of smooth wood, or the smooth edge of a plastic pen will also help. OH, some elbow grease is also needed, but that doesn’t cost you anything. Your first step in construction (after cutting) will be to fold the belt loop over and stitch it down. You should thin the bottom of the loop to blend it in to the back of the holster. It isn’t absolutely necessary, but makes for a more professional appearance. That can be done with your coarse sandpaper, and, again, elbow grease. You’ll NEED something to stick the belt loop down and hold it in place for the next step. I suggest a small bottle of contact cement to do the job, and for another step later on. With the loop stuck in place, you now should stitch it down solidly. First, you’ll NEED something to punch holes with. For nice stitching you’ll want to mark stitching holes evenly, and an easy way to do this is with a table fork. Moisten the back of the belt loop with a damp sponge, and carefully press the tine-points of a table fork around the lower perimeter, about 3/16” in from the edge of the loop and across the loop, leaving about 1 ¾” open for a belt. The holes are marked by indentation in the leather, and can give you about 5spi (stitches per inch) depending on how close the tines of the fork are to each other. The closer the better. Use of the same fork later will give you an even stitch length throughout your project. You can purchase all kinds of punches, chisels, awls etc. to make holes, but we are talking about doing this on the ’frugal’ side, without the purchase of anything other than that which is absolutely necessary. SO, lay that chunk of leather down on a piece of scrap wood, preferably smooth and clean, and drive a small diameter nail, carefully, into the center of each dimple. (I used small finish nails) ’Whoopee! Holes for stitching - - done. For stitching you NEED needles and thread, and it is well worth getting the proper type for the job. Two harness needles (you’ll have to buy a ten-pac most likely) and a small spool of waxed LINEN thread is what you want. All leather supply outfits have them. I suggest size #0 or #1 harness needles. Again I suggest against using that “T” place, as many have experienced broken needles from them, and thread that decides to break at the least opportune time. Stitch away as described in the book you bought. Many will like to have a nice, even dark tan color to their holster, and all that will require is to raid Ma’s kitchen larder for some olive oil and a little time. Dampen a clean rag with the oil and apply a light coat to the smooth (grain) side of the leather - - as evenly as possible. Lay it out in bright sunshine for a couple of days and the leather will tan up nicely and evenly (bring it in at night lest dew form on it). Remember that I initially indicated that patience was a virtue?? This will darken the leather just like a guy getting a suntan - - more time, darker tan. Also, this will allow your project to take on a wonderful darker patina as time goes on, one that cannot be done as well with dye.. If you take your time and work carefully, this holster is going last you many years and the older it gets, the better it will look, so time spent now is well worth the wait. You can, however, bypass this step and go on to the next. At this time you want to make the pouch by folding over the front side and aligning the front and back edges Wet your leather down well under running water in the sink. Lay it down on the counter top with the inside (rough or ‘flesh‘) side up and wander off and ignore the fool thing for twenty minutes or so. This allows the water to uniformly penetrate the leather for ease of manipulation. Now fold the front over and align the edges as well as possible - - they most likely will NOT align perfectly - - and press down well at the fold. If you can find something smooth and with some weight (maybe an old telephone book?) sit it on top of the folded leather and chase mama around the house, brew some beer, milk a cow - - do anything to keep your mind off of it ’till tomorrow, when it’s dry. When fully dry, apply a line of the contact cement along each of the two (roughly) matching edges, allow to dry for a bit and stick them together, Press them down well, put the .phone book on that area for an hour or so to bond well. Sand those edges ’till they become one, even edge. Find your fork again and make an even row of dimples about 3/16” in from the edge of the front, all the way down the side of your rig. I personally leave the toe open on most of my holster because all kinds of stuff ends up down there over the years if it is stitched shut. Well, it kind of looks like a holster now, so lets make it fit your shooter. Wet it down in the sink again and set it aside ‘till it begins to become lighter in color. That may take an hour or so, so do whatever you need to do to stay away from it for that long. I like to place the gun that the holster is made for into a plastic freezer bag before placing it in the damp holster. Stick that shooter in the rig and force it in as far as it will go, and by hand, mold the leather tightly around the gun. Place the rig in a place where warm air can flow over it to dry. After an hour or so, carefully remove the gun and replace the empty holster in an area to dry thoroughly - - like over night. In the morning, if dry (not cool or damp to the touch) apply a light coat of the olive oil from Ma’s pantry, and put the thing away for another 24 hours. (kind of difficult to do isn't it?) Now it’s time to apply a finish, and since we are working in the frugal mode, a hand rubbed coat of neutral shoe wax will work very well for fair-weather use. Rub it in all over, allowing the warmth from you fingers to get the wax into the pores of the leather, then buff the snot out of it with a soft cloth. FINISHED! You should be proud and happy as a witch in a broom factory. Now, you have purchased an inexpensive book, leather, needles and waxed thread. You have made a useful item.You may have had to also buy some contact cement and sandpaper, but costs are at a minimum, you have gotten your hands on the leather, and know what to expect and what you can do with it. You now can make a knowledgeable decision as to whether you want to go on working with leather and spend the money to get the tools that make things easier. Hope this helped. Mike

From the grump; CT, you've done a good job on this rig, and although I don't care much for edge coat, you did a nice job with it. Mike

The old grumpy guy back again - - with one question. Where are you obtaining your leather supplies? Mike

From the grumpy old guy: Yes, I hold my stuff in my grubby mitts, BUT I don't use a drill press - - I use a variable speed 3/8" hand held drill. It's locked into a homemade fixture, upside down so that the burnisher is horizontal. That way I can stand over my work and easily observe the burnishing process as it proceeds. It's just more comfortable to me, and I feel that I have better control. Mike

OK kwelna, first off, this grumpy old guy's mind just can't wrap itself around common usage of the metric system. I understand it in two areas - - our monetary system, and cartridge designation. For most of my stuff I use 5 or 7 strand (or 'cord') waxed linen threads. I don't particularly like synthetic threads, but Nyltex is a good synthetic thread if you are going in that direction. I generally use 6 spi (stitches per inch) as spacing. It's a good general purpose size. For smaller stuff I MAY go to 8 spi, and on really larger stuff (rifle scabbards) 5 spi. I also use a corresponding overstitch wheel. As to your stitching, on these smaller things I don't use a groover - - it doesn't look as though you do either, but you seem to be applying a varying amount of tension to set each stitch. It appears to me that you are making a pretty large hole for the stitching OR, pulling the stitch so tight that it cuts between holes. I does seem that you are getting a good linear stitch, but It's also obvious that you are not using an overstitch tool. I'm also wondering what kind of leather you are using, looking at your magazine holder, I see wrinkles - and that ain't good. . You need a good, firm leather like 'shoulder' leather for these projects IMO, and it appears to me that you may be using belly leather (which IMO isn't too good for much of anything I make) for your projects, or a poor quality of leather. Using the wrong type (or a poor quality) of leather can really frustrate a person. From what I'm seeing it appears that you may have TWO problems - - the leather you are using (or quality thereof), and a lack of full understanding of the use of all tools and procedures needed for good stitching. I would suggest that you get Al Stohlman's book "How To Sew Leather", It's an old publication, inexpensive, still readily available, and it contains the true 'ins-and-outs' of doing this kind of work. Now, I'm definitely not trying to discourage you, or put down your efforts, but without looking you in the eye, having my grubby mitts on your work, growling in your ear, or slapping your hands, this is about all I can do. Hope this helps a little,

Talibald, you've heard from two good leather workers already, so now here it comes from just a grumpy old man - - I agree. Those hand stitchers aren't worth playing with. They'll cause you grief and consternation more than anything else. A good diamond awl (and Bob Douglas does make some of the best) sharpened correctly ('You-Tube has a good tutorial for that) will do the best. I use a pair of smooth-jawed pliers for pulling my needles through the leather, which may help you out a bit. I also have semi permanent calluses on the outside of each little finger from stitching. I happen to use an old (40 or so years) Osborne single bladed awl, less than a tenth of an inch wide. As said though, you can use a drill press (don't turn the damned thing on though) with an awl blade in the chuck, and old heavy sewing machine needle in there, or even a very skinny brad or nail (smaller than 3/64") chucked up, to punch holes for stitching - - and there are a pot-load of folks out there doing just that. One thing about using one is that you'll always get straight, vertical holes with that kind of setup. No drill press? A friend of mine just got a five speed table top press from Harbor Freight for right at $60 - he used a 20% discount coupon found in a magazine to get that price - - I've seen their coupons in a lot of publications. Mike P.S. I don't recommend scanning the grocery store magazine rack, finding the Harbor Freight advertisement, ripping out the page and running like hell, but I suspect that it has happened.

From the grump; I started doing serious leather work in the late 60s, Made a pot-load of holsters and such for LEO' that I worked with over the years. It's a damned good thing that I knew a few southpaws (as I am) because occasionally I would get a rig almost finished and find I had reversed things and a supposed 'right' hand holster became a cast-off to another southpaw and required a rush job for the original right handed customer. I now have a 30 gallon drum about half full of screw-ups that i look at every so often to see if there is anything I can salvage. As many say icky-poo #&%$%^ happens. Mike

FWIW from the grumpy old guy; I've heard a number of folks saying that they add the rosin the the beeswax to increase friction on their stitching. My primary understanding is that this is done to preclude the stitching from coming undone when ending the stitch line. I was taught by an old WWI cavalry soldier when I was a kid, ( that was a day or two ago) and he was a lot grumpier than I am (at least I like to think so). One thing has stuck with me (more than one thing actually) but that was him growling in my ear that "if you can pull the needle through the leather by hand - - - your holes are too damned big". My awl is less than a tenth of an inch wide, and the holes it makes requires me to pull the needles through with a pair of smooth-jawed pliers - at least on holsters and knife sheaths, which is about all I make. To finish off a line of stitching I pull the first needle through, tug it snug and throw a figure eight knot over that piece with the other thread. I then poke that second needle into the same hole and gently work the knot down to the hole, pull it into the leather and snug it up well then trim the ends flush. I apply a damp sponge to the stitching, wait a minute or two and run the overstitch. Stitching stays tight for me. Mike.

From the grumpy old guy; Before you go to the trouble and expense of puting together a pot of goo to wax your (expensive) purchase of Barbour's, why not go to another suplier, and try their thread first. I used Tandy almost 50 years ago - when they were pretty decent, however, after the failure of the original Tandy Corp. (Tandy Leather, Radio Shack, American Handicrafts, etc.), the new Tandy Leather Factory opened up and IMO isn't anywhere near the quality the old outfit was (and they weren"t the BEST back then). I use Springfield Leather, and do all of my ordering from them online or by telephone. You migh give them a try (they advertise on here) look them up online, go through and look at some of their stuff, and order a small spool of their waxed linen thread. Use that for a bit and see if you feel that all of the extra work and expense is worth it. I use their stuff most of the time, and don't feel the need to mix a special wax compound -- of course I'm not an expert, but feel that I've done passable work over the years. I do rewax ANY thread I get by simply pulling a length of it through a beeswax block a couple of times, then pulling it through my hand (most folk will use a little piece of brown paper bag for this) a few more times to remove the excess, and then go to stitching. Here are a couple of pics of my stitching with Springfield's waxed linen threads. It may just save you some money and effort. Mike

Well Mike, Hoppe's can be used for a number of purposes, but I guess that as a scent it seems to fall a bit short for most folk. Mike

From the old grump, Like DoubleBarP says, the clearance is a bit tight for getting a solid grip if the SHTF, but as to the trigger being exposed, with the PPK it doesn't worry me a bit due to the DA action of the gun itself. If that emblem is what i think it is on the front of the holster, you should know just what the hell you're doing with the gun anyway. As to the construction, it might be considered a bit overbuilt, but I've been accused of that a time or two myself, As to the stitching, I don't know beans about machine stitching - - I hand stitch all of my stuff. Good looking work. Mike

Chief, I ain't afeard of the 'po-po', maybe 'cause I were one once. And I just find that wimins am just like cats - - - they'll take adventage of a poor old man any time they gits the chance. Mike

Well Mike, I'm not much hell bent on changing my way of doing things, and nitrile gloves drive me nuts when doing most kinds of work. To me they lack tactility (didn't know I had that in my vocabulary, did you ) I do wear them when doing firearm repair (I was trained as an S&W mechanic back when I became the armorer for the Dept. I was with) because Ma gets a bit irritated with the odor of Hoppe's solvent, and in the past I have been accused of using it as an aftershave. Mike

From the old grumpy guy: My best guess is that you are using your awl at the wrong angle, then pulling the thread too damned tight.. The awl is diamond shaped, and must poke the hole at the proper angle in relationship to the edge, or the stitches can easily tear out on lighter leather. The enclosed pic, right from Al Stohlman's book (I don't think he'd mind) shows how it needs to be done. Mike

OK, from the grump, just saw this: I've heard this before and I don't know where the hell folks are getting needles that break at the eye -- unless it's Tandy. Tandy was fairly decent 50 or so years ago, but I'd think that anyone reading some of the posts on here now, would see the number of gripes about their current stock of -- sh uh, 'stuff' -- and take heed!. Tandy, in my opinion, is fine for getting things for the kiddies to play with, but for ANY serious person wanting to work with leather it's THE place to shy away from -- again my opinion. (notice the disclaimer?) For needles you can go to "S-T Leather" (stleather.com), on the left side of their front page, click 'needles'. On the page shows up, go the the far right side, down to the fourth item listed therein, and pick out GOOD harness needles anywhere from size # 0000 (too damned big) down to size #5 (pretty damned dinky) About three years ago I purchased a 10 pac of #1 sized harness needles for $3.95 from them. Of the 10 needles purchased, I have - - - 10 needles, none with broken eyes. Only two have been used (one is slightly bent because I use pliers to pull the needle through the holes in my work) and the eight others are still in their original pac. Just saying. Mike

From the old grump: Looks pretty damned decent to my old eyes. I can't tell just how thightly the haft is held by the sheath, but IF it happens to be looser than you like, you can tighten that area up by tapering the welt. Now, most of my sheaths are double welted and lined, but that's how I get a good bit of retention on a knife. Here's a pic or two of what I mean. You can see just where the haft seats in the sheath. Mike

From the grumpy old guy: I agree with everything that TwinOaks says --- except to add that I'd include a #6 overstitch tool -- NOT one of those multi-wheel gadgets, but a single, good overstitch to mark stitch length, and for a final run over the stitching when done (hence the name - OVER stitch) I'd add a bar of Neutrogena (clear) bar soap. It's a glycerin based soap, used when burnishing edges. Now, in my time I've licked a lot of leather -- I now use a damp sponge to moisten my edges, (doing that I also stopped getting a strange flavor to my beer) then I wet a finger and rub it on the soap, then on the (pre-moistened) edge to be burnished. It makes burnishing those edges soooo much easier. Needles should be no larger than a #0 (I use a #1) HARNESS needles, oh, and add in a chunk of beeswax. Mike P.S. I don't generally use a stitching pony - except when teaching others to stitch.

Well guy, from what I can see (your pics are pretty dark) your workmanship is looking pretty good. That 'ear' out there is larger than necessary - remember, it's out there only to provide a spot for the belt loop, and one of the ideas of this style of holster is for compactness. I never say anything about tooling because I quit doing that sort of thing probably about the time you were still playing on the monkey-bars at school. I like seeing that all of your stitching seems to flow with the shape of the rig -- no sharp corners around the trigger guard, etc. BUT, that top corner on the ear should have been rounded some to preclude fraying -- 'cause you'll get some right there, and sharp corners on leatherwork like this is a no-no for just that reason. NOW, overall I think it's going to prove to be one damned fast rig for steel challenge work or the like. Keep it up, and I think you have enough of the trigger covered for the kind of work you made this for -- but again, that's just the opinion of a grumpy old man. Here's a pic of the last avenger style that I did. There's a lot more stitching in mine, but it's fully lned. Mike

In the opinion of this old grump, use of those "3-4 pronged deals" just isn't too good of an idea. First off, the chisel tips stick in the leather and you have to work it back and forth to get it out -- thus, stretching the hell out of the edge of your project. If the leather is a bit too thick for the chisel, it will mark the leather and not leave a good appearance. You can't get nice neat ROUND corners - as they should be. Sharp, square corners in leatherwork is a no-no. Get a good awl, read the book I mentioned, learn to sharpen the awl (look up 'how to sharpen a stitching awl' on "You-Tube") and practice some. NOW, your final statement leads me to my standard statement to those I have tried to work with trying to teach them about working leather --- "slow the hell down and take your damned time!", this, along with a statement made by a much more polite lady than I ever was -- "Leatherwork is not for those seeking instant gratification" Mike

From the grump: You can also combine borders. Here is a replica holster, made to somewhat match one from "Packing Iron" (pictured). It's a stitched edge (holster was lined in my version) with a combination cut and rolled border beneath the stitching. Work slowly (or the wheel will walk away from you), in little spurts, and don't try to backtrack. Mike

From the grumpy old guy: I learned to stitch (notice I didn't say 'sew') from an old WWI cavalry soldier back when I was a kid -- those lessons have done me well IMO. For stitching anything in leather (which isn't pre-punched for stitching/lacing) you need just a few tools. First, a good single bladed 'diamond' or 'stitching' or 'saddlers' awl, they are all the same thing, but with whatever name the maker wants to tag on them. Next, an adjustable stitching groover or gouge, then an 'overstitch' tool. A good general purpose sized overstitch is a #6 (six stitches per inch). Finally, harness needles and thread. I use #1 sized harness needles, but they range in size from 0000 (largest) to waaay down to # 5 or # 6 size (smallest). I don't suggest anything over a # 0 in size, and I prefer a #1. Regular (sewing) needles are way too sharp, and will create problems when using them. Harness needles are blunt tipped and are a bit more sturdy. I use waxed linen thread only. You can get it from a GOOD leather supply house (like Springfield Leather -- Google them and look through their stuff, They are good folks and there is no better in the customer service department IMO) in small spools for not much money -- comes generally in white, brown or black -- sometimes 'natural'. Now, don't mix this up with 'waxed thread' from Tandy - the stuff isn't the same, 'taint that good, and in my opinion, Tandy isn't near the same quality they were 40 or 50 years ago either. I will not use Tandy stuff anymore. An alternative to waxed linen is 'Nyltex' thread, I personally don't care much for synthetic threads, but it is used by many and is hell for strong. Artificial Sinew is mainly used for it's aesthetic value when making things look 'primitive', and is not generally a product used for good, solid stitching I might also suggest that you get the book "How to Sew Leather" by Al Stohlman. It's not much money for the information included therein. Good stitching takes time, concentration, and some practice, but well worth the effort, that again is in the opinion of this grumpy old fa, uh, man. Here's a pic of a bit of my hand stitching. Mike