katsass

Very good looking work Ray. The only thing I see is that I prefer to sew around the belt sockets. holes, loops (or whatever you want to call them) To me it finishes the look a little and decreases stretching in that area. Most likely it's more cosmetic than anything else, but I think it also gives the appearance of ensureing that the leather inside of said loop will not separate (which I'm sure is highly unlikely). Mike

Good morning 1911Joe, This is a fine place to get ideas, get assistance and learn. I've been playing with leather for a quite while and am still learning. Someone here will have done what you are trying, made the same mistakes and show you how to fix them, or will keep you from making them in the first place. They can show you how to do the same thing in different ways and give you pointers that make you a better craftsman. It's a great forum. Welcome. Mike

Fantastic work as always Dave. Work out here in the desert has been slow, but there is a design for a Ruger Mk-I in the works....if the guy can come up with the $$. Mike

Well, I have more than a couple of miles on me, and I'm still kicking pretty well, but #70 is creeping up on my old fanny pretty quick. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was in the 'Fun N Sun' capitol of Southeast Asia.

I believe that this term relates to bags, purses, and formed items of that sort. My understanding is that the item is filled with warm sand, or something of the sort, to assist in drying and molding the moist leather into the final shape. Mike I may be wrong but I seem to remember hearing of the process many years ago. It seems to my poor old memory, that it was/is not done much in modern times but was a 'traditional' meathod used by good London leather smiths.

DJole; Dave Cole from DCKnives works almost exclusively in exotic hides (Alligator, Stingray, Crockodile and Snake). He has responded to this same question on other occasions and says that he uses about four coats of Feibing's Leather Sheen on the scales of snake skins to prevent the scales from lifting. If he uses it...I'd do it too. He really knows what he's doing. Mike

MADMAXX, I feel that the stitching should show, it (to me) is an integral part of the whole project. I have dyed my thread in the past...didn't care much for it. I have used white occasionally but only in a limited number of cases...it is very showy but can easily be overwhelming. You must be cautious with it as well as black. Black can produce too much contrast and look as inapropriate or 'cheap' in my opinion as can white. Natural seems to be the one I use the most, it contrasts well with most dye jobs but dark brown can also produce a pleasing contrast on light or natural colored leather. I'm throwing a few pics in as examples. The black rig was done a lonnnng time ago. The pic is a digital of an old 35mm photo I took back then as is the little pancake with dyed thread. The inlayed holster is with dark brown and the rest are with natural. Hope this helps a little. Mike P.S. Of course my advice is worth about what you paid for it.

Lord luv a duck!!! Yeppers, the Santa Inez Valley (Where Buellton is) is in drout ridden, economically depressed Ca. The tourist industry is hurting up there, (one of their biggest industries) the wine growers ain't dong too well, (the weather has been bad for growing and who's got the bucks for expensive wine?) and some cattle farmer (that's about to loose everything) invents a neat marketing gimick!! No feed lot expenses either! As to being an anachronism, at my age, I guess that I are one! Mike

LOBO: I too believe that you have designed THE ultimate improvement in this style of holster, and deserve accolades. Would be interested in any adjustments you might feel the need to make....I just can't seen any. Please keep us posted after the reviews come in. Mike

LOBO; Fantastic and totally logical! I have made many pancakes over the years and have watched them evolve since the 60's into the present day version. This has to be the best design improvement for the pancake yet! Enclosed is a pic of a "cutting edge" pancake I made in Dec. '69. It's for a little Llama .380. The pic quality suffers because this is a digital of a 35mm photo, but you can see the difference between then and now. Congratulations! Mike

I agree with Jordan...always stitch in exactly the same manner as he describes......but I also have found that if you put some tension on the first thread thru the hole (ie. pull the thread back towards yourself with some pressure) before inserting the second needle, the lay of the stitch will be smoother and more even. Mike

BAT... I think this might give you a hand. Mike

Pancho, years ago I did a butt cover for an 870 Remington police shotgun with loops for extra shotshells. I used a paper pattern I made myself that went from the base of the recoil pad up to the rear of the pistol grip. I'll dig thru my stuff and try to find a pic for you. It's on one of the disks somewhere. I laced it on along the bottom of the stock so that it could be removed if necessary. Holes were punched along the two ajoining edges and metal eyelets were inserted so that the leather wouldn's tear. Also so that it could be tightened if the leather streched. One thing to remember is that under recoil the cover may try to slip forward because of the taper in the stock. I cured this on the shotgun by cutting a slot in the rubber just above the base of the recoil pad and running a wide strap thru the pad and used a press-the-dot snap to keep it tight. Aside from that, in the early '70s I did five rifle stocks for one customer that were completely covered in leather. I doubt that I'll ever do another one.....they were the most difficult pieces of work I ever did. In them the leather was bonded to the wood and was definately NOT removable. These three are the only pics I have of one of them prior to finishing. Excused the quality....they are digital pics taken of 35mm prints taken back then. Hope this gives you some ideas or helps a little. Mike

I generally buy double shoulders of good quality, but my product line is primarily holsters. I also purchase lighter weights of leather, but use two layers, bonded flesh side to flesh side to obtain the actual weight I need. Mike

Along these lines, an old horseman's saying gives the same meaning to many of these thoughts, but said differently. "There ain't a horse that can't be rode and there ain't a man that can't be throwed". This individual is obviously a self proclaimed "expert". Breaking that down, an 'EX' is a has-been; a 'SPERT' (spurt) is a drip under pressure. As stated by many here, I also have learned soooo much from others on this forum, and I've been doing leather work for about 50 years. If you quit learning, you stagnate.

Well, I'm not fessing up to anything but I did have some nicely tooled, hard-as-rock dog chews!

I still use wax thread as I have a bunch left. I recently started playing with making my own wax/rosin mix and tried it out on some hemp thread and it is working very nicely. It allows better control over how much wax you end up putting on. Waxed linen thread will work just fine, I have also used waxed nylon and it works pretty good as well I just prefer the linen better. Some people will swear by different threads and use different types depending on there projects. Good morning.....Ditto on what MadMaxx says, right down the line. I prefer waxed linen. 98%+ of my work is saddle stitched, but every once a great while I'll lace something. Mike

Particle, I agree with Lobo on the alcohol molding process. It works well on the pancake style of holster you show. I personally prefer to use two layers of lighter leather to produce the desired thickness (weight) of leather and also produce a smooth interior. This requires that ALL edges be stitched, which is a bit of work for those not accustomed to that amount of needle work, but does produce a nice contrasting stitch line. Water molding on the double thickness of leather is generally all that I have found to be necessary. They stiffen up quite well and retain their shape after complete drying. As for forced drying, I have never had to resort to the procedure, although I learned how to do it many years ago. Where I live, the humidity runs in the single digits most of the time, and things dry quickly and well. As to temp, today is rather cool, it's supposed to hit about 82, but by the end of the week we should see about 90. Where you live can really determine how long it takes things to dry and/or how you do it. I also give my work a shot of oil after dyeing and buffing. Mike

THONG, I just saw your thread. If you go to: forum.ramanon.com then go down to their leathercraft forum and open that forum, then go down about 2/3 of the way, you will find a thread titled "Per EBR's request". There you will find a complete tutorial with pics I did back in July for what you want. The holster shown being made was for a 1911 Colt auto, but the procedure is the same for a western holster. If you want a skirt or Mexican loop holster just enlarge the belt loop and don't stitch it down. Hope that will help you. Mike

Good morning Lobo. Did the same thing not more than a month ago. Totally finished and ready to go...but left handed. A good left handed friend was happy to receive a new holster for one of his 1911 pistols and I had to scramble to complete the order within a reasonable time. By the way, the young-uns have called me "Popo" for years and the new bifocals didn't help very much. Mike

Good morning PJ. As others have said, use a length of thread about as long as you can strech out your arms, you will want to re-wax periodically because as you stitch the stuff will rub off. You might think about only adding a re-enforcing strip where the holster will hang, and stitching that in place first before jumping into a complete belt. That might give you an idea of what you are getting involved in. Just a thought. enclosed is an example pic. Mike

I have to agree with USGunleather, I think you got your leather too wet when forming. Just wet enough to work it well and not too easily. (Not to ) I made a burnisher that quickly tapers to a short, narrow blunt point, just to burnish the insides of belt slots. That kind of adds a more finished look. Keep it up! Mike

In my experience the belt doesn't end up that much shorter. The few I've made actually ended up the same length after wetting down well and evening out all braids and then pulling and smoothing it similarly to what rawhide says. I cut the blank to the proper length, figure the center of the completed belt (with buckle), find the center and cut my strips both ways from that point so that the braid is in the center of the back when worn. This even goes for five strand. Mike

Carl, that one made coffee go up my nose when I read it!!! LORD LUV A DUCK! is all I can say.