larry1096

I guess it's sort of 'nowhere to hide'? Keeps you honest, though. Larry

Thanks for that; gotta' track some of those down. Larry

Look great. Are those snaps, or dome-headed binding screws? I like that smooth look. I also like the little 'mind changer'. Larry

I've found you can make your life easier (i.e., get some breathing room around the stitching) by being sure to run the rear flap straight down the body of the holster; requires tweaking where it folds, of course, but it's doable. Larry

Nice. They're deceptive in that they're simple, but the devil is in the details. Larry

Very nice work-worthy of 'Uncle Lou's' design. Larry

Thanks for the kind words-means a lot! After wet-forming, I used Weaver's 'leather firmer', since I want my holsters to be as stiff and sturdy as possible. After that, there's a dip in Resolene, and that's the entirety of the finish. The clip is mounted to slotted posts mounted under the reinforcement piece wrapped around the mouth of the holster. Larry

I haven't done many roughout holsters; there's definitely a knack to keeping the look clean and consistent. Larry

I think very detailed boning is partly aesthetics, partly to enhance retention. I continue to work toward the level Mr. Ingles demonstrates, though I've a long way to go. Larry

Sorry for the delay; took some time off to rupture my left rotator cuff. (I don't recommend it; giving it 0/5 stars on Yelp.) My molding is improving, but there's a long way to go. One thing that really seemed to help was beginning the molding with an actual press (I use one made for Kydex, some folks use full-size shop presses.) A few minutes under a lot of pressure goes a long way to get getting the basic outline of the gun started, and then a variety of molding tools can help pick out some detail. Thanks for the encouragement; I've learned a lot here, and will continue to do so. Larry

After years of being a hobbyist holster maker, I've decided to get a bit more serious about my leatherwork in my semi-retirement. Here are a few recent builds: Larry Zen Leather Holsters

Yes, as I mentioned you can use gum trag or other edging compounds to 'paste' the flesh side of leather. (I understand the confusion, by the way; generally, when folks say 'suede' I think the average leatherworker thinks of a split piece without a grain side remaining.) Still, to make it weather/wear proof, you're going to need a topcoat on it, like Resolene or M&G. Larry

I'm no expert, so I'm glad to be corrected, but here's my take: you can 'paste' a back with Tokonole or Gum Trag, but to actually weatherproof it you're going to want an acrylic topcoat like Resolene or Mop & Glow afterwards. Larry

Those are very nice! It's interesting how you adapted the trigger guard cover from the S/A holster; don't often see that on holsters for semi-auto's, but it works very well. Larry

Well, everyone, I want to thank you. Following your advice, I called a couple of the forum sponsors and got all my questions answered. After I spoke to David at Leather Machine Co. and he made it clear that the service, support and warranty for the Class 4 machine Tandy is selling would be him and his team, I was able to take advantage of their special and get the machine, with the edge guide and tabletop, at a great price. I can only say that the rave reviews I've read about LMC certainly seem justified; the man is obviously passionate about keeping his customers happy. In fact, I decided against a used machine at another vendor that could have saved me a few $$ just because of his warranty and willingness to help me. Larry