Thong

Greetings all, I have finished(almost) some sheaths for some knives that I've made. Now I'm faced with what to use for topcoat. I have onhand Tandy's Super Shene, Fiebing's Leather Balm w/Atomic Wax, Tandy's Neatsfoot, and of course good ole' Johnson's Past Wax. Which of these would be the best?

Thanks for the info and referral to hidepounder's post. VERY helpful.

I've made a large leather belt out of a 3" strap from Tandy. Website says it's 13oz saddle skirting. The edges are all very sharp right angles. I would like to soften, or round these edges. What is the easiest way and/or the best tool to use? Thanks for any replies.

I'm fairly new to this leather stuff. I decided to make another(I made one) holster, this time for my Ruger .22 single-action. It was supposed to be a cowboy type holster. Now I'm sure nobody here has done anything like this, but after I cut out the leather, I realized that it was backward for a right-handed person. It would probably work great if I was left-handed. If I sew it with the flesh side out, it would work for a right-handed person. So....is there any way to make the flesh side a bit more presentable? Thank-you for any responses and suggestions.

Like you, I'm new to leather work. I just finished my first holster. Not great, but it'll keep me from stuffing a gun in my waistebelt. You can usually find deals at Tandy on leather. Right now, they have Oak Leaf Double Shoulders 8-9oz for $4.99. That's what I used. Of the tools you listed, I never needed the freehand groover, beeswax (I had some but never needed it). Of the tools/materials I used, but you didn't list, were a Dremel (an absolute necessity for me-drills,sands), pliars (for pulling needles through), ballpoint and sharpie for marking, brown Kraft paper for patterning (Walmart), foam brush for applying dye, Neetsfoot oil, and one very sharp Old Timer pocket knife.

Lee, I also have a BFR in 45-70, 10" barrel that I'm starting to make a holster for. Like you, it's been 20 yr. or more since my last leather project. Anyway, I plan for my holster to be of a California Slim Jim type. I've got it cut out, but needs a bit of trimming yet. I need to get over to Tandy and get some dye and a groover so that I can start with the dying and stitching. As soon as I get something to show, I'll photo it and show it. BTW, I'll start a new thread of my own, rather than hijack yours.

Katsass, I read your referenced thread and your tutorial was most helpful. I'm book-marking it. Thank-you.

Well, yes and no. I got no direct answers, but after doing a bunch of reading I've learned quite a bit. One of the first things I've learned is to get the holster making book by Al Stohlman. So that's where I am now, before wasting a bunch of money on tools/materials that I may not need. Thanks for asking.

Greetings to all, newbie here. I recently found this sight and have done a bit of reading both here and other websites. This is one of the best resources I've found. I'm getting ready to start a leather project (cowboy type holster) and I have a couple (maybe more) basic questions that I hope to get some help with. I've worked with leather only a tiny bit in the past so I don't know much about it. Most of my experience was assemblying Tandy kits with 1 attempt to make a gun holster. Although the holster kept the gun from hitting the ground, it wasn't much. Since I'm just starting, the questions I have are about materials and maybe tools. I've read 2 articles outlining how each author made their holsters and harvested some details from them. I'm planning on using 8-9oz double shoulder for the leather and sewing it by hand. Is there a preferred source for the leather? There's a Tandy store about 30 minutes from me and I thought I'd use them for a source unless I get a better suggestion. Another questions is, what size thread should I use and do you size the needle to the thread or are all needles the same size? I read an article that discusses cotton vs. synthetic and it convinced me to use some type synthetic, like nylon. Is there a generally preferred type thread I should seek? BTW, I plan on using my Dremel with a tiny bit to make the holes for the stitching. I plan on getting a groover and an overstitcher, probably from Tandy. Are there any other necessary tools that I might need. I have a pretty good assortment of normal tools, i.e. pliars, knives, hammers, etc. Well, I'll conclude this first post. I don't want to wear out my welcome with a barrage of questions. Thanks in advance for any responses.