dmr400

Hello All, I'm currently deployed with the National Guard and doing some small leatherwork on top of a foot locker with minimal tools, since storage space is at a premium. I'd like to make a holster for my fiance with a red ostrich mouthband, and can't seem to find anyone on line that has some remnants (Can't store or really even afford the whole hide). What I'm looking for is a small piece, enough to do a couple of mouthbands (I have a tendancy to screw the first one up lol)! Maybe 6x8 inces worth of Bright Red Ostrich, with quill. Does anybody have any they would be willing to sell and ship to me? Obviously I'd be willing to pay the shipping as well. Thanks!

Kydex is what is used by most of the stiffened gun belt makers I am familiar with. Not sure what thickness.

Hello All, looking at making a leather lined Kydex Holster, and I have two questions: 1.) How are the pro's bonding the kydex and the leather? Gluing? I've tried searching and am not having much luck, other than finding out it can be a difficult proposition that to my knowledge only one major holster maker (Tucker) has solved completely, and that he is very proprietary with his method (Can't blame him for that!). I just have a hard time believing no one else has figured this out. Also, will running a stitch through kydex eventually cut/wear out the thread? I've seen a post from Steve at COBRA that his machines will sew through Kydex, but is it even advisable? I could just see the Kydex being very hard on the thread. 2.) What thickness of leather are you using for your liners? I've read several places that the majority of a leathers strength is in the first 1/10th of an inch, and with a stiff backing like kydex how thin is it possible to go? One of the things I'd like to do is develop a way of making lined kydex holsters detailed nearly as well as the unlined ones by doing some boning/molding of the liner before it's attached to the kydex, and I'm thinking using as thin a liner as possible will make this easier, as well as keeping the overall thickness of the holster as thin as possible for obvious reasons. Thanks for your input!

Shorts, I guess I wasn't clear enough on my post, I have not beveled or burnished the edge yet, was just referring to geting a straight cut when i cut the blank from the hide since I don't have a strap cutter yet. There were some slight variations, also only working with a 12 inch straight edge and a "Job" box/footlocker top that is not flat as a workbench, I'm getting some plywood tomorow to even it up and cover the recessed logo's etc on top. The joys of working in a containerized housing unit with no workbench

Allright...so we have the face cut, grooved, and punctured...and I learned a valuable lesson about making sure the edges are exactly straight when hand trimming from a hide! That stitching groover follows the edge more exactly than I thought it would, but I guess the slight imperfections in the straightness of the stitching will give it "character" Time for the glue up tomorow!

Actually, that "heck of a lot of stitching" is why I chose the belt to be first! I wanted to at least have the basics down before I tried it on a holster. And as far as the time goes, having a project you can work on that is monotonous enough to help you relax helps a lot over here, keeps a guy from thinking too much And do you ever have an "Oh S$*&!, why didn't I think of that" moment? Punching the holes through the first piece for a guide should help a lot, though I have gotten a good enough edge on my awl and have made enough mistakes that now I have a workable method for stabbing this piece that's already glued. And boy is it some ugly stitching for the first couple inches! Getting better with every inch though, which is what I was after. But I will try the pre punching the face piece when I actually start the belt! As far as supplies go, I'm getting a little bit better situated. The only things I can't seem to find over here now that I didn't get with my original order are some kind of polishing compound for sharpening the awl, wax (didn't know about waxing the awl), and some edge burnishing supplies (the first tutorial I read the guy used a bone folder and Gum T, which works but it's not getting exactly what I want, and after doing some more research doesn't seem to be the preferred method.). I'm kind of enjoying the scavenger hunt though, I never realized how much I took a good hardware store for granted until I didn't have one But it's kind of fun to visit a few little locally run shops on base and gesturing and drawing pictures of the thing I want trying to breach the language barrier...if you want an interesting intellectual exercise, try thinking of a way to communicate the concept of polishing compound to a tool shop owner that has just enough skill with english to dicker a deal for a hammer or screwdriver. I still don't think I've gotten it across, so I've been walking all the little aisles checking for myself I'm going to try a jewelry shop today for the polishing compound and see if I have better luck. And posting an address isn't something I can do, since this is a public forum. Kind of an odd rule (we're kinda hard to miss, you aren't going to overlook several square miles of little america and a few thousand great big Mine Resistant Ambush Protectant Vehicles, I think they know we're here ) but if anyone has anything laying around they'd like to find a new home for, PM me and maybe we can work something out! I'm pretty limited on space over here though, so I am trying to stay minimalist when it comes to tools and supplies. Although I forsee my workshop overflowing with leather, tools and what not when I get home, I'm really enjoying this and think I will start really getting into it when I get home.

Hello, this is my first post. I'm very new to all of this, and I am deployed to Iraq right now so getting tools/supplies is kind of a head ache. I plan on buying Stohlman's book on hand sewing but it won't be here for a couple of weeks and I have a question in the mean time. I'm going to make myself a double layered gunbelt, and glued up and grooved a short piece to practice on before I cut the whole thing. I know my stitching awl isn't as sharp as it could be (trying to find rouge over here has been quite an undertaking) but i'm having a hell of a time getting it through. I tried wetting the leather with a sponge last night and it made it MUCH easier! Is there a reason I shouldn't be wetting it? What do you experienced hand sewers do? Any tips and tricks would be appreciated! Thanks, -SGT C.