olds cool

I agree, it's most likely a marketing gimmick. The phrase "strong, like bull" comes to mind.

Way to think outside the box on that one. Looks great and an easy reach. Now I'm gonna have to go look at my chop and figure how/where to mount one.

Nice work. Be sure to get a pic of them installed on the Indian.... Ok, I'm busted. I just wanted to see the bike, lol. But seriously, that's a nice set of bags.

Nicely done. I like the way the brown outline sets off the inlay.

I use the same method as bizbelbu. I always print a mirror image so that the text comes out correct when flipped over. I have used a few other methods as well when I'm out of trans film. I've printed on regular paper and slipped it into a Ziploc bag or layed down a piece of saran wrap and tape the paper on top of it.

You've got to be the first person to ever come up with a good use for raindow ray. That looks great!

That looks like a good auction to go to. Too bad I'm nowhere near AL.

Thanks for sharing your projects. I hope to see more of them in the future, especially the snake pieces. That's some really cool stuff right there.

Welcome Mike. You are correct, the info abounds here. Lots of helpful folks that don't mind a few newbie questions.

They're all nice but I'm in love with the first one. It's the subtle contrast of textures and red on black stitching.

That rocks! Very nice combination of styles. I'm a big fan of Ed Roth and most things that employ his style of artwork.

Kevin, I always enjoy seeing your work. It's on a whole nother level man! Top notch as always

Saw one of those in the case at Gander Mtn yesterday. One bad mother of a gun! I can't even imagine trying to draw that thing.

That's a real nice cut. It will look really good once it's broken in and should last for years

I have the same problem with IE10. I even tried turning on compatibility mode and still won't work. I don't know how I never noticed before. I've been using this particular laptop for well over a month. I believe I use IE9 on my desktop at home and no problems.

You said that was at 30* right? Looks like it pulls the grip up out of sight and moves the pointy section, around the hammer, so that it stabs a little less. I need to make myself another one anyways. Maybe I'll play with this angle and see how I like it cause at the moment I'm kinda wondering if this will ever be a comfortable carry gun. Malabar made some good points about presentation but my primary concern is the comfort level. I don't care if I can outdraw the fastest shooter in the country, if it's constantly poking and rubbing the wrong way, I'm not going to keep it on my waist. If I get something that I can wear without constantly grabbing it and readjusting, then I'll figure out the presentation from there. It all comes down to practice and building muscle memory.

It was suggested to me the other day to find someone with a 3d printer, quite possibly a local college may have one. I have no idea how sturdy the printed objects are though.

Excellent work! Super clean tooling. You have a gift.

TCU is short for The Chopper Underground, a forum devoted to hand built choppers and other custom garage built motorcycles. I think there is/was someone on there with a similar name. Thanks for the extra pic. I've been thinking about doing a shoulder rig for my 1911 because it's so hard to conceal. I understand what you mean on the Sig holster and if someone specifies something a certain way, there's often little room for argument

You asked for critisism, so here it is. I mean no disrespect, simply pointing out some things to help you progress. I still consider myself a newbie as well and by no means are my words the final say of a master craftsman, take 'em for what they're worth. By the looks of the next to last pic, you are using the edger on the insides where the pieces meet. This is creating the appearance of, for lack of a better explanation, a set of lips. Do not edge the sides that meet, only do the outsides and wait to burnish until they are together. This will allow them to come together as 1 piece and when burnished properly, will be a nice smooth rounded edge with no sign of it ever being 2 pieces. I worry about the retention of the black holster with the Sig in it. Can you turn it upside down and shake it a few times without it falling out? Remember, your body does a lot more twisting and bending that you realize and each move will try to push anything in its way, such as a gun out of a holster. Boning in the details will give the retention that you need if you want to keep it strapless. I like the shoulder holster, without better pics I can't see much of the details though. Watch the placement of your stitch lines and take your time to pull the stitches tight & even. An everstich wheel like this one will help witht eh placement of the holes and even it out for you. Other than those few things, it looks like you've got decent patterns to work from and have a good idea of what you want so just take your time and your work will reflect it. There's no rush to get things done, no slave driver cracking a whip, and no boss counting production per hour. With experience will come speed. In the meantime, focus on honing techniques and finding the groove that works for you. By the way, don't I know you from TCU?

It looks fantastic but the breathability and fogging issues are of real concerns to me. I ride with a neoprene mask that has holes for both nose and mouth and I still get a lot of fogging in my glasses. I've even tried the no fog stuff and the old trick of spitting on the lenses, neither has helped much and it gets even worse at stop lights. The whole purpose of a mask is keeping your face warm on those cold days. Just so happens those are the same days that glasses or goggles fog very easily. I also have a weird thing about breathing hot recycled air, like having a blanket over my head or even laying face to face with my wife at night. It makes me feel like I'm suffocating. I'm sure I'm not the only one out there with this issue. As nice as it looks, for these 2 reasons I would never wear that mask.

Nice job coloring the eagle, actually nice job all around.

Mistakes are how we learn and become better craftsmen. I screwed up on my first holster too. I was making an OWB pancake and got sidetracked by my wife while I was in the middle of assembly. I glued the 2 halves together before stitching the guard on, or what some call a sweat shield even though it's on the outside. The leather I used was really fuzzy on the flesh side so it was pretty much welded together for life. I tried everything possible to get a needle inside to stitch it up, even cutting one down to about 1/2" long, but ould only make it about 1/2 way around. After that blunder I decided to wet form it anyways and never made the mental connection between water based dye and soaking in water. Oops, no dye left on the piece. At that point, I tossed it in the scrap bin. It nagged at me for a day or so and I figured what the heck, why not finish it for the experience. Figured I'd wear it until I could finish another one. I've now shown it to a few friends and even though I can point out a half dozen mistakes, not one of them notices until I point them out. Still wouldn't let it out the door to a paying customer but it's given me a real perspective on how critical I am of my own work. It's also drummed up a little future work.

Those sure are beautiful but I think it will be a while before I pick up something like that. I've gotten by for quite a while with using denim scraps and one of those plastic wheels you can get from Tandy, SPL, or any other leather retailer. I like your idea because it was dirt cheap and I'm sort of a DIY type of guy. DIY is what got me into leather in the first place.

I'm really interested in the books. Sending an email right now