JLSleather

MAN that looks CLEAN.

This. And this again. And, I've done pretty well working with Matt at Wickett-Craig. Mostly. But if you like the temper of H.O., then yeah- call Cheryl. BTW - I USED TO order leather from THe Leather Factory, before is was "Tandy Leather Factory", and never got a bad piece. Don't know if Tandy owned it back then and just didn't use the Tandy name, or if they acquired it later. But somewhere in there, I had to ONLY buy their leather if I SAW it first. The one up this way has a new manager now - MAN that guy was a jerk - so maybe it's better now?

First pic is a "full side". Removing the belly gives you a "back", which is a bend plus the single shoulder. You can see from the last pic, the belly isn't worth SO much (I understand the saddle boys n girls find places to make use of it, though). And that's from a GOOD side of leather .. lower grades will look even worse as a rule. This isn't "new info".. Chuck covered this mostly. I just thought it might make more sense seeing the actual piece of leather versus a graph...

that's fairly condensed, but I don't know if I'd cAll it "intricate". Could be an issue with your leather, or just with the moisture content of it, but that available space should let you get some good detail. Here's a pic of wallets i did... Idunno .. long time ago... the area with the black backgrounds is about 2 1/4" high. IF I were to take an 'educated guess', I'd think that if you're not getting detail crisp, you're leather is likely too wet. I don't actually "case" items that small. Wet teh back PURDY GOOD, then swipe a bit of water across the face, and when it's looking like before it's time to start tracing...

I generally buy BACKS, because I aint much use fer tha belly leather. If you can use it, fine. But more than once I offered ON HERE to let people HAVE the bellies just for the shipping cost, and never had any interest. Just too stretchy for items needing strength, and too spongey for carving intricate designs. Still, backs work out for us because we can make the belt out of the back and the holster from the shoulder, and they'll take dye and come out the same shade and texture, so the shoulder is useful. And SOMETIMES I see a decent deal, somebody selling "double shoulders" (B+C) and that can make some nice items. Single shoulders I take with the backs, but I wouldn't buy them, as there's too much wrinkle and sponge in the outer edges - not very efficient cutting. Double bends are THE cut for a belt maker, perhaps, or others needing rectangular shapes of firm leather. And Chucks analogy about the chicken is spot on. Porterhouse is delicious, long as you understand that half the weight you're buying is BONE...

Cheryl is the MAN (sorta) ... Never had a side I wasnt' more than happy with, even after paying shipping to IA.

I like laid out patterns. I have gone through considerable amounts of leather, scrapping "almosts" and "not quites". But my friend Robert, who up until his death a few years back was Meco Pocket Holsters, made some of the most beautiful and serviceable holsters ever made. Without a "stitch line pattern". He had a rough shape he used for his popular models, and then boned / molded the leather before sewing. STUNNING work. Seacamp (the gun maker) used to call him for 25 or 50 at a time, requesting they be made with THEIR stamp, which they provided to him (so you may have a seacamp holster made by Robert and not know it). In Robert's defense, I did get him using many patterns as time went on, and in fact he sometimes called me to REQUEST that I design a new pattern for a gun he had orders on. And those he made with these patterns were just as nice as the ones he made prior, so .... apparently each his/her own ....

Order your leather FROM HERMANN OAK. IF you don't need or don't want 10 sides, see if somebody in your area wants to split an order with you. THE ONLY exception I've seen Hermann Oak leather appropriately graded was AT GOLIGER LEATHER. SO MANY suppliers are passing off the bottom of the barrel as "A" or "B". Springfield actually had a video a couple years ago claiming that because "SPOTS" of a hide were free of blemishes, then it was 'B" in THAT SPOT (though the rest of the hide clearly was not). I did get a couple sides from them I didn't return, but that was the exception with them. I used to order a side from them here and there when I needed a weight I don't usually carry. One side of 5/6 was so stretchy I could pull a 1 1/2" wide strap about 2" longer without wetting it. Over and over, I'd call and order. Then I'd get the leather, look at it, and call to complain about it. HOW MANY times did I tell them I don't mind paying top dollar as long as I'm getting top leather. But no avail - I returned more sides than I kept. Only thing I can give them is they DID accept the returns, but it just became too much of a time suck sending packages back and forth. Maybe if you're close enough to them to go there and PICK IT? I ordered leather from Weaver ONCE. Never again. Either those folks DONT KNOW leather, or they knew they were sending me garbage and didn't care. Me and another guy who used to come on here also tried American Leather Direct - another BUST. Tandy Leather Factory (used to be the Leather Factory) sometimes has decent tooling leather, but I absolutely recommend picking out the hides yourself if you're in Des Moines Iowa or MInneapolis/Bloomington MN. I see the Des Moines store has a new manager since I was down there. Good call - that previous guy was... well, nevermind. Or if you have somebody you can trust in another store.

Seems I aint gotno time git round here these days, so I aint passed out too much free stuff of late. So, here's sumthin to play with - don't say I aint ne'ev gih ya nuttin' Follow the structions, it'll fit a S/W bodyguard right nice. Note this is sort of a 'avenger' style holster, right handed, 7/8 oz leather, 6 spi, -- all of this in the pattern if ya check it. BG380_A0.pdf Holster_Inst_avenger.pdf AboutHolsters.pdf

Oh, sometimes it's nicer to have a pre-proven pattern to cut from, stitch lines already verified for fit. This one would have been difficult to tool after it was formed (though, I "could" be done....). The pics show some of the tools used in the design.

That's a great book for a leather man, even if you don't make holsters Even better for holster makers. Even if you aren't making THOSE holsters - still good info and experience to have. 👍 That said, Now, if you've already wet formed the leather, then you HAVE your stitch line (right where it's formed). STohlman's books on making leather cases is GREAT for this type of wet forming thing, sewing in the formed line. But SOMEWHERE around here I have some downloadable files, SPECIFICALLY talking about how to lay out holster stitch lines based upon the dimensions of the firearm... Try this? 4 downloads ...

Use the SAME leather you'll be making the finished holsters with. Different leather behaves differently... and you have already found out that some leather works better than others. Belly leather has some purpose, I suppose (I think the saddle boys and girls use it here and there), but it's not for holsters, belts, or anything requiring firm leather or strength. Once you know the pattern is close and worth a "test" piece, it wouldn't hurt to use a piece of the same leather where there's a cosmetic blemish you wouldnt want to put in the finished goods, but it absolutely should be from GOOD leather, that which you would normally use. If you've read some of my stuff on here, you already know I might often take a holster from teh shoulder leather and make the accompanying belt from the back section of the SAME hide (texture is the same, takes dye the same way, etc...).

osborne tools definitely not what they used to be. not even close. I'm gonna recommend you have your punch made to what you want at Tx Cust Dies. Just let em know what you want - they'll fix it up. Get them with a handle, for punching with a mallet, or without a handle, for use in a press.

Not MY thing at all, but I can tell you my sister and my daughter would be in line for those

Oh, you're buying it 'retail" - that's different indeed. I generally get HO ..FROM H.0. This means buying 10 sides, but I figger I'll use it so it's fine. Just going through it a bit slower than the saddle makin' crew. The ONLY place I ever recommend for buying HO in smaller quantities is GOLIGER LEATHER. Cheryl has always shipped great leather (when you order "A" you GET "A") and the service is just as good. Only thing I could possibly not like about it is the shipping CA to the midwest is a bit spendy,... but unavoidable. So AGAIN - Goliger has never sent me a piece of leather I wasn't happy with. I have TRIED to work with others over the years, with little to praise for it. YEARS ago I could walk into The Leather Factory (before it was "tandy leather factory - I don't know if they bot it or if they already owned it back then and were running under a different name), pick out some hides, and be tooling GOOD leather at a GOOD price in an hour. That place is still in Des Moines, IA ... now called TANDY leather factory... and largely filled with JUNK (and the manager last time I was there is a jerk - if they know what's good for them they've got rid of him by now). Back when, you could just call and in a couple days you had a solid chunk of leather that was 90% good stuff (and 10% of the less firm edges for testing dye and stain colors is fine). Now, I won't buy anything there unless I find time to go hand pick it. And HOW MANY times did I order at SLC and get ... EWWWW. I explained to them that I buy from Hermann Oak, but sometimes I just need one or two sides of a different weight. Usually I would order a "back", cuz i don't care for the belly leather. More than once they cut it the wrong way (seriously, not a joke). And SO many times the leather I got was FAR from being the "B" grade i ordered. I'd call and explain to them again that I HAVE "B" from HO and yours looks nothing like that. Honestly, I think they're SO geared at retail sales that they don't really "grasp" that somebody would actually know the difference (and they're counting on that). ANY RATE, they'd always apologize, offer to send me a different piece... not charge me shipping for returning the doormat they called leather.... BUT I finally just had to tell em that while they'd never "stuck" me with a piece they refused to take back, the time I was having to spend straightening it out just made it not worth the trouble. I have purchased some good leather from S-T Leather (st louis), but it has been hit and miss, not consistent. I ordered leather from Weaver Leather. Once. Never again. Some of the worst hides I've ever seen. And you've already seen my vomiting up ALD above. And the W/C I generally order FROM W/C as well. I think the smallest piece they sell is backs, so like 17-18 sq ft. But it's good leather. I use the "holster" leather for what it sounds like, though it TOOLS very nicely. I'M not sure how it's different from their "tooling" hides, which are quite nice. As I mentioned before, it's a bit less "firm" than HO leather, assuming the same treatment. The hides are generally quite clean - not a lot of waste. I think like twice (or was it 3) over the years I had an issue worth discussing over there, and was always met with an acceptable outcome. My "pitch" to the places I buy leather is simple. I don't mind PAYING premium price, long as I'm GETTING premium leather. I tell em right on the phone.... send me the best piece you have and charge me accordingly. IF the leather is good, and the service is good, you won't hear me complain about the cost. Other side of the coin is... free shipipng is no favor if you're shipping me landfill material.