JLSleather

Lots of good info offered here. I like 8 oz leather for a gun that size (it's like 6 1/2" total, right?). It'll be a bit "stiffer" if you swap out the 8 oz for two layers of 4 oz (a cord of three strands ...). I've tried I think all of the "stuff" you hear about "THE way" to make holsters, and I've tried them with various leathers. In the end, I make holsters using HOT water to wet mold (NOT boiling, just turn on the hot on the tap, however hot that is- I'm gonna guess my water is set about 180ish?) sewn prior to molding (because i've already verified the fit of the design). But WHAT is with all the guns in churches?@! MANY 'churches' these days I refer to as "religious institutions" - they are run like a business and are so far removed from the New Testament as to be virtually unrecognizable and cannot be distinguished from any business meeting in the country. I will not call them "church". Not one account of Christians killing (or even attempting to) another human to defend themselves, though people absolutely were (and are) persecuting them (sometimes to death). Modern U.S. "churches".. "we need armed security because somebody broke into some cars in the lot ..."

LOTS of leeway with these things - almost can't do it wrong. Like a floral pattern - SOMEWHERE there IS a flower that looks like what you drew

True - easiest way to guarantee it will fit would be to cut a strip of the leather you want to use, trim in place, and there's the width you need. OTHER HAND, it's smart to do the math if you're ordering any quantity of leather, to avoid unnecessary expense on leather that doesn't work for what you want. That said, STohlman did a "dice cup" in one of his "leather cases" books, virtually the same as a "koozie", so a guy might just look that up and have a pretty good idea what to use/do.

This is simpler than many people make it seem. HOW MANY of us have made belts for somebody who INSISTED they were giving the correct size, only to find out that the belt cant be the same size as the pants. Ever try to put a 2" pipe around a 2" pipe... ? Yeah, like that. So everything has a thickness. Take that pipe example. Say you have a 2" inside diameter. THen you have different wall thickness or "schedule" of pipe, and the thicker the wall the larger the outside diameter and the distance around it. Lack the time right now to get too involved, but basically, if you use the same pattern you're (with almost all patterns) measuring the OUTSIDE of the finished goods. Taking the example of a can from above, you might have a pattern for a 6/7 oz leather. Lets say for ease of mathalizin', it's exactly 6.5oz. So youre leather cut piece will measure about .101" thick on the "inside" and the "outside". But wrap that piece around the can, and the OUTSIDE will be short because the outside radius needs to be longer than the inside. SO THEN, changing the leather thickness will change the DIFFERENCE between teh ID and the OD of the formed piece. Leather "ounces" are measured in 1/64ths of an inch. So IF you had cut a slight angle on the ends of the piece of 6.5oz so that it fit flush, then changing the leather to .. say 4.5oz would cause the INSIDE of the koozie case to be 1/16" LARGER. Doing the math: OUTSIDE is still the same from the pattern. INSIDE is then 2 oz thinner per side, for a total of 4 oz less leather, = 1/16" larger I.D. I sometimes get this with holster patterns. SAYS right on the pattern what weight leather to use, but I'll sometimes get a message from somebody madder'n a wet cat 😠 cuz the "?@!! GUN DONT FIT .... then later admit that he/she used a pattern that said 7/8 oz leather but they used 9/10 oz leather (or other way around).

Nice color 'n' stichin' As for suede lining, it's leather, so ... my only issues would be chrome tanning (not all suede is, but much of it is) and "scruff". To eliminate the chrome tanning, use a veg tan split (if you need a texture different than the body, or if you just want to "beef up" the thickness. And thre's the trade-off.. "scruffy" texture is tough to keep clean (not impossible). MY question would be .. WHERE would you carry that? If I got a firearm on my right side, presumably gonna pull it with my right hand, HOW do I pull the mag?

Different feel today. I've been pretty vocal about Tandy, and specifically the one in Des Moines, IA, not being ... lets say up to par Stopped by there yesterday, hadn't been in there for quite a while. Lauren - the new-to-me store manager (she's been there a bit, but I hadn't) very pleasant, very knowledgeable. GOOD to meet people who both KNOW and APPRECIATE leather and the craft. The whole store got a face lift. Now much brighter in there and easier to find what you're needing. They still have "classes", but with this girl I'm confident you could ACTUALLY learn something about working with leather (some of you been around a while know I would not have said that about previous personnel). I didn't do too much browsing what they had on the shelves - more talking with Lauren (did I mention already she was quite pleasant?). If you're in the area - stop in and see what they're doing these days. BIG changes in a good way. 5041 NE 14th St, Des Moines, IA 50313

This is your guy. Period. New machines, used machines, and a TON of experience and advice. Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines - Home Of Cowboy® Leather Sewing Machines - Sales, Service, Parts

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.