JLSleather

HO at the tannery is $2 / foot less than that . "A" grade 7/8 is $7.25 / foot. And that's the price WE would get - I'd guess they're getting a better price than I am.

That's the good thing about belts -- no matter HOW bad you mistake it.. fella's never out more'n $10

Wait .. what? Didn't you just say that sewing OTHER than by machines isn't scaled? And, I would disagree that people should be "educated" as to why one is better than the others. As the saying goes.. if you can't TELL the difference, then why PAY the difference?!

When I bend a belt over like that, I just put a little pressure on each side -- finger and a thumb - and them add water to the grain side with my index finger on teh other hand. Slow, steady pressure centered on the slot (if there is one) and just "wipe" a wet finger across the face. Oh, and I use a rawhide mallet -- Garland 11 oz.

Yeah, cute maybe. I wouldn't go so far as ta say 'awesome'. Jason - how you see to cut out those little ostrich panels Customer always usually right. That seems like a little gun considerin' that belt fits a size 49 ...

No video required

Thanks, fellas -- customer picked the colors on this one. Maybe he got a Gibson guitar to match?

Thanks, Jon. You have mail.. look up there ↑

Here we are, little over a year later, and I could basically copy n paste my response from last year. I ordered ONE back at SLC recently -- was runnin' low on 7/8. Without going through all of the details about it, they got the opportunity to take that back (more than a little sad). I guess that's business these days... send whatever we got laying there, and the people who don't know the difference will be okay with it. Not to pick on 'em TOO much, the gals certainly have been pleasant, and the one time I ever talked to Kevin (another quality issue) he certainly recognized the problem and addressed it. But, still can't recommend them for buying leather. Too bad, too, cuz not EVERY piece I got from them was bad, and I was willing to pay a little more to NOT have to stock 20 or 25 sides on an HO order. I just dont have the time OR the patience to be on the phone all the time ordering or returning leather, and i certainly don't have time to waste a week getting and returnin a bit of cow. END RESULT of all of this... I'm gun shy. People can tell me about wonderful service they've had here, or there.. but sometimes what some think is wonderful is in fact the best they have seen YET. Some folks - I think - aren't lying about it. they just honestly don't know the GOOD leather from something else. So, before I buy somewhere I don't already, I wanna SEE it ....

Plus, whatsa "full double panel"?

Surely there's one guy "out there" makin em like ya done said. I could git er done, but I got like 5 other designs to do ... Jon from AR gonna start pitchin rocks up this way if I don't finish that Ruger shortly ...

That 'idea' was presented in several books back in the 70's, in case you ever decide you want a diagram of what they're doing. I mention it here because even though it was presented in at least three books that i know of, none of them gave a length or a percentage of "loss". Here's one of those books, still available .. https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/p-1727-ideas-for-leather-projects-vol-1-1923.aspx .

If you saw the 3-piece set in the holster section, but are more of a glock person, then this is more yer speed maybe. Even more simpler than the Sig, this set for a glock 22 ...

Ya got learnin's and ya got makin's. Just not that much to it really. Them folks go on about how 'terrible many steps' to make a holster MAY be -- ughhh.. sensitive. Sig Sauer P938 pancake holster with matched pancake mag pouch and lined belt.

Is that 9 oz leather? Looks a bit thin from here .

FWIW --- I'm going to dissent there. I ordered there before. Once.

I've had a few in the "needs improvement" bin myself. Well, that may be too fancy - I just call it trash can.

Put a piece of paper over the spot where you dont want glue. If you're just trying to glue somewhere in the middle, and don't need to see the UNglued part, then a sheet stolen outta yer printer will do. If you would like to be able to see the unglued section, then wax paper is the ticket. Yeah, like the stuff Mom had for putting cookies out the oven (don't tell Mom I got it). Oh, and if yer talking about the quart thing with the brush in the lid, then yeah, what Chief said! Hobby Lobby girl sends me little "utility" brushes, good n long, only about 3/4 or 1" wide, and like 6 fera dollah...

Agreed. You can't "know" how much it will draw, though you do a few you'll get an idea. This is going to be influenced by how tightly you pull the individual loops, the width of your strands, and the thickness of the leather. Without getting long-winded about it, pulling the left side strip over on a 2" wide piece TRAVELS FURTHER than doing the same thing on a 1" wide project. Thus, you "lose" more leather, though yer doin' the same thing. The people I've seen doing these (they were making belts like this was BIG in the 70's) would figure about how far the braided section should go, add about 15% to that, and cut the section strips LEAVING the ends long (and uncut). Do the twisting (not willing to call this "braiding" and offend the braiding community here, who have a category of art this type of thing doesn't even begin to address) on the twisty part, THEN cut the piece to length. You might experiment with this a bit, in the width and thickness of leather you'll be using. Take a SHORT guess, and do the twisitn'. If you don't like it, back out the braid, cut longer, and do it again. Still not long enough? Well, now you KNOW, and if it's boogered by now, you kin pitch it and be out.. like 38¢...

Personally don't care for it - I mean, the "foh" stuff in general. Just another marketing gimmick. "Faux" is French for FAKE. So, why not just CALL it fake? Because people won't [largely] buy it. Instead, call it "foh", "embossed", "print". Maybe add in a story about how this "imitation" is saving the REAL whales (or whatever)... But for the immediate question ... I assume you're not talking about crack in just the finish. That's tons of pressure making that 'design', but it can result in unequal tension -- top pressed more than middle, for example. This type of stress can cause cracking (not just in leather). If it's cow or calf, then enough moisture and slow enough bend should allow it to work UNLESS the grain separates (which I have seen in prints AND in leather with no print). It looks like the edges are still pretty square-ish.. not actually rounded. Did it not want to edge, or was it just tough to find an edge dye to match?

Now, having said that.. one more conversation about the way these are done. I generally DON'T mark stitch lines on both sides. If yer no smarter'n me, you could git moving along and mark slots on the "back" side, then have to sit there trying to line up the outside AND the slots. OR, you could mark a stitch line down the back, then find that when you run it through a machine, the stitches are just off the side of the 'lines'... The only issue, for a 'leftie' version (if there is such with a particular item) has to "flip" the pattern and copy the stitch lines and such to the other side. Shouldn't be a BIG issue, and this is the way they've been done so far.

OOPSsie. Hey, it's what Mom always says ... Somebody pointed out that I forgot the 'instructions' on the free magazine pouch pattern (gasp!), so here it is. This is 'cookie cutter' instruction that goes with all of 'em -- but then it's a digital page with each file, so just don't print it if you don't need it. Mag_Instr.pdf Bad news, it doubles the cost of the file. Good news is -- free x2 still aint bad

Whatcha think.. $3 too much for a mag pouch pattern? Tha's like $1 fer the front, $1 fer the back, and $.95 fer the instructions. 5¢ gits ya enough thread to do it, but you'd still need a chunk o leather .... Oh, long as I'm here, might could throw up a picture of the mag that pattern spits out. Just to be sure, i made a holster ta go with it

A word about "custom". It's true that MANY (MANY MANY) projects have been made from someone's pattern. Probably most of us who have ever made a holster have made at least one from Stohlman's 'holsters' book. It's apparently NOT just buying the tools and a "mark", or they'd all look alike. So, when is it "custom"? I see it ALL the time. "Custom" leather - made from a pattern (stencil, template, whatever). Available in black OR brown. Apparently, the color choice is what makes it "custom" (or if you REAL fancy, call it Kustom). Always reminds me of the Blues Brothers.. what kinda music ya got? Oh, we got BOTH kinds.. country AND western. Now, seriously ... if 100 of us download a pattern. Pattern says make this holster outta 8/9 oz leather. So, we each git our thread, stitch down the sewing lines, edge and burnish and dip in a bucket o' Fiebings dye. Black OR brown, or maybe even go ALL out and git some green. What the hay.. go nuts and spend the extra 15 seconds to spray a "fade" on the edge, so you got black AND brown Question then is, if 100 of us all make a holster out of Hermann Oak leather, stitch it with nylon thread, dip it in Fiebing's dye... WHERE THEN is the custom? If that's as "custom" as it gets, then I can get the same thing at any of several holster manufacturers done just as well (often better) for considerably less money. They're doing the same thing, they're just doing much more efficiently than a "maker" who does this. So, where does the value come from? If the stitches don't fray or come out, does it MATTER how they were put in? If a guy pays $9 / ft for leather, and another guy pays $6.50/ft for the SAME leather because he buys large quantities, does the holster made by the first guy become 'more valuable'? Some will say it's the time involved. But, if my car breaks down, and I WALK to the store to get the leather, is the finished product then more valuable, because there's time invested in it? Or am I simply not taking care of what i should be to make a quality product in decent time? You can answer this (I think) from numerous LW posts. A guy 'justifies' higher pricing because his are all "hand stitched'. Some where along there, he / she buys a 441 (ish) machine -- but instead of a price drop, there's a new story about responsible business people maintaining equipment So, put ALL this in the 'marketing BS' category and not in a conversation about art (or custom). Leather workers should absolutely NOT be 'hooked on' patterns. See a design you liked, get an idea from something, maybe learn a principle of construction -- then put your own spin on it.

I don't think I would go by that. I've seen some really -- well . let's say 'less than wonderful' - stuff with a "maker" mark on it. I've seen (here) numerous "makers" who had purchased a custom "mark", despite skills that were. ... ughh.. you know what -- never mind. Now, if we're going strictly by facts, maybe somebody could point out where I said ANYTHING about snaps?