Beken

The exposed hardware doesn't bother me, and I was hoping to forgo gluing and stitching a liner on it(unless there's not a good way to finish the leather's flesh side) Will Bagkote and leather balm/atom wax work well on the flesh side?

I probably ought to have put it in the original thread but the holster is a CompTac "Spartan." The Spartan is CompTac's base model(exposed t-nuts/natural unfinished leather/etc) and very similar to the CB SuperTuck. CB and CT are the "big dogs", if you will, of the hybrid kydex/leather holster market right now. As for the leather, I'm pretty sure it's a unfinished piece of veg tanned ~8- 10oz leather that was cut/clicked out and assembled. By "floppy" I meant that it bends and flexes as opposed to a finished full leather holster which seems to be pretty rigid(not sure if the rigidity, or lack of, affects how it needs to be finished) Any thoughts or ideas? I thought about a Neetsfoot/beeswax concoction that I read about on the board for the front(gun side), but I don't know if that would work well for the back because I would like to maintain the "suede" feel of the flesh side. Maintaining the "feel" is of course secondary to protecting the leather from the hazards of being used daily... especially with a TX summer coming up.

I bought this holster(pictures are stock photos) and I was wondering if there is a proper way to finish something like this? It seems that people tend to use one finish on the outside(smooth side) and a different one on the inside(rough side) of a "typical" holster. This leather is flipped though, and it's not stiff at all. So the rough side will be in direct contact with my body or an undershirt and the smooth side will be in contact with the firearm. As it stands now it is a single piece of 100% unfinished leather, but I want to properly finish it hoping that it will last longer that way. If you can't tell I know little to nothing about finishing holsters... any suggestions on finishing this leather that won't negatively impact the firearm or my love handles? Thanks!

I couldn't be more emphatic when I suggest you steer clear of Botach. I ordered four popular blue guns(Glock 17, Springfield XD, Smith& Wesson MP, 1911) from them in January, and after five weeks of patiently waiting and trying to get a hold of them via phone and email(only limited and vague responses via text message saying the order would "ship tomorrow", or asking me to contact a person who never once returned my phone calls), I hailmarried all forms of communication(text #/phone #/email) with my order cancellation. Well, what do you know, that got their attention and withing fifteen minutes they were to blaming the manufacturer for the delay... um, no. I know for a fact that wasn't the case. I knew going into it that they were a gamble, but like I told them on the phone, I gave them the opportunity to lose me as a customer and they did a mighty fine job at it. Lucky for me they didn't charge my CC. Ended up buying the Glock 17 off of Ebay for about the same price shipped.

JLSleather- Not too tight. I'm was practicing cutting scrap leather with various arcs(CD size to coaster some tighter) and noticed that my concave cuts we not working out so well. Convex worked well because the trim was being pushed away from the piece by the blade. I think my main trouble is that I have too much blade trailing behind the lead edge(a straight blade) to effectively make the inside turns, and I need to adjust the angle when I enter into a concave cut. That and I need to work on getting the atom splitter edge on the blade. What would y'all say is the tightest arc that can reasonably be cut by hand with a good round knife? Does it depend on skill or is there a point at which things are too tight?

Wonderful! Yeah the strop has been made. UKRay, are you talking about something like this? http://www.caribooblades.com/makingahook.html 8thsinner, yeah I was thinking about hawkbill knifes like the pruning knife or maybe even a gut hook or hook utility blade for the box cutter, but I haven't given either a try yet. Anyone else? Thoughts? Insight on how to cut smooth concave curves?

Thanks for the input. I definitely need some "training wheels." I have a head knife on the list, but I haven't picked one up yet. There seems to be a fine art to using a head knife. The more I look around this place the more I have a feeling that I will be redefining what I consider sharp to be.

Ok, so I am very green in working with leather, and I am wondering what the best way to cut curves in thicker leather(8-9oz) is? Right now I am trying to use a box knife, and I am binding in the concave curves. As a result I seem to either get a series of straight lines or undercut the back side instead of a perpendicular cut that's smooth. I'm positive that this is not a new phenomenon. So any help or advise is greatly appreciated. Thanks! edit: grammar

Thanks guys. I've only been on a little bit, and I have already learned a lot. Now I need to start getting some projects under my belt.

New guy to the forum and to leather working here, and I'm excited and hope to learn a lot from this place! At heart, I am a craftsman and believe there is nothing like taking raw materials and applying a little TLC (OK a lot) to create something useful. My interest in leather comes from a desire to make leather firearms accessories(holsters and belts). Woot! Have a great one! Mark