camano ridge

I had a special order, a lady wanted a set of garters to carry a holster for a Taraus TCP 732 and magazine carriers. She wanted them to wear for her upcoming wedding, however she did not just want a novelty item she wanted them for concealed carry as well. SHe wanted roses on a black background with red thread and the garters were to be lined with blue sued. Well here is what I came up with, it is an avenger style holster and a double magazine carrier. Oh yes and she wanted fancy buckles.

Dwight, go to this site and thread: http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,11991.0.html it's about a 9 page thread it covers vinegaroon in depth as well as walnut stain and coffee dye. There is a lot of information from Chuck Burrows and Will Ghormley. I don't find vinegaroon all that tedious. Basically just disolve steel wool in vinegar. The big mistake is people don't let it stand long enough before using it. Let the steel wool disolve in the vinegar for about 4 weeks befor using. Some people strain it off befor using, I haven't. Test a strip of leather it should start to turn almost immediately. It may turn a blackish gray at first but once you put oil on it it darkens up nicely. THe big thing is after you have dipped the leather in the vinegaroon give it a few minutes to work then dip quickly in a baking soda bath to neutrilize the acid. Then rinse with water. You will get an even black and it chages the color of the leather through and through not just on the surface.

I offer a warranty on my items so yes I do specify care and cleaning recomendations as well as not using house hold cleaners, solvents etc. If you search some of Lobos threads you will find one where a customer complained that there was a problem with the holster and when Lobo got the holster back it reeked of gasoline. I do recomend including care instructions as a lot of people don't know how to care for leather goods. I would alos outline what constitutes abuse and would not be covered by a warranty if you offer one.

Go to this thread there are several pictures of the Gunsight Omega including side view and back. (the first one is a T omega scroll down to the one you want) http://search.aol.com/aol/imageDetails?s_it=imageDetails&q=gunsight+Omega+holster&v_t=keyword_rollover&b=image%3Fquery%3Dgunsight%2BOmega%2Bholster%26s_it%3Dkeyword_rollover%26oreq%3Dac9d5ce129a64a0a943015267a444701&img=http%3A%2F%2Fi704.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww43%2Felkhunt58%2FDavis%2520Gun%2520Leather%2FDavisTaylorOmegaGunLeather002.jpg&host=http%3A%2F%2Fforums.1911forum.com%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D317367&width=121&height=68&thumbUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fimages-partners-tbn.google.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AANd9GcScBlnHHVJiwHsTLs9GALn4sPKyyLtmhf_UXfK9IkwFa0169zJVYPa8utg&imgWidth=1023&imgHeight=579&imgSize=161029&imgTitle=gunsight+Omega+holster

I figure paypal as part of doing business. I use only paypal. Because I don't have to deal with bank /credit card charges. Also to me paypal is a convenience and tracks what goes into my paypal account, it is easy to transfer to my bank account. Funny thing though I have had some customers send more money then agreed on, when I call those customers and tell them there was an error on the amount they sent me theysay they know paypal charges and they were including the charge. I usually throw in something extra with the order like a key fob or something.

You mentioned .46. I woul reccomend using something a tad bit smaller then the diameter of the cartridge. That way the cartridge will fit snug and over time and use it will loosen up but not enough to be a proble. Also if you are wetting your loops you will notice that although you pull them tight and they feel snug onec the leather dries they will feel a little looser.

The problem with the 1/2" dowel is that it is .50" and .45 cal is .45". SO yes they would fit loose. Yes the rim will keep the rounds from falling through. However there is the potential for rounds falling out depending on what activity he may be doing when wearing it and especially when he takes the belt off. If you did not stitch them in I would recomend loosening one end tighten all the loops and refasten.

Get ahold of Chuck Burrows videos on holsters or knife sheaths, he gives great tips on aging leather. Go to his site Wild Rose Trading Company wrtcleather.com you will see some great examples. If you try to use acid of any kind on leather rinse well and use a baking soda bath (short exposure) to neutralize the acid. A simple way to stain leather if it is not blakc wet the leather and take pieces of metal - steel, iron. lay it on the leather and leave it there check from time to time, you will see black stains begin to appear under the metal. Leave the metal there until you have achieved as much black as you want. I think sulphuric acid straight on leather may be more damaging then what you want. Rubbing items with steel wool also helps.

Thanks, Frank. I enjoy your work, so I am honored

You can find everything you need . Basically fuel hose cut to your length, cup washer, t-nut and screw. However if you are not sure of yourself you can buy everything you need from these people the first time so you can see what to buy. http://oldfaithfulholsters.com/shop/hardware-replacement-pack/

I have had two Bearman Mauls for about a year and a half. I couold not be happier. If you search the forums here for Bearman Mauls you will find several threads and see many pictures. Here is a link to Bearmans mauls and burnishers, they are made by both Ed and his son Beary. http://leatherburnis.../BearMauls.html Here are my mauls.

Bunkhouse tools can also be found on ebay as duckcreektraders you can often get the embossing plates for cheaper then their catalog price. Here is an example http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Pc-Floral-22-Single-Action-Holster-Emboss-Plate-6-to-7-Barrels-/221205014529?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3380d8a801 I have bought several items from them and the quality has been very good, customer service has been great. Their gun molds (dummy guns) and their holster embossing plates come with holster patterns.

Everyone has there own opinion so it is hard to really nail it down. If you do a search on Leatherworker.net for blue gun list you will find several threads discussing this topic. Here is one that has a pretty well rounded list. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=34740&hl=+blue%20+gun%20+list#entry215459. Some of it has to do with what is in vogue now, what are the hot selling guns those are the ones that holsters will be being bought for. It seems different parts of the country have different desires. If you have an FFl then you probbaly know some of the popular guns at the moment. I would use that as a starting point. I do a lot of XDs, glocks, of course 1911', Lately taraus judge models seem to be popular. Don't know if this will help but at least you got a response. I have over 50 plus a dozen dummys for SA and black powder.

I combine the above methods I also do holsters as well as some hefty sheaths with welts. I glue everything that is to be sewn and dress my edges then run my stitching grove, mark my stitch line. When I am ready to make my stitching wholes i have a very sharp diamond awl blade chucked into a drill press that is not pluged in. I crank the drill down and poke the awl through the mark for my stitch with very little effort and does not take anymore time then pushing an awl through by hand or drilling the whole. It gives a good clean awl hole. when all holes have been punched sitch away.

Yes, we had a long discussion about the weight of 16 12ga. shotshells, 20 rounds of .45LC and about 5lbs between the two revolvers. His thought is the load will get lighter every time he goes to the loading table. The belt is built plenty heavy enough to carry the load. But I am thinking he might be ordering some suspenders for the rig in the future.

Thought I would share a unique set of holsters I just made for a customer. He wanted to carry all of his ammo for CAS on one set up without having to have a second belt. He had seen a picture of a Ropes holster and wanted something like it. A Ropes holster was a pattern delivered to the Department of Ordanance by Capt. Ropes of the 8th Cavalary. There is a picture on page 37 of Packing Iron. It had a full flap 10 cartridge loops and the pistol was deep seated in the holster. Here is my civilianized version with no flap, 10 cartridge loops and sewn in toe plug. The cartridge loops are for .45cal. The holsters were made for a pair of Uberti Russians that were Modified to look similar to a Schofield New Model 3 with 5.5" barrel. There is a matching Shotshell belt, the buckle is worn to the back.

Learn to walk before you try to run. Befor you take on a fancy multiple piece project with Sheridan tooling, take on small projects. Learn cutting, dying, stitching or lacing. Then start with basic borders and simple tooling designs. Many new to leather seen something they tought was beautiful or very cool and want to copy it without relizing that what they want to perfectly duplicate was made by someone with years of experience. When they sart the project or try to duplicate the tooling they become easiily overwhaelmed. Build up to your ultimate project don't start with it.

It's hard to carve patterns on bailing wire. Jim, good to see you back.

Imapeoplepaerson, may I ask where you are getting eight bits patterns? I have been trying to get on his site for a long time the address I have does not seem to work.

This company lists a 2 1/4" center bar buckle in their catalog. They may have a distributor list. http://www.candcri.com/documents/38.html

What style are you looking for Slim Jim, Maxican loop etc. In most cases you can take any strong side holster pattern and adjust the angle of the belt loop . Example take a right hand holster pattern take the belt loop and rotate it counter clockwise a few degrees at a time until you get the angle desired. When you place the holster on the left side it will be set at a cross draw angle. If you are going to do a mexican skirt adjust the pattern to allow for an angled fold at the desired angle.

Probably give you better feed back if we could see a picture with gun in holster.

RoughRider, I have been looking for Jim Simmons pattern's as well. Did you find a source and would you be willing to share who that source is? Thanks Camano

Just tumble no heat.

Catchndreams, I agree100% with your last post. As I said in my previous post there are ones that have been approved by the ATF and you are correct if the slide/Barrel is not covered or hidden by the holster they are legal and there are a couple on the market. However the op was talking about one for in a purse and if it is attached to the purse the purse becomes part of the holster and the entire gun is concealed. I to am NRA certified, and a Life member and all of that. I do rely on the NRA for information. However if i want to make sure I understand the law I go to the people that will be making the arrest.