Colt Hammerless

Work that's second to nobody Dick! Pretty much par for the course with you. I bought a bottle of Angelus Spice a bit ago after looking at their color chart. I haven't opened it yet, but after seeing that, I think I need to! I also bought a couple of bottles of their Cordovan after seeing pics of your work, but haven't worked with that yet either. I'll probably use it on one of my next projects. I have a feeling it'll be a go-to color for me. Paul

I'm not Rob, but the magazines are a seperate item that you'd have to order in addition to the blue gun. Paul

I hear you on Springfield's customer service. They make it so you almost wish you're about to run out of something just so you can place another order. I'm currently using W&C skirting leather, and love it. Have them "holster" it for you. They put it through their press again and it makes for a firmer hand that makes a very nice rigid holster. I bought a piece of 8-10 oz. and was going to have them split it to an even 8 oz., but they said after "holstering" it, it would wind up about that thickness. Well, it didn't. It's about 9.5 oz. I don't have a splitter, so I have to sand each new project down on an oscillating spindle sander. Next time, I'll definitely have them split it. They have some nice colors, though I wish they had a few more. RJF, which is a sponsor here who carries Thoroughbred leather, has some other nice colors that one could use to fill the gaps not filled by W&C. They have a nice medium brown they call "Walnut" and a nice dark brown called "Havana" as well as Mahogany, Russet and Black. I got some sample swatches from him (Roger at RJF,) but have never used their leather. Don't know how it compares to W&C or Hermann Oak as far as rigidity after wet forming goes. W&C has a brown skiring, that (at least in the sample I got) oils to a light brown. Nice color, and would be useful to use for airbrushing the edges for a sunburst effect, as it's not too dark. And their Chestnut is very nice, especially after oiling. Those single shoulders of HO from Springfield might be a nice option for when you have a project that calls for a much different weight than what you normally have on hand. Paul

So it's Cordarbrosadtandenalc. That was my other guess. Thanks! I made a custom mix of Angelus Brown and Fiebing's Saddle Tan, that wound up a nice dark mahogany, at least on some cheap Tandy Craftsman Oak. Custom mixes can be fun like that. Paul

"You can Get HO single shoulders for 4.99 a sqaure foot at Springfield. This is what I use nearly all of the time.." Renegadelizard, I just noticed those single shoulders on their site the other day. I'm assuming their around C or D grade (you know what happens when you assume though,) but am curious as to what your experience with them is. Mostly wondering if you get a lot of useable leather, or if there's a lot of scars and fat marks to work around. If it's a good bit of useable material, that's a great price! Triage1998, what color is on those holsters? The color is really nice. On the top one, I'm guessing Angelus Cordovan, maybe Fiebing's Pro Oil Mahogany though. Paul

Saffo, what's step three? Does this make you a couch gnome? Paul

That thing is gorgeous George! With 10oz of leather, two flesh sides, and that throat re-encorcement to top it off, that thing should be around just this side of forever! Your hands must be really sore after forming that. I'm also using W&C russet, it's really nice stuff. Paul

That's funny, I find Angelus dyes stronger than Fiebing's regular spirit based dyes, but I find Fiebing's Pro Oil series to be much stronger, and lingering. Paul

Thanks guys! It started at around 9 to 9.5 oz, which I sanded (don't have a splitter unfortunately) down to just over 8oz. I'd call it about 8.3oz. Next piece I buy from them, I'll probably have them split to 8oz even. I do seal the inside of my holsters, but I do so with a foam brush. I've tried doing it with the airbrush, but it just ricochets back into my face. It's not too glossy on the body shield, but is a tiny bit shiny. That's mostly an artifact of the camera flash doing that. Paul

Haven't posted any work in a while. Here's an IWB I made not long ago. This is the second project I've made with Wickett and Craig. I'm using their Russet Saddle Skirting, and absolutely love it. I had them "holster" it, and the holsters made from it are really nice and stiff, and easily stay open for re-holstering with one hand. You can't see it in these photos, but I "beveled" the opening of the mouth a bit to further aid in re-holstering. The color is Fiebing's Pro Oil Light Brown, with Pro Oil Black airbrushed on the edges. The neatsfoot oil applied after wet forming darkened the leather a bit, so it wound up more of a medium brown. I have some light colored EVOO I may use in the future for a light color like that. Finish is 50/50 Resolene and water applied with an airbrush. Paul

I was thinking about making some wood plugs to fill the slots, but bondo may be easier.

Renegadelizard, Yeah, I noticed that. I also was thinking if I didn't press in too much detail there that it might work. Mncarpenter, I think the blue gun you listed will probably work best. I was looking at how many slots there are in the rail (3 in the TRP and 4 in the Operator) and figured the dust covers must be different lengths. But, looking at it closer, it looks like the covers are the same length and there's just different distances between the slots. Since I won't be pressing in any detail into those slots, that won't matter. Plus, the slide scallop is the right shape. Thanks Guys! Paul

Has anybody here used a dummy to mold a holster for a railed Springfield TRP? If so, what dummy did you use? I'm thinking the Blackhawk dummy might work. Here's a pic of the TRP: http://www.springfield-armory.com/armory.php?version=28 Here's a pic of the Blackhawk dummy to compare: http://www.opticsplanet.com/blackhawk-demo-gun-colt-1911-grey-44dg1911gy.html Paul

Looking through the suppliers in Shop Talk Magazine, this is what I've found. Double K Leather Sales: http://doublekleather.com/ They import Sadesa leather. It doesn't show it on their website, but they list double butts in their ad in Shop Talk. Sho Tan: I don't believe they have a website. Their number is (800) 251-7288. They have double bends listed in their ad. Milton Sokol & Co. Inc.- Demar Leather Company: Their ad says they have russet South American Skirting in double butts, as well as bridle and harness. Email is sales@msokol.com. Number is 1-888-765-6526 (it says ask for Pete.) They're in Kew Gardens NY, so if they have something that will work for you, shipping might be less. American Leather Direct: http://aleatherd.com/ They're the importer for Chahin Leather, which I believe is what ZW carries. That's all for now, if I find more, I'll let you know. Paul

I've heard the rumor about the spirit dyes as well, but I don't think there's any truth to it. Fiebing's just released five new colors of brown, four in their professional oil series, and one in their regular spirit based dyes. I don't think they'd continue to expand the line if they weren't going to be around much longer, so I wouldn't worry about it. Also, as a possible money and time saver for you, a number of people use denatured alcohol to clean leather instead of an "official" deglazer. The DA is available at your local Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, etc. I've never used actual deglazer, only DA, so cannot compare the two, but my projects have never suffered from using it. It's also what I and many others use for diluting alcohol dyes. Oh, another note: the Fiebing's professional oil dyes contain no oil, and are also spirit (aka alcohol) based. Paul

Gorgeous work Tony! I remember a gunbelt you showed me at the Wickenburg show that was English Bridle. I think you said that you don't use any finish on bridle leather since it already has some waxes and finishes. Am I remembering right? I would imagine you do something on the edges since they're dyed. Also, how are you burnishing the edges? Paul

I'll take the Glock 19 and 26. PM to follow Paul

Bluesman, I don't know if it's the light, or my monitor, but that side looks the same color as my russet side. What grade is that? It looks very nice and clean. Eric (I called you Adam on my last post...oops) I'll have to get some side by side pics of my W&C russet skirting next to some HO I have left over. I also have an HO holster that I left natural and simply oiled, along with some W&C russet pieces that I oiled, one with EVOO and one with neatsfoot. I'll get some pics of those as well. Paul

I had W&C plate the side I got from them, and it's at least as firm as the HO I've used. Makes a very rigid holster when formed. I'm loving this stuff. Adam, what type of leather are you using from them? I'm using their Russet Skirting. It's fairly close in color to regular HO. The samples I have of their russet carving leather is fairly pale, like their oak skirting. If their russet skirting still doesn't oil to the color you like for holsters/belts that are to be left natural, you could keep some HO laying around just for doing that. Paul

Great work! Fantastic boning! What are you using to bone in those lines? I think the reason to have exotic trim on a concealment rig is so the owner can look at it and enjoy it when they aren't wearing it. And of course to show their shooting buddies when they come over. I like to leave some of my nicer looking holsters laying around on my desk, just so I can admire them.

Be very careful though ordering from Springfield, their website is leatherworker's crack! Also they're probably the most customer oriented company, in any industry, anywhere. You will be back for more. Paul

Put on a pair of rubber gloves and hand sew something for about an hour. The sweat mixed with the rubbing action from the gloves does a really good job of removing dye.

Also, if you go with that leather I linked to and double it up, I'd probably get the 3-4 oz. if I was making an IWB for a normal size pistol. Maybe the 4-5 oz if you're making an OWB for a big blaster like an L or N frame Smith, or an all steel 1911 or something. You could sand the 4-5 oz thinner if you needed to for other projects (assuming you have some sort of power sanding equipment, doing it by hand would take forever.) Paul

Yikes! They want 7 dollars a square for their lowest grade leather! If I were you, I'd call up Springfield Leather and have them cut you a piece the size that you want. They don't charge any extra for this service, and they charge actual shipping, so at worst you'd probably break even, and have a better grade of leather. Here's a link to their imported leather: http://springfieldleather.com/20623/Side%2CTooling%2C2-3oz%2CSoft/ That's going to be thin for a holster unless you are doubling it up as you intended to do with the Tandy leather. They have thicker leathers as well that you could just use a single layer with. One thing about the lower grade Tandy leathers (maybe the other grades too, I don't know) is that after a while it smells like fish oil, not really like leather. Anyway, call or e-mail Springfield, tell them what you want to do, and they'll advise you on the best route. You can also get your dyes and finishes and anything else you may need at the same time. Paul

Ditto what everyone said about bellies. They're good for making new patterns, testing finishes, etc. but not for a useable holster.