Colt Hammerless

Thanks for the reply Chef niloc!

Thanks for the reply Chef niloc. So if I understand it right, your doing the progressive sanding on the flesh side, then 120 grit on the grain side? This would remove the grain and leave it a velvety texture? I haven't had a razor strop before, and thought that it was glass smooth on the grain side, with the grain intact, but it sounds like I was wrong. I assume this is the procedure you use on regular veg-tan cowhide, not latigo or bridle.

Very very nice work!

Thanks for all the responses everyone!

I've had a couple of projects with horsehide that in one small part it started coming apart at the edge, and needed to be opened up and re-cemented. I've tried roughing up the flesh side prior to cementing as well as leaving it smooth. Makes no difference. I've used two different kinds of DAP Weldwood contact cement, with the same results. The one I'm using now, is the "original" that I get at walmart in a 16 oz can and is much thinner than the stuff in the 3 oz container (with a brush) that I got at Home Depot. I've followed the instructions, letting a coat soak in, dry for 20 minutes until there was very little to no tackiness, then applying a second coat and waiting another 20, until it was shiny but little to no tackiness, then putting the two pieces together. I then pound and roll on those areas, then place about 50 pounds of weight and let it cure overnight. So, far the areas that needed re-cemented held just fine, but it's a time killer to have to wait at least another day for it to cure again. Am I doing something wrong? Does Barge or something else work better on horsehide than DAP Weldwood contact cement? I'd love to hear what everyone hear uses on horse. So far the stuff I'm using has worked fine on cowhide. Paul

Here you go: https://clevelandsholsters.com/Training_tools.html Hopefully those will be the right barrel lengths. Paul

I made the switch when a friend wanted a couple of IWB holsters. I had Springfield Leather cut me some Hermann Oak to make them out of. Before that I'd made two holsters with a Tandy Craftsman Oak single shoulder. I continued making stuff for myself with it until it was used up. I actually got good color, molding and edges with it. It's the only piece I ever bought though, so maybe I got lucky with that one. I'm currently working on my first projects with Wickett and Craig. I've also made a few projects now out of horsehide. Paul

Boy I wish I could spring for the whole lot! I'd be interested in some if you decide to break it up as well, particularly the Ruger LCP, LCR, and the cocked and locked Springfield 5 inch. It's hard to read triage1998's post, so he may have already "dibbed" some of them. Of course that's all depending on IF you split it up at all. Let us know. Paul

This is a very interesting subject. This is the first thread on this site that I've seen on the subject of razor strops. I've been wanting to start shaving with a straight for a while, and have been very interested in making strops. I've been shaving with old Gillete safety razors for a few years now. I've been lurking on "Badger and Blade", and "Straight Razor Place" for a bit. Are any of you members on either of those sites? "Are you doing any king of surfacing, or grain correction (sanding, boneing, carding, combing ext) to the leather?" Chef, when you talk about "grain correction," specifically sanding on the grain side, what grit of sandpaper are you using? I would imaging it would have to be very fine. Also the other methods are unknown to me. Are any of them similar to slicking with a glass slicker? In regards to horsehide for a hanging straight razor strop, I remember reading somewhere that soft rolled is better than hard rolled. What are your opinions on this? Have any of you used bridle leather? I would imagine it's draw being lighter than latigo, and heavier than horsehide. Paul

That is flat out gorgeous! That must have been a pretty sizable horse butt. Too bad it will be concealed and nobody will see it :-)

I recently found out on Rugerforum.com that Jonathan Peters aka "ShortBBL" passed away suddenly on March 15th. Very sad. Prayers sent for him and his family. Paul

I was on rugerforum.com and found out that one of our members "ShortBBl" passed away suddenly on March 15. There was an anouncement on his gunleather website, but the site is now down. This was copied from that site and posted on the ruger forum. Very sad. Thought you might like to make an anouncement. Paul "We regret to inform you that Jonathan Brooks Peters passed away unexpectedly on Mar 15th 2012. As any of you who met Jon know this business was his passion. He truly thrived when working with his hands and he strived to make the best gun leather accessories in the industry. It also made him so happy to share his passion with those who appreciated it so much. I know that there are a number of people out there who helped him in his journey to become the very best craftsman he could be. If any of you would like to contact me directly you can reach me at manique4@gmail.com. We will not be taking any additional orders at this time. If you have a placed an order we are in the process of sorting out which orders have been fulfilled and what inventory we have. Since this will take some time we are going to be refunding anything that we know hasn't been fulfilled. If you don't receive a refund over the next few days please don't hesitate to send an email to the address above and we will see that you are taken care of." Name: Paul Tripodi UserName: Colt Hammerless IP Address: 72.201.124.121 Email Address: ptsidetone@aol.com

Thanks guys!

Is the holster collapsing when the revolver's out? If so either the leather isn't thick enough, or from a soft part of the hide. If it's just not thick enough you could go thicker, or add a re-inforcement piece at the mouth. It's hard to tell from the photos, but it looks like you molded nice and tight behind the cylinder. I haven't made a revolver holster yet, but one thing people do with them (if they mold behind the cylinder,) is to SLIGHTLY bend the mouth opening outward during wet forming to act as a guide for re-holstering. That by itself might be the solution. Colt Hammerless

Just finished this horsehide IWB for the Ruger SR9c. The color is Fiebing's Pro Oil dark brown cut 50/50 with denatured alcohol. Finish is Angelus 620 matte acrylic cut 50/50 with water (two coats.) Neutral shoe polish on top of that. Let me know what you think. Thanks! Colt Hammerless

I've always really liked your work, and this just reinforces it. You make some of the nicest darn stuff. Yes, stitch lines tend to creep closer and closer to the gun with each new one :-) Colt Hammerless

That's a very nice holster D Fingers. And those are VERY nice edges! Are you using Bob Park's (aka hidepounder's) method? Colt Hammerless

Finished this not too long ago. Originally dyed it Saddle Tan, but didn't like the way it looked, so then tried Light Brown. Still no dice, so I finally went with Dark Brown. From a tiny bit of experimenting, it seems that horsehide takes dye better if you oil it a little first. I put another light coat of oil on after wet forming and drying in front of a space heater. Finish is two coats of Resolene cut 50/50 with water, and neutral shoe polish. Thanks for looking!

I talked with Matt from W&C for probably 3 hours at the Wickenburg show in Feburary. He said that they can press it to different levels of firmness. He mentioned how one big name holster manufacturer will specify they want it pressed or "holstered" at 5000 psi, where another will specify they want it at 6000 psi. I had them "holster" a side I got from them recently, though I didn't specify how firm I wanted it (didn't know you could do that at the time.) I haven't made anything with the piece yet, but it feels about as firm as HO I've used. Also, if you are buying drum dyed leather, some of if has the dye struck completely through, and some doesn't. If you want it struck all the way through, just ask, and they'll pick out a piece for you. Colt Hammerless

I put one to two coats on with sheeps wool, both on the grain and flesh side. This gives good penetration of the dye and is fairly even. After it has dried, I go over it with the airbrush (only on the grain side) to really even it out. Works nicely. I'm still experimenting with colors, so once I standardize on what colors I want to offer, I'll buy enough to just dip dye. If you're going to do a large amount of black projects, do what Malabar does, and buy it drum dyed. I know Wickett and Craig only charges 15 cents a square foot for drum dyed. I doubt you can even dye it yourself that cheap. They have other colors too. Colt Hammerless

That's really nice work jlaudio29. That's a good concept to have the ability to switch to IWB if needed with just a change of the straps. I really like the mag pouch too. Also, thanks for the info on the finish. Colt Hammerless

Gringobill, if you're going to Harbor Freight, check out their double action airbrush. It's normally 25 bucks, but I believe it's still on sale for around $17. I need to go take a look at one myself. I've heard they're pretty good. And if it's not on sale, you probably have a mountain of 20% off coupons from HF laying around, if you're anything like me. If I didn't live in a warm part of AZ, I'd probably heat my home with those things. Colt Hammerless

I have a snap loop OWB mag pouch and was just thinking of converting it to IWB in the exact manner you have there. I wasn't sure if it would ride too high though. There's not much "meat" hanging below the belt on a mag pouch. Then again, there's not much weight above the belt either. Good to see it works well on a holster. Your workmanship is second to none! The finish you use is nice and mellow, I really like it. What are using? Colt Hammerless

Oh, another thing. On Double K's website they show bellies in different weights starting at $1.61 a foot. Might be nice for practice, and making patterns. Don't know if ALD has bellies or not.

If you can split, skive, or sand the leather down to 4/5 oz, you can get No. 1 grade 6/7 oz veg-tan double shoulders from American Leather Direct for $4.50 a sq. ft. They have No. 2 also, but it's only 5 cents less per square. http://aleatherd.com/ They don't have their prices on the website, but I just got their price sheet at the leather show in Wickenburg last week. They have no minimum order, and I've heard they're pretty fair on shipping. They're the U.S. importer for Chahin leather. I have some sample swatches of their skirting and latigo leather, and it's nice. Another option is Double K leather, who import Sadesa leather: They have A grade 6/7 double shoulders for $4.16 a square, and B grade for $3.65. The website says they just opened a new wharehouse to serve smaller orders from leather crafters and such http://doublekleather.com/ I would think both of these options would be quite a step up from that Craftsman Oak from Tandy, for close to the same price. Colt Hammerless