Colt Hammerless

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.

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