Colt Hammerless

Got the Shield mold Guardian. Thanks! Paul

I just put an ad in the "Want to Buy" sub-forum for a used holster plate for a Toro 3000. I think I read somewhere on here that a plate from any of the 441 clones will work, but wanted to confirm that. Has anyone here mixed and matched needle plates between brands? Paul

Just wondering if anyone has a holster plate for a 441 clone they aren't using, and would like to sell. Mine is a Toro 3000, but I think a plate from any of the clones will work. Paul

I'll take the Shield. PM inbound.

The Ziriax knife is sold. Paul

Email sent.

Oh my goodness, that is extremely nice! Wow. Paul

I've got a few knives for sale. All have been sharpened up (slack belt sharpening on a grinder) on a series of belts up to 3000 grit , and stropped with green compound (some of which got on the brass ferrules that I forgot to clean up before taking the pics.) There's three William Roses up for sale, so I'll label them 1, 2, and 3. Rose-1 First up is a W.Rose that's 4 7/8ths inches from tip to tip. This has been one of my two go-to knives recently, and frankly I thought someone would have to pry this thing from my cold dead hands. I've using it for cutting patterns for both holsters and doing rolling cuts to cut out belts (it was my favorite for doing that.) But, I recently got in another Rose that surprisingly fits my hand even better. Can't keep them all so I'm offering this one up. It's got a slight crack in the handle, but the blade and ferrule are nice and tight. $100 plus shipping. 12/16 - Price reduced to $90 plus shipping. [/size] Rose-2 This is the big one, at just over 5 3/4 inches tip to tip. Normally with a Rose this big I'd probably ask about $120, but it's got a couple issues. The blade is crooked in the handle at what I'd guess is about a 3 degree angle (see photos.) As well it also has a crack in the handle. Now the good news. The blade and ferrule are nice and tight in the handle. The blade being at an angle doesn't effect it's ability to follow a straight line when roll cutting. Another good (or just interesting) news. When skiving, you can skive at a steep angle, then turn the blade over, and skive at a shallow angle. Actually you can skive shallow or steep with the blade turned either way, but it's just slightly easier by choosing face up or face down. $100 plus shipping. Price reduced to $90 plus shipping. Rose-3 This guy here is the cleanest and has the clearest markings of the Roses. It's just shy of 4 3/8ths inches wide. If you're doing a lot of really sharp inside curves in your cutting, this isn't your knife. Works fine for moderately tight inside curves and larger, and of course roll cutting, and skiving. $95 plus shipping. 12/16 - Price reduced to $85 plus shipping. Here's a rare little mystery knife. It was made by J.M. Ziriax. You can't see the markings on the word "Ziriax" very well, but fortunately Bruce Johnson once had someone email him a picture of another knife by this maker. The "J.M." on the one he saw wasn't clear, so between the two of us, we were able to piece it together. It's a little guy at 3 1/2 inches wide. If you want a knife for doing the sharpest curves, this thing is nice! It's not very heavy, and I originally wondered if it's lack of weight would prevent it from being a great skiver, but it skives very well actually. Blade and ferrule are nice and tight. $60 plus shipping. And here's a couple group photos for fun (and size reference.) http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa389/NAAp51/Leather%20Tools/P1080047_zpscfecac31.jpg Paul

Oh my gosh Treed! Those are really nice!! Just took a quick look at your website. Just WOW! Paul

HOLY SCHMOLLY SHOOTER!!! They sure do look alike!! I think the first time I saw the swooping exotic overlay was on one of K-Man's holsters when he was still making them. It may have been Big River Leather though. Makes me wonder how far back that goes, and who the first person to do it was. Were you inspired by anyone, or did you come up with it on your own? The leather being lowered on the front (top of the slide) was simple necessity. The first customer I made this pattern for wanted it a bit lower in the front, and I still needed to cover the trigger. msdeluca, Fiebing's Pro Oil dyes are good. I used to use them. I never really cared for the smell. It's not stronger than Angelus, just different. And it seems to linger in the shop for a day afterword. I once happened to be airbrushing some Pro Oil Mahogany the same day I came down with stomach flu, and had that smell in my nose the whole time I was ralphing! Now I HATE the smell of that stuff! Angelus has a great many colors, and are actually a good bit less expensive. I don't get much dye rub off with them (or Fiebing's Pro Oil for that matter) except for Angelus' Jet Black (witch leaves a lot of film on the surface, at least when dip dyeing.) I'm now using Angelus' Pro Black No. 507 and get very little rub off, like Fiebing's Pro Oil Black. I also use their acrylic finish (No. 600) and like it better than Resolene, as it seems less likely to get bubbles or streaks. That's when applying with a sponge brush. I've airbrushed both Resolene and Angelus 600 and see no difference when applied that way. I dip in 600 now, but have never tried that with Resolene. Paul

Thanks guys! That was the first holster I'd made on that pattern, and it's been pretty popular since. Here's a few for both Commanders and 5 inch 1911s I've made since. On this set, both the holster and the mag carrier are lined with 4 oz. Hermann Oak. Made for one heck of a stiff holster and carrier. This one's in Angelus Cordovan, though it's hard to tell in the photos. This piece of W&C seems to come out a slightly darker cordovan than I'm used to. May have to dip it in the dye for a few seconds less.

Well, it seems it's getting a bit slow in here the last few days, so I might as well contribute. I finished this a few months ago. It's the first belt I've made for a customer, and therefore the first complete set I've done. The color is Angelus Spice, with black elephant, and the cow is W&C. Paul

Thanks Oldtoolsniper! Yeah those Roses are hard. I've worked on a couple of them already. I just took the blade out of an Osborne the other day, as it was loose, and did damage the handle a bit getting it out. Never worked with a Dixon. I did have a little Gomph that seemed to be as hard as the Roses I've had. I have a nice big Gomph I got in not long ago, and haven't put an edge on it yet, so don't know how hard the steel on it will be, but I imagine it'll be hard. Fortunately, that one doesn't need much cleaning up, as it was really nice already. Paul

That's a really nice job of cleaning it up. I've got a couple of big Roses to work on myself (just got one in today actually.) A couple of other knives as well. Do you use the mineral oil to lube all of the grits of sandpaper? I've been started with 220 grit, but that's obviously too fine to start with. I guess I need to drop down a bit to get rid of some of the pitting. Paul

All knives in this ad are now sold. Paul

Glad you like it Taxman! It took me a long time to get my edges where I get them now. I kept thinking that I had a sharp knife, then would see videos of custom makers cutting far easier than I was, and realize there was more potential in those blades. A good bit of trial and error for sure. Would have saved a bunch of time if I'd had someone who knew what they were doing sharpen one for me to begin with. I think this is the best place you could have left feedback. Thanks! awharness, I'll send a PM. Paul

Very strong hands. Just kidding. I was a little surprised myself. I'm pretty sure this piece is not "holstered" and the temper is a bit softer than what I normally get from them. I actually do get a bit more detail in the holstered 8 oz. Paul

This is just from the sample piece they sent me. I haven't actually bought any yet. This piece was 10 oz. Normally I get my skirting from them split and holstered to 8 oz. Paul

Here's the finished holster. After wet forming, it seemed the color was lighter than before, and frankly, I wasn't thrilled. But, after a coat of neetsfoot oil, it really popped. Even more so after the finish was applied. Paul

Hi Taxman, The 5 inch Newark Osborne is yours. Forget the $90, I was just about to lower it to $80, so I'll let it go for the new price. PM on the way. To everyone else, I'm lowering the Harrington to $80, and the W.Rose to $95. Paul

I haven't had any issues with it firming up. There will be a few spots here and there that are a bit soft and won't firm up (mostly approaching the belly), but the majority of the hide firms up nicely. Certainly haven't had any more soft spots than with Hermann Oak. JLSleather, what type of issues have you had? When you've gotten leather from W&C, did you have them "holster" it for you? I've heard the temper of their non-holstered leather is softer than HO, but I've only ever gotten "holstered" from them. Actually, I think these samples are regular temper as it does seem softer (even though it's 10 oz. and the backs I get from them are 8 oz.) so it'll be interesting to see how it firms up when I wet form the holster I'm making out of it.

Hi Im Joe, Yeah it was just a passing comment at first, but he seemed really interested. We started brainstorming ideas for color, and both reached the conclusion that their burgundy bridle leather was the color range to go for. He said they're basically taking the burgundy bridle and leaving it as a skirting leather (without all the waxes and such that would go into a bridle leather) for the mahogany. George B, Matt emailed me just about two weeks ago now, and said the batch would be ready in about two weeks, so I think your order may be shipping soon. It's a dream of mine to have my leather drum dyed. I'll have to ease into it though, as it's quite an investment to have 4 or 5 colors on hand. I'll probably start with Havana, as dark brown has outpaced mahogany for me as of late. Paul

I was speaking with Matt Bressler, W&C's sales manager, at the leather trade show in Prescott, AZ this last March, and mentioned to him that I'd eventually like to switch to drum dyed leather for my holsters, belts, and mag pouches. I told him the only color missing in their line up is mahogany, which is a shame because that seems to be a very popular color for holsters (certainly is for me.) He seemed interested in the idea, and said he'd try to get a few samples made to test out. Well I was ordering a piece of skirting from him about a month ago, and he mentioned that they made a few test pieces, so he sent me a sample to try out. Here's some pics of it next to a sample of their dark brown skirting (Havana.) I haven't made anything with it yet, but hope to make a small pancake holster soon to see how it looks when oiled and finished. Matt said they've gone ahead and started a small production run of it, so it should be ready to order now. They're gearing it pretty much toward holster makers, and therefore are offering it no heavier than 8-10 oz. at the moment. Of course, they'll split it to thinner weights. Thought some of you might be interested. Paul

And a picture of that custom knife would be cool as well!

91 degrees! Heck, it was 116 here the other day! Paul