Deanimator

I've been out of work since February of '09. In this employment environment, people don't look too askance at ANY kind of paying job. I could tell my mother that I'd started making a living as a human trafficker, and she'd probably say, "Honey, that's great! I'm glad to see you back to work!" So far, the worst reaction I've gotten, especially from relatives, was surprise. Most friends and relatives hope I'm eventually able to make a living from my holsters.

That's definitely WAY too long. I just run my holsters under warm tap water until they're damp, inside and out, and get excellent results. If something needs a little more forming, I just wet that area down with a damp sponge. If it really needs remolding, it just goes under the tap again til it's wet.

I haven't gone with any secondary stitch lines from inside of the lines on the edge for precisely that reason. When wet molded to the non-rail guns, the holsters fit well. I haven't got a railed gun to try.

Looks like the consensus is to mold, which I've done to my previous prototypes. Thanks.

I'm making up a few tuckable IWBs for my club's swap meet. I just finished a Glock 19/23 holster and will be finishing up a Glock 17/22 holster and starting on an M1911 holster. I only carry and use Glocks (and M1911s) without light rails, since I don't like the rails or the lights. In order to cater to the broadest spectrum of potential buyers, I'm wondering if I should wet mold these three holsters. I've never owned a railed gun, so I don't know if there's enough difference in outline to make a difference if I wet mold to my 2nd Gen Glocks and my stock Norinco M1911. Any suggestions?

It's a good book. A lot of the designs are kind of dated, with exposed trigger guards, etc., but in terms of basic technique, it's fantastic.

Does anyone know of any stores in the Cleveland area with a good selection of leatherworking tools besides Tandy?

Assuming there's a future in this, I plan to gradually replace the cheap stuff with good stuff. I just can't afford to buy all good stuff at one time without any assurance that this is going to be anything more than a way to make holsters just for myself.

Whom do you recommend as an online source and what haft would you use? Thanks.

Those are the ones with the interchangeable hafts, right? They seem to have two hafts. Which one would you recommend? Thanks.

I did several searches on "awl" and "stitch awl" and got 0 results, so excuse me if this has been addressed before. I've been using the small scratch awl that Tandy sells with reasonable success, but I would prefer smaller stitch holes. I bought one of the cheap Tandy (not the one with the thread bobbin) stitch awls (which I somehow missed when I bought the scratch awl) the other day. I promptly broke the blade, and promptly broke the remainder when I attempted to remount it in another handle. I'm looking for a reasonably priced stitch awl that's not so insanely hard to the point of brittleness. I thought I'd seen somebody mention the Tandy awls BENDING. Perhaps this is their "fix". I've got a few projects to finish up, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

I use a 5per Tandy. My objection to it is that it wobbles, causing it to walk out of my stitch groove unless I'm VERY careful, and even then it sometimes happens. I also wet the groove before I use it, which gives me better results.

I seem to recall seeing somebody do something similar on "How it's Made". Of course I don't have and can't afford a scroll saw...

I also recently bought one of those wheels. The nut holding it in place wants to come loose if you don't tighten it enough. It seems to work reasonably well. Other than my fingers, I use the handles of my tools for boning in the gun. The butt of an edger or stitch groover works well for getting inside the trigger guard. For fine detail, I use the handle of my free-hand stitch groover. It's just the right size and shape. I also use a Sharpie.

I usually backstitch, but occasionally end up not doing it for whatever reason. When that's the case, I tie off on the back side. It looked to me like in the example, it was done on the front.

Nice work. My only suggestion is regarding ending your stitches. It looks like you tied them off on the front side. I always do it on the back, then flatten them down by rubbing with an old soup spoon.

I bought the last pair my neighborhood Lowe's had today. I need to get a bunch of holsters made for next month's club swap meet so they're going to get a workout..

I think you're definitely onto something here. As I believe I mentioned, I tried using my grandmother's 50+ year old seamstress's shears, but they need a good sharpening. I got my tuckable M1911 IWB done this weekend, and for the most part managed to get pretty straight edges, which I cleaned up with a Dremel and sanding drum on a router speed control to keep the speed down. I'll definitely have to give the Kobalt's a look since I actually walked past Lowe's today when I was out for exercise a couple of hours ago. Thanks.

I didn't think of that. I'll give that a try before I resort to something like emery paper. Thanks.

Finished sewing and molding this afternoon. Actually finished my first roll of thread making this one. It was TIGHT before I wet molded it, and that was with a Norinco with small sights! After the molding, my ball gun with Bomar sights fit perfectly. I'll let it dry a day or two and then dye it. The Eco Flo glue I used on the reinforcement ran a little. I wiped it up right away, but where it ran appears to repel water. I figure that'll affect the dye. Any suggestions? Thanks.

I had one of those in high school in the '70s for doing woodcuts and airbrush stencils!

My clip attachment paddle is gluing up tonight and I've traced the holster body onto my leather. I'll sew the paddle tomorrow and cut out the holster body. I'll put in a new blade and give the X-Acto knife a try. Thanks.

That's what I use to cut out fine details (like small slots) in patterns and on components. I don't think it ever occurred to me to try to cut entire pieces from a hide using it. I take it you would need to make multiple passes.

Are you talking about an X-Acto knife?

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