marine mp

Verrry nice, indeed. The recipient should be more thank pleased with the shooter holders!!! Semper-fi Mike

Richard, I guess you can try spraying it, but I've had the same problem with tan coat. I have since gone to resolene and there is now streaking and it seems to be a better finish. Semper-fi Mike

Ray, In todays "I want it, and I want it now" and never mind reading the instructions......just send it to me...society, the mindset is to place the blame on someone other than oneself. The people who order a custom-made holster without thinking through what they want, even though it's been told to them or written out in bold print, the consequences need to fall squarely on the perpertraitor. You did well to do such. Semper-fi MIke

Triage1998, Welcome to the forum. As you've already found, much knowledge exhists here and the willingness to share is astounding. Lots of nice folks. My advice, worth only a few cents, is don't go out and buy a lot of leatherworking tools and sech. Buy a few square feet of some "good" leather, (many advertise here) a craft knife, some sewing cord, "000" needles and leather glue. Maybe some feibings dye in black or tan or oxblood red. Make a few holsters and get some experience and then go from there. It'll be more fun than a barrell of monkeys and with little spent dead presidents, even better. Good luck and Semper-fi Mike

Warpe, I've always burnished the edges before 'roonin, so I can't address that situation....but......I can tell you that the canges that affect the tannin' process when 'rooned, make it so that it is a bit tougher, for lack of a better word. I find that the tooling requires more effort and when forming it, the results are a bit less than satisfactory. It doesn't stiffen (?) up like a dyed piece does. Vinegarooning works on the tannin's in the leather and I believe that may be the root cause of the prolem. Semper-fi Mike

CodaWolf, A exceptional beginners piece, no doubt. You"ve identified your own stitchline/trigger guard problem and the only other thing that you might change, in my opinion, is to make the re-enforcement piece a little smaller. It looks to wide to me and at 8-9 oz. it make for about16-18 oz. total thickness. Myself, I don't see the need for that piece, to begin with. I know it's function, but believe you can do without it, but it seems to be a fad these days. Also, a fantastic belt. I may one day want to torture my hands a and do one myself. Excellent work. Semper-fi Mike

Mekial2222, If I can be so bold as to interject something here....... before you decide to make a IWB,....take that shooter (UNLOADED) that you especially want to make a holster for and wear it inside your trousers for about 8 hours on a weekend, and do your natural routine during the day. Bending, sitting, doing everyday stuff......and if you are o.k. with a weapon inside your pants for a day, then go ahead and make a holster. If you don't like it, then you would have saved all that time making a holster that will spend its time in the "holster drawer"!!!! For MYSELF, I can't abide a weapon inside my beltline. People come to me (mostly new to the carry scene) and want a IWB holster an I tell them to do as I described above. They come back wanting a OWB and are happy for the intel. Just a thought. To each his own. Semper-fi Mike

Same-same. I've never reinforced mine and have never had a complaint. As the above posters have said....plemty of glue during assembly and soup-a-man couldn't get it apart. When your hand stitching, the less you gotta stitch...the better!!!! Semper-fi Mike

Jim, Very nice work indeed. I've neva worked w/horsehide but may have to bring it to the table soon...as lately I've seen some nice pieces on the forum. Again, very nice and being a "wheel-man" am especially impressed w/the revolver holster. Excellent color, also. Semper-fi Mike

Mike, All in all...a great job!!! As for me, it is a little to shiny and the rear-most part of the holster, by the back belt-loop, could stand to be cut just a tad lower to accomodate a more user-friendly purchase on the stocks. Just my observations...may not be true at all. We are our most harsh critics!!!!! Most folks you make a holster for are tickled pink with the things we most likely would toss to the wolves. Thats whats nice about a hand-made, hand sewn piece. There will be mistakes and thats what makes it a piece of art. Some may disagree with that statement as the only thing that leaves their shop must be perfect, without blemish. My-self, I strive for perfection, but haven't quite made it yet, and never will. Anyways, Semper-fi Mike

Super sheen is a sealer, I thot. If you use that first, I don't see a need for a conditioner. I believe the modus-operendi is bas-ackwards!!! Semper-fi Mike

Omar, Welcome to the forum. I've used several different kinds of conditioner, all store bought. I now cook my own up...all parts equal in WEIGHT....1) Beeswax 2)Pure neatsfoot oil 3)Parafin wax (canning wax). Melt it all on the stove and pour into a cupcake tin and let solidify. Rub into leather. Done. Now..I have heard of the Leather Honey of which you speak, but haven't tried it as I like my concoction. (Got the recipe from Dwight). If you would like to send me a free sample to try, I will give it my unbiased opinion. Semper-fi Mike

Nick, my suggestion would be to continue on w/the 1/16 drill bit and get a stitching awl (fid) to open the holes larger. Anymore, I just use the overstich wheel for hole placement and use the stitching awl to go thru the leather. As you are stitching (I do all by hand) you may find that you have to open the holes a little more as they tend to want to close up on you. Also, if you don't already have one....get a lap horse to hold the leather for a hands-free experience. $$$$ well spent. Enjoy---Semper-fi Mike

Guy, Once you cut out the "window" for the inlay...trim about 1/8th inch off of the perimeter of that cut out piece and glue it under (samdwich it) the "exotic" piece. That way it will ......for lack of a better word...."puff up" the exotic" and make it even with the top piece of leather and not below the surface of it. Semper-fi Mike

Well Guy...you sound like the piggy bank is-a-squelling right about now!!! I spent about 20 dollars to make my first 3 holsters. I bought a razor knife/craft blade, a piece of leather from the belt maker in town and bought a needle and thread from him also. At least you have the gear necessary. Don't complicate the process and have fun with it. I think sometimes we make it to hard. Semper-fi Mike

Tandy's leather glue. Cheap and works great. Semper-fi Mike

Indy, Here's what I use to finish all my holsters. It conditions, waterproofs and seals all in one. Equal parts in weight, of the following...beeswax, parafin wax and pure neatsfoot oil. Put in a pan, heat and stir it all together, let cool some and pour into cupcake (without the paper) tin and let solidify. Rub briskly into finished leather and you can heat with a hair dryer or not, buff out. Good-on-ya. Semper-fi Mike

Hiloboy, I've tried the Minwax and was not pleased with the outcome. As the above poster stated, try making your oun dyes...vinegar black (steel shavings and vinegar), coffee dye (coffee grounds and water) and walnut dyes (crushed walnut shells). Do some "searching" on this site and you'll learn a lot on the subject. Good-on-ya. Semper-fi Mike

JDM, Similiar to your mixture, .....I use a mixture that I picked up from DWIGHT...all by weight 1) Beeswax 2) (real)Neatsfoot Oil 3) Wax for canning (forgot what it's called and I'm at work!!!). Rub it in after all else is done. Not just water resistant...waterproof. Semper-fi Mike

Shooter, If you PM me your address, I will send some hard copies of pictures. I have tried several times to post pictures and have come to the realization that the computer is smarter than I !!!!!!! Semper-fi Mike

Eaglestroker, I don't see anything!!!!!!! Semper-fi Mike

ShortBBl, I do sell my irregulars and boo-boo's!!! As Lobo, Dwight and others have said, this is a business where mistakes are made regularly and if your not making mistakes, your not making holsters or belts or etc. To me, it is a work of art (sometimes my art is pretty bad!!!) but each is handmade and if a stitch is out of place or a pencil mark shows thru or whatever else can be done to call it a "mistake"..it is still a functioning piece of leather that shows it was handmade. Yep, I sell them and the customer is usually happy, mistake and all. Besides, this "mistake" will be mostly stuffed inside someones trousers or under their shirt or jacket. Have you seen some of this crap coming out of mexico and other offshore countries for $19.95 that people are buying!!!!! Those are mistakes all over from the git-go, and people buy them up. So...yes, I do sell them at a discount and do tell up front that there is a flaw, but not with the functionality. Semper-fi Mike

Cyrus, Good to see you made it from the other forum. Really good people here too. Most of my CCW holsters are done in the "Oxblood" Feibings. I do not thin it out but I do have to put on multiple coats to get a even ccoloring. No big deal. I then finish with a light coat of neatsfoot oil, let it dry and then put finish coats on it as per you flavor. Semper-fi Mike

Black first, then brown, then EVOO, then British Tan. Looks good. Semper-fi Mike

Hey Dan, Beuatimus!!!!! I wouldn't change a thing. You don't have to build the belt as to how all others build them. Be yourself. Do it your way. As I believe, I wouldn'r change a thing. Semper-fi MIke