LederRudi

Appealing professionally executed work! I’m thinking of making kind of a “traveler’s double shoulder holster” with two bags instead of the gun holsters to be worn while travelling and thrusting my way through crowded bazaars. The bags should contain passport, wallet, kindle reader, reading glasses and shades and may be some more small items. I’d planned to do it the way Al Stohlman describes in “How to Make Holsters”. Your posting shows that the construction could be simplified considerably and basically consists of the back plate and four straps. May I ask the thickness of the leather you used?

I once again pull my hat, Josh! Impressive work! If my life would depend on finding something to criticize, then it would be the square shape of the padding of the holster’s snap. But who am I to shoot my mouth off, considering the fact that I have yet to produce a piece of comparable quality! By the way, nice flesh side!

Your customer doesn't want to just hold his pants in place with this amazing piece of art, does he?

I’ll second that. Great inspiration! Brilliantly simple! It seems that on the free market a maker’s stamp and a blasé attitude are at least as important as craftsmanship. Some pictures come out very small, at least on my screen, and don’t reveal much of the details I’d like to see (and other members as well, I guess). It’s 5-6 oz leather, right?

Always a pleasure to read your contributions, Mike!

LOL! Hey Josh, not being restricted by such worries, I got out a substantial improvement of my own backside. I’ll take a picture (though this ain’t easy at all) and post it shortly. Cheers, Rudi

Thanks, Frank. Cheers, Rudi

For what it's worth coming from an amateur: BEE-YOU-TEE-FUL!! By the way, may I ask how you get such a smooth, even flesh side? I treat the back side of my unlined projects with gum trag and smooth it with the edge of a glass burnisher. But the trag tends to crack up when the leather is flexed.

Thank you for responding to my question, Chuck. I'll definitely have a go at a case similar to yours. Rudi

I'm just one more to say glad to see you back in the saddle again! Even on the other side of the great pond people missed your grumpy comments.

Great work! I'm mulling over a sword case as a present for my son's Aikido/Iaido Trainer to Transport four or five iaitos in it. I planned it for his 70th birthday. May be now for his 71st... I take it the lids are made from wood and held in place by upholstery tacks?

Very classy, clean, professional work! I admire especially the molding. May I ask how you do it? Bonefolder, press, vacuum?

Just great! Running out of appropriate superlatives! I like the tri-weave. Is it the Tandy stamp you used on this project?

I'll second that! Great work as always!

Dito. Will steal your design

You've every right to be proud of your scowling skull. The spqaringly applied shading is just right for the three-dimensional effect. I imagine that the pros and perfectionists around here could comment on the somewhat choppy beveling, To me it seems perfectly adequate to the subject. You've made me think of trying some figure carving myself.

"Bist denn du deppert!" (exclamation of excitement and awe in Viennese German)

Hi Chief, glad to read that you enjoyed your stay in Austria. I've been several times to the US and Canada (sightseeing [NY, Chicago, Southwest], canoeing, fishing [Yukon, Alaska, MN Boundary Waters]) and enjoyed it immensely. Thanks for the elaborate description of the process. When I made a book cover for a friend’s birthday last year, I stretched an oval till it had sharp points on top and bottom and thus divided the square. An oval sitting in the middle of even stamping looks much better of course. Rudi

Same here. WOW - Kowtow!

...and some hide a SAA between the book covers . Nice, clean stamping! I wonder how you managed to get around the medaillons (and make the impressions meet)!

You've got a Point there, Sooper Jake! The inner line stares at me now like the Eye of Horus. Originally I decided to focus on the actual making of the piece and to refrain from any embellishment, but then I got a shipment of Barry King tools...

8-9 oz lined with 4-5 oz, oiled and sealed. The tooling on the loop is treated with some tan Gel Antique. Actually a practice Piece. So far I'm pleased with the outcome. The only thing that annoys me is that you can see where the stitching around the open end and the main seam meet. Next time I'll do the sewing in one pass starting with the open end on the back side. Hints and comments are as always welcome.

Hi Danny, impressive carving on that quiver! The 7-1/2" Colt design fits nicely. It's as if you kept the carving on one side so as not to overcrowd the piece. Nice, clean work! As opposed to my own pieces that soetimes look like der Kuh aus dem Arsch gezogen (pulled out of a cow's ass). A while ago I've tried to create my own design for the jockstrap holster in Stohlman's book. I borrowed heavily from Bob Parks book on western floral design. Basically I forced two circles of one of the templates into the outline of the holster and added some small leaves and scrolls. I was rather pleased with the outcome but I botched the actual carving. Since then I'm suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. Höchste Eisenbahn, noch einen Versuch zu machen und das Trauma zu überwinden (highest railway to have another go at it in order to overcome the trauma ). Beste Grüße nach Norddeutschland, Rudi

Nicely done! I used the same pattern for one of my first stabs at holster-making. The outcome couldn't compete with yours. I only kept it to remind me how I started. Did you create the carving pattern by yourself? It's different from the two designs the book suggests.

It took me a while to realize that the basketweave literally is "carved" as opposed to "stamped". Fabulous work! What kind of a beveler did you use? Is it triangle-shaped?