lws380

Thanks! Just some oil tanned stuff I picked up at Tandy quite a while back. It was about 8-10 oz and too thick probably, but DIL liked the color and asked me to use it, so I did. I sewed it with 277 thread, so the sucker is pretty sturdy and should last forever. When I make another ill use closer to 5 oz and do a few things different.

I would suggest keeping it if you want to do thin stuff. I don't try to sew thinner than 5-6 ounce total thickness on my Cobra 4. I actually bought a Cobra 18 to do thinner stuff and it works better for thinner leather. Unless you need the money, why not wait a little bit to see if you need the Consew for thinner stuff if the Cobra won't work? You can sell it later if the Cobra does all you need.

I make holsters and belts, but a family member wanted me to make them a tote bag/purse. This turned out OK, but I learned a few things making it, that I will likely change the next time. The leather was almost too thick but it worked out OK in the end. She liked it and now some others want one too. Maybe I should just stick to the holsters and belts. It is 13 inches wide, 17 inches tall, 3 inches thick.

If you could borrow a regular sewing machine for cloth/material it would give you some basic knowledge. I knew how to sew material from our old Kenmore from Sears. Leather certainly is different but many of the concepts are the same.

In TX you have to show your CHL when asked for identification. I would not want to be reaching or pulling a gun out to get my CHL. I prefer to keep the license away from the gun.

Can you take it to someone and have them laser the initials?

Another vote for a Cobra 4. I have two of them and a Cobra 18 for thinner stuff. I make holsters and belts and the Cobra 4 handles both easily. I know another local leather worker that bought a different brand. He could not get it to sew properly and the support he was getting from the seller could not solve his problems. He ultimately called Steve at Cobra, and with his help, got the machine to sew correctly. In addition to a good machine, Leather Machine Company will help you when you need it. I suggest you factor service and support into you decision process as well.

I use a dehydrator from Cabela's. They have two sizes. It circulates air and you can even get some real low temps as well if wanted. I usually keep temps about 100-115. At one time I used an oven, but used the lowest setting which I think was 100 degrees. I used the convection setting as that circulates the air, where just the regular oven setting does not.

I switched to Dura Edge and it seems better. Only two colors and the brown is fairly dark. Wished they had dome lighter brown colors.

I like a little more leather to go up the slide some. A hump if you will. I call the extra leather a mouth reinforcement and it does help keep the mouth of the holster open for re-holstering. I used to make the mouth reinforcement optional and just charged a little more if they wanted it. The great majority wanted the reinforcement, so I just changed my price to reflect the extra charge and make it a standard feature for both IWB and OWB holsters. I also think it does help the looks of the holster, IMO.

Unless you are buying large quantities that price seems reasonable. Hermann Oak requires a minimum number of hides (10+) to order directly from them. If you buy smaller quantities you will need to go through a wholesaler and generally pay a 20% +/- markup on the leather. The thickness of the leather is somewhat irrelevant. The cost difference between 10/11 oz vs 2/3 oz leather is about .25 per ft. A thicker hide is split to the thickness that you want. You are essentially paying for the thicker hide and having it split to the size you want. Leather has had several price increases over the past few years and continues to rise. If it is good leather, the $8 range is reasonable IMO.

Very helpful information from Lobo. Thanks for your feed back. I'm a one man shop and have resisted hiring help, which I'm sure I could use. I've invested in several machines that help me be a little more efficient. For instance, I use both white and black thread. I got tired of changing the thread for the various options, so I bought a second Cobra Class 4 and set up white on one and black on the other. Another reason I wanted a second machine, was for a back up. My Cobra 4's have never had any problems, but if I only had one and it went down for some reason, I'd be screwed for a few weeks until it could be fixed. If you have a production shop and only one sewing machine, you better have a plan of some sort, in case it goes down. I've also added a Cobra 18 for thin leather work. I bought a Cobra 10 ton clicker a year or two ago and I'm glad I did. It is a good time saver. I buy dyes from Kirk and Heather at Texas Custom Dyes. Great people and great products, IMO. I generally buy dyes for guns that are very popular and still hand cut ones that are not as popular. For instance, when the Ruger LCP came out, I immediately got a dye made for that gun, as it was a very hot seller. With the clicker and dyes, I can stamp out 10+ patterns in the same time it would take me to trace a pattern and cut one by hand. I can also pre-cut patterns and have them prepped for orders. I also added the Cobra 14 splitter which has been a nice addition to my shop. I'll be picking up a Cobra strap cutter in a few weeks at the Boot and Saddle Makers Trade Show in Wichita Falls, TX. I'm semi-retired and had a long career (38+ years) in the financial services industry. Started making holsters 8 years ago and just love making them and doing leather work. I've about run out of machines to buy, but have a couple more in my my sights for the future. Best of luck for you!

Maybe because they are illegal in most places? I know they are here in Texas. Considering they are illegal here, I don't think I would have made such a product to have my name attached to it. I'm not judging, just my thoughts. It looks very well made!

Warm to hot water helps too and seems to work faster for me.

Please add

Here is the link to Hermann Oak home page. Go down to the very bottom of the page and click on the PDF letter. That will explain some of the causes of increased cost of leather. It has been going up in cost and will likely continue! http://www.hermannoakleather.com/

Over the last several years, I've had a few request from customers that wanted to mail their guns to me. I told them that they could only do it by going through an FFL on both ends. That would require two shipping charges and 2 FFL fees, that they would have to pay for. That typically ends the conversation as the cost of shipping and FFL fees are more than the cost of the holster. My FFL recently jacked up his transfer charges, so I decided to get my own FFL. It cost $200 for the first 3 years and I believe $90 for renewal. The process took about 90 days and it was not that bad. I expected it to be much worse, but was surprised how easy it was to get the license. I found the ATF to be helpful and they have always answered my questions. I call them all the time for guidance to help ensure I'm doing everything by the book. I applied for the license in my company name. So now individuals can mail their guns directly to me for holster making. I can in turn mail the gun directly back to them, since I'm only constructing a holster, not altering the gun or selling the gun. I do have to keep a log book for guns that come in for holster making, logging the gun in and out. Unfortunately, the individual does not have the same shipping options as an FFL holder. An individual with out an FFL has to use over night shipping with Fed Ex or UPS and that is fairly costly. A client did that a couple of months ago and it cost him $70 or so to ship it to me. I shipped it back to him ( I have to ship it exactly back to the address it came from, no where else) with his holster for about $30 or so and that included $500 for insurance. An FFL can apparently use the USPS for shipping, but my suggestion is to avoid the USPS like the plague. I was also told by other FFL's to not use the Postal Service. I simply take my package to a mom and pop contract mail center. I give them a copy of my FFL and also put a copy in the package and they ship it the cheapest way they can find. But you have more shipping options as an FFL and there is no over night requirement if you are an FFL. Always pay for the insurance value of the gun when shipping, they can get lost on rare occasions. Ever see those stories on TV with a Fed Ex or UPS truck burning on the road? Someone might be able to find an FFL to ship for them, but the gun has to be shipped back to the same FFL and not the customers address! If the customer could talk the FFL into a deal on the FFL cost, that may be a better alternative to the customer having to ship overnight. On occasion, I do buy real guns for molding. Having the FFL allows the guns to be shipped directly to me and avoid the FFL charges. In regard to getting an FFL. One thing that kept coming up in my research and the actual process, has to do with where you live. It you live in a city that has an ordinance against having an FFl you will likely not get it. Also, if you have a homeowners association, they will have to approve you having a FFL before the ATF will approve. Luckily, I live in an unincorporated portion of my county and we do not have a homeowners association. Also, there has to be a business reason for getting an FFL. Just to buy guns at wholesale cost is not reason enough. Having an FFL to receive guns for holster making is a business reason. There is record keeping involved and I think you have to keep your records for 20 years. However, I do not buy and sell lots of guns and I don't really do the transfer business for people. I've had calls asking what I charge for transfers and I simply tell them I don't do transfers as I got my license for holster work. Since I'm not doing tons of transfers, the record keeping is not that bad. I would also suggest having a good fire proof gun safe to store and protect someones property (gun) when they send it to you, as well as your records. You will have to log all weapons in and out in your FFL log book.

I went to Fastenal and bought various sizes of stainless steel ball bearings and some 1/4 stainless rod. Took them to a welding shop and had then weld the rods onto the ball bearings. I think the sizes of ball bearings were 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, and 3/4. Here is a picture. I find myself using the two smaller ones the most and the 3/8 predominately. I use them around the trigger guard mostly. Buff them up real shinny on your buffer and they are good to go. They could probably use a better handle, but I generally just use a piece of wool scrap as a pad to protect my hand. And I use a Tandy boning tool too.

To some degree it kind of depends on the size of the gun. I might use a little thicker pieces for a lager gun and thinner for smaller pocket holsters. I bought one of the Cobra leather splitters about a year or so ago. It comes in very handy for splitting leather to the size you need. You can also buy a little thicker leather and splitt it to the size you need. That way you do not have to buy as many thicknesses of leather. Love mine!

I got both the Cobra Class 14 splitter and the 10 ton clicker in the past 9 months. What great additions. You will love them both. I'll be at the show as well. Also, now that you will have a clicker, I would recommend Texas Custom Dies for your dies. They make great dies and are great people and are in Mansfield Tx. I think they will be a vendor at the show as well, they were there last year. http://www.texascustomdies.com/ Doug Bear Creek Holsters

Hand sewing at first, but after I bought a Cobra 4, I know I should have gotten it earlier. May hands got pretty sore hand sewing all the time. Machine sews a holster in a minute or so, compared to 20 minutes by hand. If you want to increase the volume, you need a machine IMO. I liked the Cobra so much, I got another one just like it. I have natural thread set up on one and balck on the other. I got tired of changing thread and decided I should have a back up in case one broke. If I was without my machine, I'd be screwed. So now have two, just in case. I've also added a Cobra Clicker dye and a Cobra leather splitter. Love them too and they are time savers as well.

Particle, Thanks, I thought they were slightly off. I prefer not to 'wing it" and use a close mold. So I will turn down the request. Thanks again!

Does anyone know if a 3 inch 1911 dummy gun will work as a mold for an EMP? Thanks.

I called Botach once and left a message to return my call, never happened. I was persistant and kept calling them. Once I got to someone, it was clear they did not have a clue to what was going on. Not very knowledgeable. That was the end of me every trying them again.

Not sure where you get your leather, but several of the suppliers will strip the hide for you at a mininal cost. I know Zack White Leather and Weaver will strip it for you. Maybe you could order a hide from them just for the straps you need. I do that for my belts currently. Zack White charges me $5 to cut belt straps from the entire side that I buy. Very reasonable IMO. Good luck!