Shooter McGavin

I like to use EcoFlo Satin Sheen, and buff it with a soft cloth after each coat, of which I typically do 3, warming the leather with a heat gun before applying.

Ya I dont see it online either, I had to call and ask. They seem to have a lot of oddities that arent online or in their catalog. I dug up my old invoice and the part number for the "shark strip" is 144-103. Hope this helps! bitone40: The mag carrier is wet formed and very rigid. I used 8-9oz leather which is overkill but all I had. You could stand on it I think and not collapse the opening lol.

Yes its pretty thin but also very tough. I was worried that the mag holder wouldnt stretch enough when I wet it all up. It has a texture like sandpaper and would be a great addition to an IWB rig. The piece I received was maybe 2 feet long and 6 inches wide. I could easily do 4 sets like you see here. It comes in brown but takes dye nicely.

Ordered one of the 10 dollar shark bellies from Springfield. Used it on a holster set and it came out pretty nice. Just in case anyone was debating ordering some, my opinion is go for it!

slide profile is way different.

SO, if you have latex gloves on with dye all over them, and also have some dye on the bottle, then go to pick the bottle up, it leaves your wood workbench a really nice color, along with most of your tools, your wall, some of your clothes, and whatever finished pieces of a lighter color happen to be laying there. Plus it will smell your whole house up. BAH!

SPF

Got an extra room for rent?

It did stiffen up nicely. I force dry them after molding in a "hotbox" Also, damn good eye you got there. I looked at my packing list and it is actually 8/9 weight.

The lines arent as sharp as they are on the blue guns. I guess the benefit is that you can use the aluminum guns in a press molding setup. Thanks Dan

I have 2 Duncans guns that I bought last week and honestly I'd rather use the Rings blue guns. I have the Browning Hi-Power and the S&W M&P 9/40 full size. Will trade for like items from Rings Blue Guns or sell outright for 45 shipped each. Thanks! Dan

If I understand your question correctly, I believe the holster you refer to is the Askins Avenger holster, or clones thereof. I have made them both ways, and prefer to have the wraparound piece that reinforces the mouth. But again, I have also had success without wrapping the trim piece around the mouth. In the end, it is up to you. Find threads by username "partice" on here for some beautiful examples of that style of holster.

I ordered one this afternoon as well. Anxiety is the word of the day. Any tips youd like to share from your experiences getting yours set up and running? Cheers!

Nice Work! Especially towards the middle there where you have the water on top of the fish.

After the dye, I applied a coating of neatsfoots oil and let that soak in overnight. Then 3 coats of satin sheen on the black, 2 coats of super sheen on the brown. i warm up the leather with a heat gun between coats and buff with an old t-shirt before the last coat fully dries.

If you dont have a protractor, you can measure 6 inches out along the belt line from your center line, then go vertical 1 5/8 inch, up on one side, down on the other, to obtain your 15 degree angle.

Thanks all. Adam: I found that the Hermann Oak seemed tougher to mold for me. Might be due in part to the heavier weight, or maybe I didnt get it at just the right time. I do however absolutely love the grain pattern this piece of hide has, and hope that it is all like that.

I recently obtained a full side of Hermann Oak 7/8oz leather. Until this point I've been using the single shoulders from Tandy in 6/7oz.. This is also my first time using a dye other than eco flo. Based on recommendations on the board I bought some Fiebings USMC black for this project and was not disappointed. Another first for me was using a Harbor Freight 1x30 belt sander to clean up the edges of the holster after gluing and leaving to cure. Yet another first, I used a wax mixture on the edges that Lobo was kind enough to hook me up with to try. I think it worked very good even though I did not use any power tools in the burnishing/ sealing of the edges. And the last first, after watching Particles 3 part video on Youtube, was applying gum traganth(sp?) to the inside of the leather and then a serving of Satin Sheen on the inside to seal it up. Never thought about that before. So a lot of knowledge and help on the part of a lot of board members went into making this piece. I h ope I did you all at least a little proud with this one. I can see continued improvement in my leather work, which just a month ago, I had absolutely zero experience in. I hope I never stop improving. Thanks all!

Wow, lots of activity today! Thank you for all the replies! I can 100 percent for certain say that the color IS NOT Fiebings Medium Brown. I've managed to come close enough with Eco-Flo water based dyes, using 15 parts Canyon Tan to 3 parts Bison Brown. I've not tried any of the oil based dyes, but sure would like to one day. My application method with the eco-flo involves a sponge and a bowl of dye, although I've recently "upgraded" to a small pump spray bottle and some latex gloves to "massage" the dye in once it is sprayed on. I'm not real hi-tech yet. Thanks again!

I like it! I would recommend stitching it though

Very cool custom trick. Mind if I utilize it on one of my personal holsters sometime? While I've got your "ear", I notice the backside of the holster is cut out above the revolvers cylinder. If you molded it identical to the front, would the revolver pretty much be impossible to remove? Thanks!

Ya so, the Fiebings Medium Brown came out a bunch darker than expected. Any way to lighten it a bit, or is it destined for the circular file?

I would wear the 3rd one on my daily commute to and from work.

I have a customer who asked for his holster to be as close to the color of the middle holster as I can get it. I bought some Fiebings Medium Brown but it's way too dark. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks

Hi Lou, When you make you pattern you should include the cant angle in the design. I've done this 2 different ways. Method 1: Start with the gun straight up and down, and adjust the cant by placement of the belt slots. Method 2: Start with the belt loops straight across from each other on your template, and adjust the cant by angling the firearm. Either way you do it, once you get it set where you want, trace the firearm to the template, then draw your profile stitch lines. After everything is drawn, I lay the template to leather, and use an awl to scribe the outline, as well as poke through the template where the stitch lines need to be so I have reference marks on the leather. Heres one where I started with the gun straight up and down, and adjusted the belt slots to the 15 degree cant angle. Hope this helps some.