Countryboy976

I've had that same thing happen to me a few times. In my experience it was the leather itself. Cheap leather or cheaply tanned with bad chemicals. Some tanneries I've heard use urine in the tanning process. The salt in urine would be released in soaking the leather for wet molding.

I'm not trying to take away from your work in any way. It looks awesome but that's not wildebeest hide. That's cape Buffalo. You can tell by the distinct grain pattern. Wildebeest looks almost like bison but thinner.

Awesome input, thanks elec

I have an over stitch wheel now yes. At the time I made that holster I was using an awl and just stabbing "best guess" the distance between holes. I got impatient and wanted to see it done. Lol

Excuse my french but how in the h*#@$! Do you do that? Omg! That is incredible! The detail and realism is amazing! There is no way I could ever use that. It would go in a sealed glass case on a mantle or something. Wow!

I let them dry a full day or better. I like the feibings as well but I never seem to get the bight color variation and shading i like as well as the eco-flows do. I use them mostly for solid colors or two tones but your right. They do penetrate much better. As for oiling, I haven't gotten that down very well. I think I use to much. Makes my leather dark and when I dye. It's not as vibrant a color. Any tips on oiling?

Thank you Murray. That's the kind of feed back I'm looking for. I'll make a not of it for my next project. Keep em coming folks! Lol

Thank you solo, I've been told that I've always been artistic and a fast learner but there is sooooo much to learn with leather to get a good durable and quality finish. There has been a lot of trial and error. Especially with dyes, finishers and such. I love the ease of eco-flo water dyes and the colors variety you can get but I now know they don't penetrate and are a bear seal. No matter how long they dry and how much you buff. Sponge a sealant over them and they come up and smear. Ruined a few things that way till I figured out that you could air brush sealant on them. Like I said, trial and error.

Well, I've never posted any of my work on here or anything else really. I look thru all the topics almost daily trying to absorb as much of the knowledge on here as I can to improve my skills. I want to thank all of you who freely give of your knowledge and experience here so that newbies such as myself can gain from it. I think I've got enough of the basics down now as to be willing to post some of my work. I welcome any constructive criticism anyone has to offer. It's the best way to learn where I need improvement. Thank you all in advance!

I have found that alcohol, acid etc all dry out the leather. You can add neatsfoot oil to put oil back into the leather (you should do this anyway). However, I use pure lemon juice. It cleans the leather really well while leaving the oils in the leather. It also IMO allows better penetration of dyes and makes the leather much more flexable if you are wet forming.

Well, my curiosity is peaked. May as well ask for access.

Hello all! I've been reading all the posts here for about a year. This is however my first posting. I want to start by saying thank you to all of you that share your knowledge here. Finding this forum has been a blessing in trying to learn this craft. Now I need to ask for some help. I've got a friend over in Ohio that has asked me to make a holster for a S&W bodyguard 380 semi-auto. I'm attaching it to a shoulder holster I've made for him but I haven't got the gun to make a pattern from. Money is tight so buying a holster for a pattern is out as is buying the blue gun right now. (Saving for my wedding in just a couple months) I've checked local gun shops also and they don't have any in stock. He is leaving on deployment to Egypt soon and I want this to be a gift before he goes. Do any of you have a pattern you could post as a PDF that I can use? I would be very greatful!