George B

For my local work it is whatever the market will bear, the more experience I get the better my work. That said, if it something I will not make any money on, I pass. Internet business I charge more. My prices have slowly been going up since I started my ETSY store and I have seen an increase in orders and existing item sales. Someday I hope to make my $25 an hour but for now it pays the bills and gives me a meager income. If it is an item I already have a pattern for and it requires no additional time to engineer, I charge a little less. I did learn this Christmas season not to take on anything that took up to much of my time. A couple items became time consuming and put me behind. Next year that will not happen.

I tried a few different patterns when asked to do the first one, drove me crazy. I finally started using a simple Jack Ass style rig and have found it to be the most comfortable. Look at El Paso Saddlery for an example. Here is the first one I completed for a customer. I shortened the straps when I did the final fitting.

Hi Paul,I always apply a couple of coats of either neetsfoot or EVOO after forming and drying. Had it happen again just recently with a Gen 4 Glock 17. According to Glock there is supposed to be no difference but it was still off. Checked the Glock against my blue gun and by golly it was about 1/8" longer. Now I have a piece I cut that takes care of the Glock problem. Thanks, George

Thanks you Particle,I've come to same conclusion about the thread being darker than the dye id I use the leather balm. The color took on a life of it's own after the leather balm but it turned out rich and deep. I also agree with you on the different levels of pricing versus finish work. Now I just need to make a price list...maybe after Christmas. I left the belt tunnel un-oiled and without the balm so I can go back and form the tunnel. Was going to do it and had a brain-fart.

This is my first horsehide holster Avenger style. 5 oz. outer with 4 oz. veg tan lining. Eco-Flo Timber brown dye. Only thing I didn't like was how the white thread picked up some color when I used Leather balm on it. Making one for my XD40 and one for a customer with an XD40 Sub Compact with aftermarket laser sight. Not lining them anymore as I didn't see the need for it. Also, just as your opinion...is it really necessary for the average customer to spend too much time on finishing the edges? Seems to cut into my profit vs time spent. Thanks for looking.

If you have a Tandy store near you, go on in and talk the salespeople there. Ask a lot of questions about the tools you have in mind. Also, Tandy sometimes has free classes on the leather basics, normally on Saturdays, sign on up and use their tools first to see what you like and need. If not, pick up a couple of the books Tandy sells on leather working basics and get a little idea what tools you might need for the projects you plan on doing. I have quite a few tools I use very little so researching a lot now will save you from buying things you don't need and regret buying every time you look at them. I still buy some tools from Tandy but not many, I normally use them for small items, buckle sets, some dyes and things like that.

May be you are correct. I've had the same with the Glock blue guns, John at Rings swears they are the same as the real thing but I have to make my forming looser to accept the actual pistol.Think I'm going to have to work out an adjustable safety strap without using velcro to keep this from happening again. Thanks Mike, George

Hi all, made a couple of holsters for my Son-In-Law who is now with Army Intelligence (yes, I know the jokes). They went with him to Lebanon, where he has to use them concealed. When they left the shop there was no issue with the thumb break safety straps, they worked just fine on the Blue Gun I ordered to make the holsters. I found out from my Daughter today that both holster safety snaps will not meet to snap into position, the boy did want to hurt my feelings by telling me. I emailed him and told him to soak the straps in hot water, not above 130 degrees until soaked and stretch them back out, leave them snapped with the weapon in the holster and allow them to dry. I'm hoping this solves the problem. I have never had an issue like this before and am thinking that the climate there may have dried the leather causing the problem. For future reference, is there something I did wrong? Is there anything I should do in the future to keep this from happening again? I feel like a total horse's ass (not the good kind we make holsters and belts out of) after finding this out. I know I'm new to this, but, I never want it to happen with one of my holsters again. Thanks for taking the time to read this, George

I've seen a few suppliers, just ordered some from conchos.com. 1-1/2" black gun metal. Min order is 10 but they had them on sale for .90 cents each. http://www.conchos.com/blrobuwi.html

Depending on the size you want you can check these out. http://www.conchos.com/blrobuwi.html

I can't reference you to any books, but I learned everything to get me started here in the forums. I started with just "bullet loops" in search and found some real good information. I also Googled it and found some interesting ways on you tube and some directed me back to these forums and turned up info I didn't get when I used the search on this site. I also picked up the John Bianchi videos and learned quite a bit more about sewn loops. I pretty much sew loops now unless a customer chooses the loops run behind the belt, most of them didn't want to pay the extra for the additional work and others wanted something "traditional". After watching the videos and a little practice I can sew them a heck of a lot faster. Hope this helps a little.

Thanks very much, you guys have been a big help already and I'm sure I'll be asking questions. George

You're welcome, hope it works out.

Well, I guess I'll give it a try, worst that can happen is some lost time and a little leather. I'm sure I'll have questions. Thanks every one for responding, George

Hi LeatherSmith68, I struggled for a number of years building my own sites musing a variety of web building tools including Microsoft FrontPage. About 6 months ago I found out my nephew in Chicago has been doing it as a business for years, did I feel out of touch with the family. I had him make me a site using Joomla and boy what a difference! I can go into it and change things as I want, it was pretty easy to figure out. At the moment it ties to my ETSY store for direct sales but I will change that after the holidays and save the $ on ETSY fees. Not sure what he charges but it may be worth looking into. His site is www.pushpindesigns.com If you would like to see what he did with my you are more than welcome to at www.gbleatherco.com Hope this helps.

Neatsfoot oil tends to darken the leather and can make a nice light dye really dark, I pretty much use Extra Virgin Olive Oil on all my goods with the exception of tack items. I have found that if you apply too much neatsfoot oil it never goes away and can leave oil marks on clothing and belts. Just my opinion. The Eco-Flo dye has been great for me and seems to have very little if no bleed off onto clothing, it just takes longer to dry before you assemble and stitch. I have also been playing around with the water based stains and some of the colors and finish are really nice.

Here are a couple of pics of the seat they want me to cover. Hope this helps.

I'll try to get a pic posted tomorrow, been doing holsters since 6 this a.m. Not sure where the seat came from, he just handed me a metal seat base with the bolt studs on the bottom. The piping I'm referring to (probably the wrong term) is the round leather covered cord that is sewn around the edge of the seat to help the bend over at the edge of the seat. On a saddle I would call it a welt.

Absolutely beautiful! The coloring is quite unique and simply awesome. Maybe someday I can achieve excellence such as this.

Okay, here's my dilemma... I do gun leather and western saddles, I've done one set of motorcycle bags that almost gave me a nervous breakdown (lol) and have been asked to cover a metal seat for a restored HD 883 hardtail. One of my customers brought me the metal seat, I told him I probably would not be able to spend the time right now researching and experimenting with covering it. It's for a friend of his and he insisted I keep it and give it some thought. The owner wants a nice heavy, 6 oz. or so black skirting leather cover with no more that 1/2" pad and no piping or designs. Old school is what he said. I have no idea where to start. I can take a pic of the metal seat foundation if needed. I have looked at some tutorials here and everything seems to use piping. If any one has any suggestions it would be helpful and in the off chance I will not do it, is there any one here that he can ship the seat to and discuss what he wants and then get it? I think this customer just has too much faith in my abilities and I would at least like to send him to some one who can do it justice. Thanks, George

Okay, I'm far from an expert on this topic but had the same problem and it almost made me stop dying leather. I tried something different on my last holster and it worked pretty good. First, I clean the surface of the leather with some denatured alcohol. Second, I applied a light coating of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Third, I used a piece of sheepskin and applied two light coats of dye. Fourth, I applied a second light coat of EVOO. Fifth, I buffed off any excess dye. Seemed to work okay. I recently went away from the dyes with alcohol and started using water based dyes and stains and have had really good results so far. I use a 50/50 coat of resolene and water to seal some of my work. Other times I use Skidmore's leather cream. Both have given me good results. I just recently ordered a quart of leather balm with Atom wax, has not arrived yet so I cannot give an opinion on it yet. Hope this helps a little.

I have been dealing with W&C for about 3 years or so. Had a few glitches and ordered from SLC, what I received was not the same quality I receive from W&C. Ordered a double shoulder of #1 import and single shoulder of HO, both were well below that I receive from W&C, over 30 cuts on the finish side of the #1 import and the HO fuzzed like a cotton ball in the dryer. Considering I paid more per sq. foot for SLC leather it was a waste of money and I ended up using it for prototypes and other scrap projects. Takes about 2 weeks to get my orders split and shipped from W&C and just received an order of 2 natural tooling backs. Very happy with the quality, especially for a "special hide". Every one here seems to have their favorite supplier and SLC does have great customer service, I guess I just a got bad order. I don't call anyone and complain, I just learn a lesson and move on. Just my opinion.

I have been attempting to reduce the amount of leather I keep around and have been trying to dye natural veg tanned to get the colors I want. After dying, everything turns to concrete, hard as arock and difficult to work with. I dye before assembling (holsters and belts), and even tried after the holster is done. It still turns hard and difficult to flex. I have used Fiebing's alcohol and pro oil dye with the same results. I have dipped and applied with dauber, same results. I talked with W&C and was told to use a spirit based dye. I though the alcohol based dye was a spirit dye? I am going to pick up an airbrush and compressor this week to get a more even finish but I am still perplexed and frustrated as to how I stop my leather from turning hard. Would I be better served by using the eco-flo water based dyes? Or, can someone here point me to a resource I can use to learn more about dying properly. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, George

You may want to check with RMB Leather who is a member of the site. I believe he has a rental program for Ring blue guns, if not I apologize. I normally purchase the dummy if it is a model I think I can use for future holsters.

Normally I use 277 on top and 207 on the bottom. This is how I was taught and has worked just fine on all the saddles I have built. The only thing I did different then taught was to go up one size in needles to keep from cutting the thread on back stitches.