Eaglestroker

I like simple, and that's a lot more work than simple Nice work!

You did a great job, I love the look of the bear track.

Dwight, great looking rig! I finish my belt loops the same way and they look infinitely better than riveting to my eye.

Thanks Red! I came from a Boss to the Cobra Class 4 from Steve. It makes the Tippmann look bad in every way imaginable. Appreciate the kind words! They look good and handle very nicely! Thank you!

Thanks Jim. I've seen a few variations of the Mills belt, which muddied the water on what it should be called for me. I've also see a Fairweather/Christian belt similar to this design as well. Hey Josh, thanks for the words. The photos are the funnest part! Much appreciated! Thanks! Thank you Mike!

Nice work Mike!

Had the idea for something similar to this for a couple years now but webbing in less than 1000+ yard quantities has proven a challenge to find, until a fellow LW.net member was able to aid me. There was a turn of the century belt designed with canvas loops on a leather belt mainly for rifle cartridges - but the case still on leather did not prevent verdigris from happening over time. This one is a base of 10 oz english bridle veg tan I'd had around the shop for quite some time from a W&C overstock sale way back. It comes tannery stuffed with hot waxes and requires no final finish with a very beautiful red color. Made this one for my 32 H&R collection. It's a fairly rough prototype on all accounts but they are usable for me to beat around on. Holds 42 rounds of the little 32's and is comfortable as can be with either but especially my Vaquerito riding around.

Your tooling looks very nice. I'm not a fan of the muzzle protruding from the holster, and the 'wing' on the grip end is an obstruction to a shooters grip as high as it comes. Keep at it!

My recommendation would be to run away, quickly. Split pigskin is a suede like leather in 1-2oz that is a popular lining leather with holsters.

Someone has to laugh at our jokes Craig, sadly it's ourselves at times

Nice work Josh! I had a clicker dye with a handle made by Texas Customs. Took two tries to get the dye right but they make life really good.

SLC carries them in nickel plated. Might try Weaver?

The elephant is from Roje and much firmer temper than the remnants I've inlayed from Springfield. The belt was a real bear to get a good edge on. Thoughts/critiques welcomed!

Feibings Pro Oil Dark Chocolate cut 40/60 with denatured alcohol, two coats then oil and resolene. It's a pretty consistent color and so dark some mistake it for black which is what I was looking for. The angle isn't ideal but I was lucky to have that picture considering that was a year old. That one required a reverse taper where it was a single 8 oz layer at the top and tapered to a double layer at the bottom to accommodate the lug and big snout of the 44. If one wanted a cover trigger guard I'd probably have a piece of of leather over it - if your worried about the leather becoming soft you could put a retention screw on the backside of the trigger guard. Too much hassle to try and take the stitching up that far IMO on this design. Everyone has their own style - that's the fun in leather work. Bingo Josh. Ray's "Enhanced Pancake" uses a welt to allow the belt to pass through a center layer and out the back. Excellent design that really sucks the holster up tight against the body, and the welt adds a lot of rigidity/support to the 'wings' of the pancake.

I apologize I missed the posts - but thank you everyone for the kind words! Thanks Dwight, but no words needed. Help when and where we are able!

Maybe I'm not comprehending this correctly, or maybe I'm just simple minded in my leather work. It was my understanding in something like a sheath that you always used a center welt to prevent the edge from cutting the threads. Are we knocking a welt, or a stack of welts? My experience is limited but a single welt on revolver holsters allows me to fit the gun while also minimizing the footprint of the holster, and I also like how rigid it makes the main seam of the holster. This is an example of a pattern that I'd need to extend a good 1/2" front and back to make up for the lack of welt: Never claimed to be anything more than an amateur though!

Frank, all great as expected. That said the web belt really stands out. Where in the world did you find the webbing in a small quantity? (or did you?)

Thank you! Much appreciated Josh! Hey Bob, not including design work around 10 hours build time. Mike, it was an all around win and all parties are happy. Hard to do better than that. Thank you!

This is the second of two rigs from a charity that I offered work for in a local auction. Proceeds went to the family of a local Iraq vet on hard times with large medical bills as mentioned in the other thread. This was offered as a 'wild' rig. Originally slated as an arrowhead basket weave when he showed me the guns that went with it I changed it to a geo stamp I was just learning. Believe I couldn't do any better with the current stamps in my arsenal - think it's time to upgrade. The main belt body is 10oz lined with 4 oz, a lined billet, and 8 oz chape. The holster body's are all 8 oz lined with 4 oz with a slight forward cant and matching retention strap. I've said this before but as of this point, this is my best work.

Thank you HS! Thanks Joe! Not mine either, but she told me it was 'hot.' I think that is a good thing? I used a mix of one part Feibings British tan to one part Feibings Oxblood, with at least 6 parts denatured alcohol and I'd bet the alcohol was even stronger than that just add a little and test. Did come up with a great 'dark cherry' playing to find this combination too Thank you Josh!

This is the first of two rigs from a charity that I offered work for in a local auction. Proceeds went to the family of a local Iraq vet on hard times with large medical bills. We offered two rigs, one 'mild' and one 'wild' to the lucky builders tailored to their whims. Next time I'll make sure and note a caveat of 'NO PINK' They are both for the 1911. This one needs final edge burnishing and another light coat of oil before final sealant but I'm really happy with the overall build. Lot of new things here for me! A fella donated $450 towards the cause to get this for his wife! #2 will be posted by Friday

Josh, that's quite a unique paddle holster design. Nice work!

I've seen a lot of Roy Baker pancakes, with only the front covering the side/sights etc before sweat shields were popular. It's something you don't see as much of but folks who want it definitely understand why. Nice work

I bought the Class 4 in November of '12. Best money I ever spent, second to none.

If I had any critique, it would be to mold the belt loops around a belt. This helps with the break in process as well. WAYYYY better than my first piece, or second, or tenth. Great work!