JRCHolsters

Here are some pics of a Shark/Horsehide belt I was doing for my son. The bottom layer is Veg Tanned 8-9oz Hermann Oak leather, topped with 7oz Horsehide and Shark trim. The inside of the belt is Vig-Black, the top layer is Cordovan and Burgundy. The Shark accents are all in black. This baby is all hand sewn and must have taken 6 hours for just the sewing alone. It has 7 holes at 3/4in spacing. Ha, be better damn well like it, lol!

Sorry for the late post on this, I have been away from a computer for the last week. I work predominately in Horsehide, but for belts I do use Hermann Oak for my base layer. The reason I do it has to do with thickness and consistency. I like using hard rolled Horsehide and I find the thicker weights can have a lot of surface imperfections. Soft rolled, is nice in the heavier weights, but just doesn't seem to stiffen up enough. So, I use 8oz leather for the base and then hard rolled 6oz Horsehide on top. If I do Shark, I still use the layer of horsehide though. That's pretty much my main reason for doing it.

Looks very nice! Glad to hear you liked working with the Horsehide. Years ago, I ordered a couple of Horsehide holsters from Ken Null and loved the varying tones of the leather. I have come to embrace the mottled look, which reminds me of old fashioned fine leather furniture. I get my butts from Kevin and Zack White. The ones from ZW are very smooth and clean. They are also a bit thinner. I am now using these for the main bodies and belts. I use the ones from Kevin for loops and sweatguards, as they are a bit thicker.

Ha, of course I see this after I did a search with the right spelling. Oh well, great stuff so far! I am looking forward to being able to offer a better quality of black that doesn't hide the leather grain.

I mostly make my holsters from Horsehide, so I try not to dye my holsters black, as I think it covers up the natural beauty of the grain. Of course, every once and a while a customer wants black and that's what he gets. I have tried all the various black dyes with varying degrees of what I consider success. I was reading on some forums that pertain to blacksmithing and came across the idea of using old fashioned Vigaroon to "dye" the leather black. Essentially you disolve some fine steel wool in white vinegar and the result is Vigaroon. It doesn't actually dye the leather, as much as it reacts with the tannins in the leather to turn black, through chemical reaction. I figured it was worth trying. I mixed up about 20oz of vinegar with one 0000 steel wool pad in a jar with a loose lid. It creates gases, so you don't want a tight lid. After a few weeks, I had this brown/black slurry. Pretty nasty looking stuff. I strained it through a paper towel and proceeded to dab some on a test piece of Horsehide. low and behold, it started to darken immediately. I went on to try it on a pattern of leather and so far so good. After about 3 coats soaked in, the leather is turning a nice shade of black, and interestingly, it does not cover up the grain of the Horsehide. Here is a picture of the leather with the initial "coats" of Vigaroon. It looks a little splotchy, as I just put on a new coat and it is partially drying. You want to be sure to wash the leather in baking soda and water afterwards to neutralize the acids from the vinegar. I will take more pics once the holster is done next week. I thought some of you may find this interesting and would love to hear in anyone else has tried this.

Thanks, I appreciate it!

Thanks Mike. Actually I am right handed. I wear it cavalry right over my rear jeans pocket. I know a lot of people squirm at this type of carry, but after a few back surgeries and limited range of motion, it works well for me. The main reason it has a neutral rake is to make it harder to point at yourself when you draw it. This forces your elbow up and arm to clear your body before you bring the gun up. At least for me anyway, lol.

This is a IWB CP-1. I dd it in antiqued Cordovan Horsehide and Black Shark trim. I figured I needed it to go along with the new belt I made myself a while ago. It's hard to tell from the pics, but the makers mark is dyed black to offset the cordovan. I made this to wear right in line with my back jeans pocket. Hope you like it.

That looks really slick. Where did you get the gator? Looks a lot smoother than I would have imagined.

LOL, I have my days when IWB is tough on me too. Thanks for the compliment. I really like working in Horsehide. It's much smoother on both sides, because of the tight grain. You can also get away with a thinner weight and get great molding and long term retention. I highly recommend the butts that they have over at Zack White.

Here is the newest version of my P-1 holster for revolvers. The gun sits low on the belt line, but with 25 degree angle for easy access to the grip. Instead of sweat guards, the hammer area sits below the top of the holster. It is split in the front, on top to allow clearance on the draw. On a side note, this was made from a new batch of Horsehide I just got from Zack White. I really loved the finish on these. Super clean!

Here are a couple of new ones I just sent out. The High Ride HR1 is for the S&W M&P 40C in Black Horsehide. The IWB-SS Low Ride is for the CW9 in antique Horsehide. It has an extreme rake and sweat guard.

That looks really nice! A very classy holster! I like the shark accent.

I am thinking he is leaving part of the story out. It wouldn't surprise me to find out he left the gun under the seat while getting breakfast and then tried to reinsert it when he got back into the car. That is also a very strange soft spot. It's like he pushed it in continually with the finger rest of the trigger guard, when inserting the gun.