jlaudio29

Thanks for the reply guys. I just thought id make sure i was thinking correctly.

When doing overlay be it Elephant, gator or shark, do you all just put it on the front, or both the front and the back? Doing it on the back just seems like its a waste since no one will see it, and that is where i would want to do the most boning on the trigger guard for retention. Any help is appreciated.

Does anyone have any tips for burnishing the softer overlay to the harder tool leather. Pictures of finished edges on overlays would be much appreciated.

Thanks, yah i understand what your saying, ill have to try some that way, i personally like the holster the way i did it, but i think framing could add a lot to it and im still learning so always open to suggestions.

Thanks for the input, it is much appreciated.

Finally got around to making a open carry rig for my Kimber Pro Carry II and a much needed gun belt. This was my first attempt at making a gun belt. Its two strips of 7/8 glued together then Hand stitched... yes hand stitched.. took me 5 hours to stitch, Next time it will be quicker because im going to do 2 seperate stitchings for the top and bottom instead of one continous run where in on the first side i end up dragging through so much thread through every hole. I made a few other mistakes along the way, the stitching on the backside isnt as straight as id like but that is the result of a few mistakes that will be corrected on the next one. I also ran out of die and really needed a second coat to have it match the holster exactally, its just a hair off, but the rig is for myself so im not worried about it, if it was for a customer i would have ran right out and go some more dye. Well here are the pics. Comments and questions are always welcome.

Are you using PRIME, neatsfoot oil, or PURE neatsfoot oil. I was told that PRIME will darken the leather a little but PURE will not, i use PURE and do not notice any darkening.

Thanks, I have a buddy testing it tomorrow for a few hours to see what he thinks. I appreciate the compliment

I had a request for a Glock 26 ankle holster. So i look at the tutorial in here and then decided to put a twist on it. Basically the strap will be universal that way if you have multiple pocket pistols youd like to carry on your ankle for different occasion or whatever reason youll just swap out the holster... Let me know what you think.

I forgot to add in my post, A good way to get a name brand airbrush at a good price is to print out a Joann Fabric's 40 or 50 percent off coupon (very easy to get by searching google) or Sign up for Michaels Crafts email alerts and they send you a 40 percent off, Either way if you get the joanns, Michaels will honor competitors coupons so you can go in Michaels and get yourself a Nice badger for 40-50 percent off. Dont forget to check craigslist for some good deals on compressors or an airbrush setup.

I use a Paasche VL Dual action Air brush, and feibings die, I do not dilute it. The Compressor im currently using is a Might Mini airbrush compressor which isnt the best but it works for right now. If I felt like spending the extra cash id get an airbrush compressor from Harbor freight. My suggestion to you is to get one from harbor freight i think for $79.99 you can get the compressor with a deluxe airbrush included which is either a knock off of an Iwata or a Badger. Sometimes harbor freight quality come into play but an airbrush is a very basic thing so its hard to screw up. If your worried about the compressor breaking buy the protection plan and youll be good to go for years. Just my two cents

Ive noticed the more holsters ive made that when i use USMC black for the main part of the leather that will be wet formed... it seems to either not take water as good or is harder to form period, my tools dont seem to glide over the black leather as easy as with the other colors and it just dosnt seem to form as easy. I am doing something wrong? Should i switch to a vinegroon and be done with it? Please help thanks.

Made this for a buddy back in florida but he wanted all back and there are a few design flaws i was not happy with on this so im giving it a local friend since im wont sell something im not satisfied with.

Yes please do a tutorial for the inlay, I am one of the ones who has asked

So I tried out some Satin Sheen on this holster and didnt like it very much, so i went back to the super sheen, Is there a way to cut the super sheen so it gets me more of a Semi-gloss? I dont remeber seeing any Eco flo semi-gloss sheen? This should be my last holster that will have the dye brushed on, I got my airbrush in the mail and tested it out tonight on some scraps... man does it lay the dye down smooth! I started getting a little creative with the swivel knife on the support peices. Thanks for looking.

yah it was for sure from using Bellies. It was the first leather i bought, it was the smallest peice/cheapest to see if i could actually make a holster. most of it was fine but it is for sure a lot osfter then shoulders i can tell the difference now that im using shoulders.

Thanks for the compliments guys, i try to get it traditional with a little flare added in.

What kind of dye did you use? When I bought my first dye the girl at Tandy suggested Fiebing USMC black die, since i explained to her that it was going on holsters and may come into contact with other things and i did not want to the die to rub off.. so this is what was suggested. Hopefully someone else could chime in, but as far as what to currently do with an already died piece i am not sure.

Let me know what you think, i decided to start messing around with some creasing creativity on the support piece. This is the first pancake i have finished, complication came up on the other ones and became unusable, i have on that i need to finish now that i know how to fix the problem that it had. So here it is. Im going to go grab some satin sheen, want to have other options for finishing. Thanks for looking.

What is a good source for free patterns to start out on. I found a few on tandy's site but was wondering if there are any other sites out there.

So i bought some Double shoulder leather last week, i thought it was 9-10, but turns out to be 11-12.. pretty thick stuff. So i tried to make an IWB holster out of it and all was going good until after it was wet formed, and put it on a belt and with it being up against my side i could no longer unholster the firearm.... Is this a product of too thick of leather? or poor wet forming of the wings? I think im going to go buy some more leather tomorrow that is back to 7-8 or 8-9. But id like to know where the problem lies. The leather measured about 3/16 thick on the front side (neck side) of the hide and on the back side i have not measure but it appears to be slightly thinner? did i get a crappy peice of leather or is that how it goes sometimes?

Thanks for showing me, thats a great idea!

Looks awesome, Id love to see the back of that holster to get a better idea of how the belt loops are rigged.

Thanks for the help big. Im waiting for the oil to dry over night and i will give it a shot tomorrow!

Im not going to finish it, yet anyways, I ran out of leather and the peices i had to use had some soft spot in them, not sure what causes this? but either way when i went to do the stitchign it almost pulled right through and pretty much disappeared in the grooves. But i still wanted to show off the shamrock i made for it.. came out great. Im going to make another one just like it, got some more leather today! Thanks for looking!