Tallbald

To date, my products have been finely finished gun holsters and custom belts. Always, I have used Hermann Oak veg tanned in various weights. But I've been asked about crafting beverage and hot sauce holsters for social gatherings, and don't see the need for high dollar HO leather in this style project. Also, I don't want to use veg tanned because I believe there are better materials for these products.They won't be rough cut holsters, but won't be finished to the level of my gun holsters. I've never had a need to choose pre-dyed leather that's meant for usual wet conditions (can and bottle condensation), so I need advise please on what leather to choose. Oil tanned? Chrome tanned? I prefer 6-7 ounce leather. I'll be sewing the holsters, with perhaps a copper rivet at some points. Thanks. Don. Thanks. Don.

These are great ideas. I really thank each of you. I'm going to explore some options here. Thanks again. Don.

I'm a small time hobbiest who does sell a goodly number of belts and black powder revolver holsters. My burnisher currently is a small Harbor Freight drill press with 1/2 inch chuck. I make my own purpleheart hardwood rotary burnisher tools to use in the press. I want a tabletop horizontal axis burnisher with a Jacobs chuck. Anyone here know of a brand, or a ball bearing arbor setup I can buy to make my own with? I'm pretty useful in my little fabrication shop and might be able to come up with something. Thanks. Don

Excellent. Thank you! Don.

Very nice! And I thank you so very much! Don

In need of bulk pack of high quality nickel plated steel line 24 snap sets. Have checked Amazon which shows Tandy and Springfield Leather offerings. Other vendors please? Don.

Thank you for the kind words. I dip dye my leather with Fiebing's Oil Dye, diluted 50/50. The pouch is unlined and the inner side of the hide doesn't take the same depth of dye color as does the outer side. I use no pre-dye treatment on my leather, but do after dye condition inside and out with Lexol, and Resolene coat inner and outer surfaces. Wax is applied and buffed only on the outside. The different shade of the inside doesn't bother me and I do not view it as un-good. It's a different material characteristic that I view as deserving of accentuation rather that obscuring. Much as is secondary wood like poplar being used in furniture drawer construction while using walnut as outer, primary wood (used to craft furniture also). Thank you again. Don.

Actually I'm a revolver man but the STI is sure handsome. I see the frame cut now. Love the AR pistol also. Wow. Don.

Thank you again. Oh and Jim that is a beautiful 1911 frame. Excellent photo and the subject is just .....sex in steel (or alloy) grin. yes, I'm a firearm guy. And I love sewing. Aside from Bertha Jo my Cowboy 3500, one of my favorite machines is a 1934 Singer 209 hand crank tabletop model. I've done a little quilting on it in the past too. Don.

Very helpful insights. I really appreciate the time in your answers. Yes, by mentioning the time I was essentially working to justify the price. I need to evolve. I'm a retired Tool and Die maker and Registered Nurse used to specifically detailing processes, observations and specifications in my documentation. My text probably reflects my career training and experience. Don.

JLS I understand your comment here. I am reminded though of the J. Peterman Company in the Seinfeld series long ago. The focus of marketing for the company was the intriguing back story that accompanied each cataloged product. Hugely funny premise to me and a true classic! Often I see marketing of specialty items offering story details meant to set the tone for an item. A visual description will talk about how the item shall accompany the buyer in high adventure endeavors, and is I think geared toward armchair adventurers hoping to buy potential excitement and glamour. Yeah I'm medically disabled with a spinal injury that limits me a lot. But I don't use this as a part of my limited advertising. It's simply what I have to deal with and so be it. Thanks for the comments and thought. Don.

I want to thank everyone here for the time they've invested in responding to my questions. I've read and re-read the comments and will digest them to see how I can utilize the strong points. Below is a one-off belt bag project recently completed. A great deal of time was spent on this project to make it just as I envisioned. I priced it at $150, slightly above one of my holsters because of the additional time needed to craft it with the methods I chose. Target customer is the same category of person who willingly spends $75 on a well crafted billfold or small purse knowing that the purchase will last many years, develop a patina through time and should only need replacement due to loss or damage. It's not a Big Box Store item nor was it crafted to be such. I am not a professional photographer. I must use a small digital camera and the best settings available to me. You see my description of this belt bag is lengthy, but the details are what I believe make my work worthwhile and set it apart from mass-made items. As an aside, my belts sell nicely at $75 for a two row stitched plain laminated one in the customers choice of color, thread and buckle, and my flap holsters have enjoyed a small following with significant praise given to the construction and execution. "This is a roomy and versatile belt possibles bag made of 7-8 ounce Hermann Oak USA vegetable tanned, single layer cow hide. The leather is dip dyed mahogany both inside and outside, with black dyed mouth stiffener and closure tab. I used the wet forming method to craft the front panel, and as I do with my belts and holsters, it's double row stitched with heavy rot resistant nylon thread. Stitching is brown. Tabs at each side of the bag body fold in as the cover flap comes down over the body to close, and the center bar buckle is solid brass of quite heavy construction. Solid copper rivets secure the buckle to the body, and a copper rivet supplements the flap tab stitching. The single piece belt loop is double row sewn to the bag back panel, and accepts up to a 1 1/2 wide, thick belt. The leather is finished with conditioner, two coats inside and outside of acrylic leather sealant, and a hand rubbed coat of carnuba creme wax. Dimensions inside are approximately 1 1/2 inch front to back, 5 1/4 inch wide and 5 1/2 inches deep. The leather is stiff with a bit of flexibility. A good deal of time in this bag, but it was time well spent I believe. $150.00 plus Priority Mail. Thank you for looking. Don ".

I craft primarily custom laminated belts, rugged unadorned holsters for black powder revolvers and single actions, and belt bags. A few muzzle loading accessory leather items too. There's a world of lower cost similar items available online, much from other areas of the world where wage costs and material expenses are lower than here in the USA, and there's no way I know of that I can compete with such low pricing. I use top notch materials, have a beautiful Cowboy 3500 I've nearly paid for with sales, and I spend a great deal of time and attention to detail and quality construction in my crafts. This is a hobby I want to be self-supporting. A well made full flap holster from me earns about $100. And although I receive many complements on the quality, design and execution of my leather art I feel I should be selling more. Online auctions and sales sites routinely offer what looks like the same holster I make for maybe $35. I'm making a little less than minimum wage as it is, and wonder now after several years if there's any future for me in emphasizing the differences in construction of my works from other lower priced Big Box Store inventory. I will not lower myself to disparage others works, and won't belittle other crafters efforts to try to elevate my own status. I used to believe that quality speaks for itself and would bring in a modest string of orders to me but the dry spells make me question my thoughts. And when many people spend $25 for a single meal that goes down the drain the next day, it's frustrating that they may be reluctant to spend the equivalent of four single meals to purchase an item that will last them maybe 30 years! How does one communicate to potential customers the value of the extra effort and material quality they receive ordering from me and other crafters like me over the crowds of mass production suppliers? Thanks for any thoughts. Don.

I have fought with a lower end edge beveler for years now thinking "I'm just not sharpening them to a razor edge like I've seen taught...". "It's my own fault" I've reasoned. Anyway, I use a number 2 beveler almost exclusively, from a major chain retailer I don't want to mention. I have to fight with it constantly to trim the back side of a hide. I know that the back side is difficult anyhow, given the interlocking grain of the hide, but right after a sharpening and wheel buff mine cuts OK for a few inches only then I have to begin my annoying choppy movements again to trim as I must. Please tell me a brand that's hardened as I need and of a good enough high carbon steel to hold the edge I must have to get the trim finish I want. Thank you. Don.

I've never crafted a pommel holster but would like to design one based on true antiques I've seen photos of. Where could one buy metallic pommel ends though? I cannot find them listed in the catalogs I have. Thanks. Don

I always use my machine to stitch closed holster ends as needed. I want to add toe plug ends to my holsters though, and only find references to hand stitching the plugs into place. Have I just not found somewhere details a technique for machine sewing toe plugs? Thanks. Don.

Thank you so much. I suppose then that a possibility exists for machine sewn articles in limited amounts(?) Buggy and harness leather capabilities might have transferred to military contract items let through the larger industrial makers. Some interesting food for thought. Thank you again. Don.

I've wondered for several years as I have become more proficient with my Cowboy 3500, if leather holsters and accessories were all hand stitched during the American Civil War 1861-1865? I understand much of the history of sewing machines and that they were available during that period, but were they used for example in manufacture of large contracts for the warring sides military forces? Thank you. Don.

JLSLeather thank you. I shall look into them also. I hope to buy once as they say. Don.

Plinkercases thank you for responding. I only recent saw the name Denix for the first time and found them on Amazon for sale. Comments suggest they are true to size and dimensions and they look impressive. Of course they are twice the cost of the resin dummies, but there would be some advantage maybe to being able to "cock" the hammer and move parts when designing holsters I would think. I need to weigh the costs versus features and make my best decision, I know. Thank you again. Don.

I'm in need of dummy "blue gun" percussion revolvers for some period holsters I'd like to craft. So far I've only found Bunkhouse Tools offering them but don't know anything about this company. Could someone offer me some insight into additional makers of blue guns I should also look up to check on offerings please? Maybe in aluminum? For those who have used "blue guns" to pattern holsters, is there one dummy material better than another? Thank you so very much as always. Don.

Hello again. I believe I've asked before for information about this but cannot find my old post. I've been asked to begin offering lining on some of my cowhide holsters. I use 7-8 ounce Hermann Oak veg tanned for my holsters, and have to date tried only once to line one, using 2-3 ounce pigskin. My Cowboy 3500 machine thread-cuts the pigskin even though I reduce the upper tension a lot. I will switch to cowhide, but am wondering what weight to purchase for lining leather. Leaning toward 3-4 ounce cowhide, but don't know if this is thick enough to prevent the thread from cutting the lining as it pulls through. I use #277 size nylon thread. Experienced suggestions sure welcomed. As always thank you. Don.

Congratulations! My CB3500 is named lovingly "Bertha Jo" and she and I have and continue to spend many quality hours together. Bob Kovar is great to work with and supremely helpful. Don.

Thank you all so much. Oldnslow thanks for asking. The winter has been up and down from a health standpoint but spring will bring renewal for both my loving wife and me. We hope to be able to garden a little bit and return more fully to the crafting we so love. I expect to start a simple and (hopefully) affordable website for my leather arts, and generate some supplemental income this spring. My belts and holsters are selling well on a shooting forum I frequent, but I need to expand the customer base I reach for. I've also been asked to begin offering ranger style belts and am looking into adding those to my offerings. I do so hope you are well! Don

I see. My usual is 6 stitches per inch. Would 5 make a difference maybe? Thoughts on cowhide versus pigskin? Don