Steven Kelley

I accept paypal, credit cards, checks, cash, and possibly anything else of value. 99.9% of my customers use either paypal or a credit card. Credit card fees are almost the same as the paypal fee. I don't charge more when a customer uses paypal or a cc, and I don't charge less when one wants to send a check or if local, pay cash. The fees are one of many costs of doing business. The fees are a tax deduction at the end of the year. Price your products accordingly with the potential fees included in that price. I personally don't like it when I want to buy something and the seller wants to add another fee based on the payment method, so I don't like doing that to my customers.

I would love to have 2 of the ones pictured. Let me know if you get enough and I'll take 2 of them.

The DW 1911's will fit in any holster design for a standard 1911. I've made them for CBOB, VBOB, Valor, CCO, Guardian, and ECO. I even own a few DW 1911's and can confirm they do fit when the holster is molded with a 1911 bluegun.

Yes, the rubber will be touching around the edges. You can experiment a little and get a feel for how pressure you need to get a good mold. It really doesn't take much pressure. That looks like the right rubber based on the link you provided.

I use blue guns and actual guns in my press with 40 durometer rubber and have had no issues. The blue guns are solid, so you aren't going to crush them with the rubber pads.

I have a Cowboy 4500 and an Adler 205-370. The Cowboy was purchased from CowboyBob, the Adler I found on my local Craigslist. I find myself using the Cowboy about 90% of the time. The stitch quality is equal. The Cowboy is a little easier to thread, but the bobbin winder leaves a little to be desired. The Adler is definitely a heavier built machine and much smoother when stitching, but the area around where the stitching happens is just more "cluttered". The Cowboy is more open and roomy. I wouldn't hesitate to buy either. With a new 441 clone, you get a lifetime warranty. With a used Adler, you do not. I've had to buy a few Adler parts from Weaver's and they are not cheap. Just my $.02 after using both, if I were buying a new machine right now, money not being an object, I would buy a new 441 clone.

I'm interested

Looks great. Love the color and clean lines.

I am looking for a few dummys and wondering if anyone has a lead on ANY of these: 1911 w/rail 4" - Buy a 5" w/rail and cut the length down to 4" 1911 4" - Buy a 4.25" commander and cut it down to 4" 1911 3.5" - Buy a 4.25" commander and cut it down to 3.5" Sig 1911 - 5" - No Sig molds available, buy the actual gun or use customer's Sig 1911 - 4.2" - No Sig molds available, buy the actual gun or use customer's Sig 1911 - 3.3" - No Sig molds available, buy the actual gun or use customer's

You can get a 1" x 24" rubber sheet from MSC for $83. Cut it in half and you have your two 12" x 12" pads. Here's a link.....http://www1.mscdirect.com/eCommerce/NavigationServlet/Raw-Materials/Rubber/Rubber-Sheets/_/N-77dswZ1yxfh4aZ1yxgndu?refinement=4288835349&searchandizedOk=Y

I'll have to say that I can see both sides of this discussion. My volume isn't quite as high as Lobo's, but getting close. I also maintain a full time job outside holster making. I have no help, so I make all the holsters myself. I only have 4 holster models and 4 matching magazine carriers available. Customers still request semi custom or fully custom rigs all the time. I get emails almost daily from people wanting shoulder holsters, holsters (both IWB and OWB) for weapons with attached lights, holsters with exotics that I do not stock, etc. Some just want "semi" custom work, which would include a change in cant angle, belt slots for strong side carry and crossdraw, or maybe unique reinforcement patches. I also get requests all the time for belts, which I just do not have time to make right now. In the past, I've accepted "custom" orders for the most part without hesitation. As my volume has grown, I've come to the realization that I just can't do everything for everyone. I turn away more custom work than I accept now. It takes me approximately 3 - 4 times as long to make a fully custom holster. When I can only accept a certain number of orders per month, it just doesn't make "business" sense to do that. I can replace that one "custom" order with 4 standard offerings, which is more profitable. When turning down a custom order, especially for something I don't really see as functional, I'm not as long winded as Lobo was in his reply, but I might be after doing this for 40 years. I had an instance just yesterday where a customer sent a picture of a holster and mag carrier they had just received from me. The holster was ordered for a 3" 1911. I made the holster to fit a 3" 1911. The customer was very happy with the holster. When I looked at the picture, the muzzle of the gun was hanging about 1/2" out of the holster. The gun was a 3.5" 1911, not a 3". I replied and mentioned that the gun appeared to be a 3.5" 1911. I have not received a reply.

Sounds good Josh. Email sent.

This issue gave me an excuse (like I need one) to buy a 4.25" and 5" Sig 1911. You can get one with a rail and one without, then swap the frames/slides to make holsters for railed or non railed guns. It's an expensive route to go, but about 25% of my sales are for holsters that fit Sig 1911's, so it's been worth it. If Ring's or Duncan's were in AZ I would be happy to let them use my guns to mold.

+1 I order all my blue guns from Rob. Fantastic service.

When finishing a holster, I use a light coat of neetsfoot oil (allow to fully dry), then an acrylic sealer (such as resolene, Angelus 600, or 50/50 mix of mop n glow and water). Allow the acrylic to fully dry. Next I apply a coat of wax and buff. The neetsfoot oil will add some of the moisture and oils back into the leather that were removed during forming and drying. That is the only oil I would recommend putting on the leather, and only use a light coat. Any oils that are designed to keep leather soft are not the best to use on a tight molded leather holster, as they could soften it too much and you lose your molding and retention. Again, there are lots of different things makers do here, and this is just my method.

Here's a link to the felt "bobs" that I use...... http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-Felt-Hard-Cylinder-Polishing-Buffing-Bobs-1-dia-x-1-long-x-1-4-steel-shank-/370633634743?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item564b7c73b7 They work very well and last a long time. You'll want one for each color of holster, as some of the dye transfers to the felt during burnishing.

Dave, Your hand stitching looks great. I thought you had a machine. If I had to hand stitch, I would not be making holsters any more. You can save a TON of time with a machine. Once you get a volume of holsters, it's a good investment. As far as edges, there are lots of ways to get a good edge. Hidepounder has a great tutorial about edges. I believe it's a sticky at the top of this forum. I've found a way that works for me and my process. It's quick and the edges turn out very nice. I have a burnishing tool that mounts in a drill press. It has several sizes of grooves and works great. I bought it from "Spinner" who posts on this site. I would highly recommend you getting at least one of his burnishing tools. I also have felt wheels that mount in my drill press. They are about 1" in diameter and are hard felt. I bought them off ebay. Basically my edge process is this............................... 1. Once the holster is glued together, but before stitching, I run the edges along an oscillating spindle sander to smooth. Then, profile the edges with a hand edger. After this point I stitch. 2. When I soak the holster in water to form, the first thing I do once it comes out of the water is quickly run the edges through the burnisher on my drill press. This is not to burnish the edges, but to give them a nice round shape. An edges makes kind of square edges, so running the edges through the burnisher when soaking wet will form them to a round profile. The trick is to not "burnish" them, but just round them. Practice is needed here. 3. After forming, dying, and applying acrylic, I'm ready to burnish. Using a mix of parafin and bees wax, and the felt wheel, I burnish the wax into the edges. It's usually pretty quick work. Just have to make sure the edges are even and sanded really smooth. The wax gets very hot and at times I can see smoke coming off the edge. Again, practice makes perfect. You want to get just enough wax on the edge, and get is just hot enough to smooth it and drive the wax into the edge. With some practice, you can make some nice edges, and not spend too much time doing it. Again, there are lots of ways to do edges. I would highly recommend reading Hidepounder's tutorial. His edges are the best. Just don't think there's only one way to do it, because each one of us does it differently and we all come out with fine edges. Feel free to pm me if you have any more questions.

I like it. Whether the wings add function or not is debatable, but honestly, if you like it and your customers like it, that's all that matters. I make something similar. It's kind of my version of Lou Alessi's original design. I believe he was the first one to make an OWB holster that attached to the belt via snap loops. So everyone after him kind of used his original design and altered it to their tastes. Here is my version. Your stitching looks good. I can't really see the edges very well, so I can't comment on them, but the overall construction looks good. You'll get better with each holster you make. If you are going to sell them, don't take any shortcuts. Make sure you exceed your customer's expectation in quality and performance, and you'll have lots of repeat orders.

I would call Bob at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines (http://tolindsewmach.com). He is the Cowboy dealer in the US. He can answer all your questions. From my very limited experience with Cowboy and Adler, I would say that comparing the features, quality, performance, etc. and considering the Cowboy is going to be about half the price of a new Adler, and have a lifetime warranty, go with the Cowboy. My Cowboy 4500 and Adler 205-370 sit back to back in my shop. I sew on the Cowboy 90% of the time, just because I like it more. The Adler is a fine machine, just not worth twice the money in my opinion. My advice -> Call Bob. His number is 866-362-7397.

$100. I bought one to replace the clutch motor on my Adler 205-370. It is Nick-O-Sew brand. I found it on Ebay. It has dial speed control, instead of digital. The speed control is fantastic. I liked it so much I bought a second one to put on my Cowboy 4500. Much better control at slow speed than the original motor that came with the 4500. I'm sure it's made in China and marketed under many different names, so there could be many copies of it out there. Steven and Bob might even offer the same motor, I don't know. If I were buying another machine today, I would request this type of motor instead of the digital servo. Here is the motor on their website for $155...... http://nickosew.com/details.php?id=331 Here is their listing on ebay where it's $105 shipped........ http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Nick-O-Sew-NKS-5500-110V-Servo-Motor-BEST-QUALITY-/110911183534?pt=BI_Sewing_Machines&hash=item19d2d25aae

Generally, the horse butts you buy from Springfield, or anyone else for that matter, that are in the $10 - $15 per piece range are seconds from Horween's. They could be seconds because of grain, thickness, defects, etc, so expect a lot of waist. You can order the premium horse butts from Horween's or from Maverick Leather Co. The premium butts are sold by the pound, and generally run about $12 per pound, so each strip will be $25 - $30. I've used both hard and soft rolled butts, and generally prefer the hard rolled personally. The ones you buy from Springfield are hard rolled. I've used some of the premium butts and honestly don't think they are worth the extra $$. The ends are still thin so there will be a good deal of waist. There are fewer flaws (scars, scratches, etc), but I can't say that my yield was much better from the premium strips. I would suggest trying horse butts from Zach White leather. I've found the quality of theirs to be much better than Springfield. They are still seconds, but they seem to be nicer than any I've received from Springfield. If you get to the point of ordering very large quantities, then going directly to Horween's and paying by the pound might be justified, as the price/pound goes down the more you buy.

I have a 441 clone (Cowboy 4500) and an Adler 205. I make holsters and occasionally belts. The fit and finish of the Adler is better than the clone, but when it gets down to performance, they are the same. The stitch quality, tension adjustments, etc, seem to be equal. You can buy a new clone for half the price of a new Adler 205. The clone will have a lifetime warranty, where the Adler most likely will not. In my opinion, owning and using both side by side, the Adler is not worth the extra money. I actually prefer to stitch on the Cowboy. The Cowboy is a little easier to thread and the area around the head/needle plate area is more open, so there is more room to see your work and move the piece around with your hands. The Adler is a bit "smoother" when sewing, but that could also be the difference in the stand, as the stand that came with the Adler is heavier. Having used both, if I were buying another machine right now, I would call Bob and order another Cowboy without a second thought.

Very nice! I know what you mean about things drying out quickly. Yesterday, it was 108 on my back patio with very low humidity. I didn't even need to turn on the "heat" in my hot box. Mother nature supplied just the right amount.

For a 1.5" belt, my belt loops measure 4.5" between the holes. I add 1/2" to one end and 5/8" to the other past the hole. That would make the strap 5 - 5/8" long.

I do not take the rod into account when making a template, but I like to have a really tight holster.