malabar

"These were mostly flintlock rifles..." You mean percussion rifles, not flintlocks. "...a ball & powder pistol is not accurate." Cap and ball pistols are actually quite accurate. The rifles, of course, are more accurate, because the pistols were firing round balls while the rifles were firing conical bullets. But at handgun ranges (50 feet or less) they were accurate enough and quite lethal. tk

That's beautiful work.

If you want the stiffest possible belt, that keeps its stiffness the longest, put a strip of kydex between the two laters. We've made hundreds of belts this way. We originally designed them for high-rise holsters we make. The belts are stiff enough that they don't have to be tight to keep a full-sized pistol in a high-rise holster snug against your body. I've also made a couple that had a spring-steel core (they were black bag types), but mist folks find them uncomfortable, and they ring metal detectors every time you walk through. tk

Stitches will work a whole lot better than rivets. Of course, that much stitching might aggravate the bursitis, as well. tk

Good designs, nice workmanship! tk

Weaver makes good tools. DO NOT buy Tandy -- it's junk.

It's the rig Russell Crowe used in 3:10 to Yuma. He had a strange crucifix on than handle of his pistol, and the rig was dubbed "the hand of God."

When I was starting out, I bought all my tools from my local Tandy. When I started pounding on a big strap end punch, the edge crumbled. As a longtime woodworker, I can sharpen anything, but the steel in that tool was junk. I went back to Tandy and asked the manager if there was anything of better quality. He was pretty blunt. "I won't buy that crap. Get your tools from Osborne." I took his advice and have never looked back -- strap-end punched, round punches, bag punches, rotary punches, you name it. They hold up well and resharpen easily. I also have a few of the Weaver Master Tools, and they'er very nice indeed. I do still use the little edge rounders from Tandy (all my big ones are from Osborne).

Thanks for the tip. I'll check them out.

We're paying $4 a pop from buckleguy, so Weaver's price doesn't bother me. But the ones I've seen from weaver don't look as good as the ones I'm getting now.

When I posted it gave me an error and told me the post had not gone through. So I reposted. I've hidden the duplicates.

We make a couple of hundred gunbelts a year. They're extremely heavy duty and made of top-quality bridle leather, veg-tan and kydex. We've been buying our buckles from Buckleguy, which has very high-quality, handcast buckles of solid brass. The problem is they don't have a very wide selection. I'd love to get some buckles that are a little more elegant, or even some that are forged steel or graphite. But I cannot find other wholesale sources that are of similar quality. I've looked at Ohio Travel Bag, but their quality is all over the place. Where can I find some really cool, high-quality buckles?

Very nice. Who makes these?

Nice work. How difficult is it to actually draw and resheath over your shoulder?

We make heavy-duty gunbelts that are way over 1/4" thick and put 'em together almost exactly the same way. Only differences: I never thought about putting the strip underneath to get a better grip -- I'll have to try that; you have a fancier technique for making the knuckle; we use a heavy-duty lineoleum roller instead of thw wall-paper roller. Thanks for sharing.

That's a great technique for flattening worn stones, as well.

Buying a machine that will stitch saddles and holsters is a significant investment, and folks often question the kind of customer service they can expect for spending $3,000 and up for a machine. About five years ago, I bought a Cobra Class IV , mostly based on comments I read on this forum. It gets a couple of hours of use every day in my Florida workshop. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of living in Florida is that the power grid is kinda flaky. In the last couple of months, we've had a momentary power outage almost every day. About six weeks ago, we had one that was more than momentary. And when the power came back on, there was a real surge -- and the servo motor on my Cobra blew out (probably the little controller board). It's my only machine, and I had customers waiting. So I called up Leather Machine Co. and they connected me to their service department. That day they sent me out a new motor -- free of charge! Frankly, I was stunned. What great customer service! thank you Steve and co. tk

Willie, Very nice design, lovely workmanship. A+ in my book. Minor criticism: The retention strap is in the wrong spot. It needs to be down at the base of the hilt. The bowie sheath is perfect. When they are up high, the knife can ride up and expose the blade. Ideally, you want to be able to grasp the hilt of the knife, and pop the strap loose without changing your grip. Again, lovely work.

That is a VERY nice piece of work. Two thoughts: The rivets are unnecessary, and might even shorten the life of the sheath. Also, if you reverse the side that the safety strap sits on, it can be popped off with your thumb without having to shift your grip on the handle.

Josh, as others have said, your work is always first rate. But do you really need tension screws for an IWB?

You've done some really innovative things here, especially the magnets. But is gator really a good choice for a handle? I would think it would get slippery when wet, and that the acids from your hand would chew up the finish on the leather. Stingray might work better

Unfortunately, this is true. I find myself using this method more and more. Instead of the knife, I use a Japanese chisel, which literally takes a shaving-sharp edge. It makes it very quick.

SC, When I started doing leatherwork, I was buying all of my equipment from Tandy. One day I got to talking to the manager of the store, and I mentioned that the edge of one of my Tandy punches had crumbled. He told me in no uncertain terms that I needed to buy my tools from Osborne, which Tandy does not sell. I took his advice and haven't look back. The quality is much higher and the price is not that different. I've got a couple of dozen tools from Osborne. I use them on a daily basis and have no gripes with them.

Dave, the safety strap would work better if it were up against the guard. Two reasons: -- it prevents the knife from rising out of its sheath -- you can snap the strap off in one motion when you grip the knife tk

The first couple of punches I bought were from Tandy. They all arrived dull, and they simply don't take a good edge. I've since bought more than a dozen from Osborne and have been much happier with them. They take and hold a much better edge. BTW: The fellow who told me to buy Osborne was the manager of my local Tandy store.