malabar

It would seem to me that curved slots would increase the wear and tear on your belt. And any belt soft enough to conform to the slots probably isn't rigid enough for a gunbelt. tk

If you dyed the leather before working it, you should have been all right. Molding will stretch the leather; burnishing it will close the cell structure. Both will cause uneven dye absorbtion How did you apply the dye? What brand of leather is it? tk

This is our high-ride holster that we make for most revolvers. This one is for a six-inch S&W N-frame.

You can fix the unevenness of the edges by using a steel rule as an edge guide. Utility knives can work well, but you need to sharpen them (I use a leather strop coated with jeweler's rouge). A dremel can work OK, as long as it is variable speed. A better option is to find a Foredom tool (like one of thee http://www.foredom.net/seriessrmotorsandspeedcontrols.aspx). Either way, you need to get/buy/make a wooden burnisher with an appropriate shank. Another route is to get someone to turn you a wooden burnisher onto a mandrel and mount it on a grinder. tk

Neatsfoot oil will soften and darken any leather it's applied to. If you mold a holster and then apply neatsfoot oil, the hard molding will soften. I seal the outside of my holsters with acrylic, and apply Fiebing's Aussie beeswax conditioner to the inside. Beeswax won't penetrate and soften the leather. tk

You're right: Most of the commercially made belts out there (even the expensive ones) just aren't going to cut it as a gun belt. I had a customer stop by to order a gun belt and he was wearing a beautiful Filson 1.5-inch bridle-leather belt. He bought for CCW, and it simply wasn't up to the task -- too soft, not stiff enough. If you're talking about supporting an IWB holster, the Filson would be fine -- all it's got to do is keep your pants up and keep the holster from falling into your pants. But if you're wearing OWB, or carrying mags and other stuff on your belt, it's a different story: That requires rigidity. Dipping veg-tan in vinegaroon can make for a reasonably stiff single-layer belt, but I've also gotten some 13-ounce bridle leather that makes a pretty nice single-layer belt. But every single-layer belt will stretch significantly in a few months of daily use. And if you try to put a high-ride OWB holster on it, it will sag enough that you have to cinch it in until it is uncomfortably tight. That's why most companies that advertise "gunbelts" use two layers of heavy leather (6-8 ounce) or a stiffener, or both. tk

Yes Bill, most of us can use Google quite well, thank you. I'd rather see something innovative that YOU made. tk

TJ, Nice decoration. It doesn't "look" like a CCW belt, which is a good thing. So here's the question: What makes it a "concealed carry" belt as opposed to being a "keeping my pants up" belt? Not being a smart ass: What characteristics make it suitable for CCW? tk

Very nice work. So the belt is 16 ounces and the holster body 8? Do you use a stiffener in the belt as well? tk

We do a lot of gun shows for marketing, and have ended up getting a fair number of jobs from custom knifemakers. We just did a run of 13 black, bushcraft-style sheaths, and have gotten a reorder for another dozen. Those are the easy ones. The harder ones are the ones where the maker says "do something kinda cool." We just did some one-off sheaths with cobra inlays for a well-known knife maker (and dadgummit we didn't take pictures), and I've got four more customs sitting here that I need to get sheaths done up for. So give me some inspiration <g>. Show me some sheaths y'all have done that you're proud of, or think are innovative. I've put some photos of our stuff at the bottom. The hatchet sheath is particularly interesting: It's a fast draw sheath. Grab the handl pull upward, and it pops free. Just in case you're attacked by orcs while hiking through the woods <g>. tk

It depends on the sheath. If I'm doing bushcraft-type sheaths, then I use horsehide, which is typically bout 8-9 ounce. If I'm doing something with inlays, or with metal fasteners, I split the leather down to 4 ounce or so, and use multiple layers. tk

To me, blue guns are a cost of doing business. Between blue guns, gray guns, and aluminum guns, I've probably got 60. Others here have a bunch more than that . If I get two requests for holsters for a particular gun, I'll get one. Admittedly, my costs are substantially lower, since Rings is a local business and I have a connection that gets me a discount. And one note: They frequently come out with the "hot new guns" quite quickly. I had a G-43 in hand only a couple of weeks after Glock started shipping the guns. But the thing you need to get a feel for is, "who are your customers?" Day in, day out, the guns I get the most requests for are Glocks, J-frames, 1911s, P-238s and P-938s. The G-42 has not been as popular as I would have expected, and I'm just starting to get orders for the G-43. I suspect this also will be affected by the holster models you offer. tk

you betcha. tk

When I started out, I used vinegaroon to blacken leather any time I needed leather that was black. Today I'm very selective about it, only using it for the top layer of my three-layer belts (I used drum-dyed leather for my holsters). And for those, I still top coat with a Angelus acrylic-based finish, not dye. The acrylic finish is not a dye, it NEVER rubs off, and makes a beautiful top coat. So if I'm putting a black coat on my belts, why bother to vinegaroon? Because it makes the leather a lot tougher, more water-resistant, and more scratch resistant. tk

Very nice, as usual. What kind of leather is the brown pebble grain used in the 1911 holster? #7 across the top? tk

I simply keep a drawer full of magazines that are representative, as Lobo suggested. Pawn shops and gun shows are great places to get beat-up (cheap) mags. tk

Thanks for the guidance! tk

Cleanview, It all depends on how the sling is going to be used. If it's a padded sling for carrying a rifle in the woods, the most important parts are for it to be pretty and weather-proof. If it's a sling for shooting, that's another matter. Shooting slings need to be made of tough, stretch-resistant leather. I typically use 14-ounce, and prefer to dip mine in vinegaroon to make them tougher. Then I give a heavy dose of oil to keep them from cracking. Oh, and punch the holes before the vinegaroon -- it's a lot harder afterward. I finish them with Aussie wax. tk

The problem with using the soft stuff as a liner is that it can be corrosive to the gun, as lobo noted above. I sell rigs like that mostly to women who want to match it to a purse. tk

Something to consider: The most likely place for holster-related wear on revolvers is along the barrel near the muzzle. That's because that's the area that rubs the most along the side of the holster. A welt helps decrease the pressure on the side of the barrel. So if you really want to minimize the risk of wear, line the holster AND use a welt. tk

Red, VERY nice! tk

Like this....

I get my buckles and sliders from The Buckleguy, http://www.buckleguy.com tk

Red, Thanks! That's what I'll try. tk

You're doing very well! I think you'll find that it's generally more pleasing to avoid sharp, square corners on your designs. Did you dye the pink holster? Can anyone comment on how well the dye holds up over time? tk