K-Man

Punch a hole for where the shaft is to go through. Pound the t-nut through the hole/leather from the backside - generally into a piece of rubber pounding board or similar. Bend the potruding portion of the prongs over. This will hold the t-nut securely in place and will prevent any chance of it working itself loose, not worth taking a risk for IMHO.

To each their own on how they plan and run their business - each style may add to or take away from one's bottom line. I know this from my own personal experience. Best of luck to you.

A local knifemaker.

Why charge so much for shipping? If you're shipping through the USPS, you can basically get a lot of the material needed for a minimal cost. $0 = boxes (all sizes) $0 = boxes delivered to your doorstep $2-$4 = packaging tape (usually will tape up approx 40 boxes, so .10/box) $4.60 = shipping cost 1lb box priority mail $0 = confirmation delivery of package (if utilizing online USPS shipping) $.05 = piece of paper/printer ink to print off shipping label (utilizing online USPS for shipping labels) $0 = schedule pickup of package by USPS, picked up off your doorstep (or other designated spot) $4.75 = total for a 1lb box If you're charging people to cover the cost of the IRS mileage deduction, isn't that double-dipping? In other words, your customer is paying you for the deduction that you also get from the IRS. Something's not right with that picture. Now, I don't know how much material it takes to get to that 1lb mark, but it shouldn't be hard to figure out with a scale. Material, such as the lace, is a non-breakable item, so there really should not be any special packaging required, i.e., styrofoam peanuts, etc. I haven't purchased such packaging materials for years - I save what I get from other businesses shipping items to me, and use that when necessary for items I'm shipping out. Labor costs to perform the packaging should be incorporated into the price of the item if you're a sole proprietor type of business.

This is mine: 440c steel, rockwell temp of 58-60, genuine sanbar stag on the handles, with 1/4" fancy pins. 60-layered damascus on the bolsters, and engraving on side of the tang. I'm having a 3/4 size knife made from damascus steel with ivory micarta grips. Should be ready in a couple of weeks. I'll post a pic when it's done.

$15/spool + shipping.

It depends on the style of holster you're making. As to what's available in a dummy gun version, my experience has been that the Springfield XD's, the SIG's, and the 1911's are generally the most popular.

White natural is just not a bright white. The vast majority of people would not be able to tell the difference.

If they don't have it, or it seems like a big struggle for them to get it, let me know. I have 1 lb spools of both black and white natural in the 346, 277, 207, and 138 size that I could sell you. A 1 lb spool will last you a good long while.

Nice job on the holsters, Jordan. Neel's Saddlery Model 5 machine is an excellent machine, as I had one for about 2 years. I made a number of products with it, some of which have appeared on the cover of magazines. And in one instance, we made some items for a young girl who ended up winning first place in the costume contest at the Star Wars convention in Indianapolis a couple of years ago. I use 346 thread on the top and 277 thread on the bottom for the style of holster that you have pictured.

They used to have a number of items made by various local folks at the Orlando store, are those all gone now? That's a shame if they are, as there were quite a few nice pieces....

I've been using an adjustable kydex paddle on my holsters for a number of years. Was an easy adaptation IMO. Have made them for the small guns up to, and including, the larger/heavier style of guns. Kydex paddles do tend to push the holster out away from the body. An ideal choice of carry for women in most instances. They can be worn for short periods of time without a belt. Most folks I know use a paddle holster for either a quick trip somewhere near by or at the range. Beyond that, a belt would be recommended to use. There are a number of ways to bone the holster and most use the way that's most comfortable for them and gives them the results they're satisfied with. The amount of definition desired is very subjective. You can often fix stray marks relatively easily with the use of a modeling tool.

Ohio Travel Bag sells them with the longer shaft.

I use belting leather from Hermann Oak - 98% waterproof. For that other 2%, I use acrylic finish. I also genuine exotic skins - none of that embossed wanna-be stuff: That's shark on the seat and the saddle bag. As expected, both have weathered extremely well, and I ride nearly every day. We're just about finished with a seat that has hippo on it. The next one will be either elephant or zebra - haven't decided yet. While I won't boast about who rides our seats, I do know that we've not had any complaints from any of the users. Best of luck to you and be sure to post pics of what you do.

IMO, you have two other options also. You could go to OSWOSSO graphics and have them make a die that would be used with a press or clicker. Doing it that way would eliminate the likelihood of a "fuzzy" impression you might get doing it by hand with a mallet/stamp. You could also have the logo laser engraved on the leather. Find yourself someone, there was a guy here on the forum, or a trophy/awards shop. The laser engraver could also cut the label out of the leather for you. At the very least, then all you would have to do is punch the 2" oval out of the leather. The other thing about laser engraving is you can do it on a greater variety of types of leather, and easier, than with an embossing die.

I did a lot of hand molding on the eagle holster, along with some press molding. Depending on what you're tooling and where you're placing it with respect to the gun itself, it may take a little bit of "finessing" to make it work. The exotic overlays were stitched on at the time we assembled the holster.

That's stingray on the pocket holster. Comes in a variety of colors/prints nowadays - some pretty bizarre in my opinion. Can be a tough skin to work with for some. It's a very durable skin and holds up well to abuse, etc.

Here are but a few: You might consider putting an exotic skin on the holster. It oftentimes makes for a nice accent/contrast and really dresses the holster up: Those pictured above are all genuine exotic skins - stingray, alligator, shark, ostrich, elephant trunk and anaconda.

I'll offer my experience with the BOSS. I had three of them - one of the original castings, and two of the current casting. I broke two of them and sold off the third in frustration. The BOSS is a high maintenance machine, constantly getting out of time, and did not do well with adjusting/changing tension on various weight of thread. I spent quite a few hours on the phone with the folks at Tippmann and they have excellent customer service. IMO, the machine will work very well if you're basically sewing one thread weight and nearly the same thickness each time in leather. I've read reports of many people being very satisfied with the machine. It's just not for me and did not do well for me. I have two Artisan 3000's and one of their 618's. I have had one of the 3000's for 2 1/2 years and the other for 2 years. I've had the 618 for 1 1/2 years. I've experienced virtually no problems, save one. Most of the other minor glitches I've had have been the result of being user-induced. I make a high volume of product and have found that the 3000 and 618 have met that demand exceptionally well.

While that may seem like the route to go, which it certainly is an option, the costs to set up and make it happen are exorbiant. The equipment alone to make the mold for the gun is over $20k, closer to $30k. Then you have to figure in the time/labor of the tech scanning and making the computer file to give to the machinist to cut out the mold ~$250-$500/each. You can't just throw the gun onto your home computer scanner in an instance such as this and expect it to work. You have to start with a genuine version of the gun in order to make the mold, so you have to figure in that cost. Then you have to figure in the cost of the mold. You have to decide what material to use to actually make the dummy gun out of, and the availability/cost of that material. It's a multi-step process. And to be somewhat profitable, you hope you choose the guns/molds that are the most profitable to make. It's a gamble at times, especially with the number of gun types available in the market place. Rings usually takes quite a while before opting to make a mold. I don't know what their criteria is for choosing to make the gun. So long story, short here is once the machinist has made the mold, their work is done. And the demand versus cost to produce that mold is oftentimes viewed as less than profitable. Some of the gun manufacturers do offer a non-functioning version of their guns. Most do not. For example, you can get a revolver from Ruger (provided it's a current production gun), but they do not offer any of their semi-autos that way. The wait for a dummy gun from them is anywhere from 2 days to a year. It's just one of the quirks in the business. BTW, you have to prove that you're a legitimate holster-making business, not just a hobbiest.

Yep, I definitely would want to be assured of the accuracy of the specs on the red ASP guns. They're notorious for being the wrong size when it comes to use for holster making.... I personally would not order any others from them, nor would I recommend using them if you're serious about accuracy on the holster making. I have only one and I lucked out when I got it. YMMV.

I dare say the only place you're going to find one now is on eBay, or if a holster maker is selling off inventory. Duncan's used to make those quite regularly, but stopped offering it a number of years ago. The NLETC has never offered it. Ring's generally sticks to law enforcement style/choice of guns.

IMO, you're going to need a flat bed machine as well, unless you're going to sew everything with the same thread weight. A flat bed machine, like the Artisan 618SC, will run you ~$1500 + shipping. I've got the bench top press from Weaver. I don't have their catalog in front of me, but I think it's around $300 + the cost of the plates + shipping. At the time I bought it, I was in a smaller shop and space was at a premium. If you have to choose, I personally think you'd be better off investing in the clicker and dies for cutting out the patterns. The use of a die and the clicker will save you an enormous amount of time, and at various stages of the holster making. For example, cutting a cowboy holster out with a clicker and a die takes less than a minute. Tracing and cutting them out by hand is approximately 35-45 minutes. And then if you're off in your cut, you've got to spend time getting it straightened out, i.e., more cutting, sanding, etc. In other words, you're going to spend a lot more time (and aggravation) cutting out and aligning a holster than you would molding the holster. Of course, depending on the size and style of patterns, (and arm strength), you might be able to get the Weaver press to do double duty for you. I don't think it would work well in that way, but others may view it differently. You'll need an adequate air compressor. I tried using one of the 35-gallon/135 psi styles - didn't work, as I burned it up in about a month's time. Buy a decent sized air compressor. I replaced the inadequate one with a 60-gallon tank, runs off of 220. Cost was approximately $750. You'll need a decent belt sander for edge finishing. You'll need a means to slick the edges. There's a bunch of different ways to do that. Weaver has a machine that has the sander on one side and the grooved edge slicker on the other. They also have a #9 edge slicker that chucks up into the drill press. Both of those are okay but fall short of real world application IMO. I had something custom made that's similar to those. In any event, you can get both of those and they'll get you started. You'll need a rivet and/or snap setter, if you incorporate those into your holster design(s). The dies for the one-way snaps will run you nearly $200 alone. Dies for the rivets are around $50-75. As you mentioned, you'll want a drill press. You'll want a Dremel-type tool. You'll need a work bench area for yourself, as well as a work bench area to lay everything out. You'll need a work bench area for the dyes. You'll need a storage area/bench table to store your leather. Same for all the dyes, tools, rivets, screws, conchos, etc., etc., etc. You'll need something devised to let the holsters dry after being dyed. Some holster makers use an oven and slow bake them. Buy the best quality that you can afford, as it will save you in the long run.

You're going to need a whole lot more than the $4-5k to start up and be able to use quality products/equipment. You've already spent half of that on the Artisan 3000 (good choice BTW). If you want a clicker, even the Tippmann 700 is going to run you w/table approx $1700-1800. The 700 will only cut out relatively small holsters, i.e., pocket designs. Otherwise you're spending an inordinate amount of time trying to cut out something such as a cowboy holster. So you've spent nearly all of your allocation on just two essential pieces of equipment. Then you add in the glue, the thread, the edgers, the strap cutter, the working table(s), the dye, the finish, the buffing equipment. You haven't even touched the leather. If you want to make a quality holster, you need to have quality leather - pure and simple. (I've spent $11k+ on leather alone this year.) I think a more realistic figure to get started would be $10k+.

Often being one who goes against the ebb and flow here, I used the non-reflective glass on the piece I did pictured below. I used an acrylic sheen finish. (I also did the matting and framing.) It has hung in the foyer area of our home for about 18 months now. The top (dark brown) mat is leather, the other two are the non-acidic mats. It is out of direct sunlight. As Johanna pointed out, if you put leather under glass, you need to pay attention to it to make sure it doesn't start having problems.