K-Man

"I have been afraid that the exotics are too fragile for a bike seat....Bikers are not know as the most sensative guys when it comes to the treatment of their "ride". Watch 'em do burnouts sometime..... Laying rubber until the tire catches fire and blows out.....Not sure that guy is going to be happy with the durability of a beautiful alligator hide insert in his seat." Try shark, elephant (main body), or stingray - all very durable skins. Elephant ear and trunk are available also, but are thinner and thus less durable. Ostrich would work, too, if thinned down and then adhered to a 3/4 oz (minimum) piece of veg tan. Stingray can be a pain to sew at times, depending on the means you do it by. A needle and awl machine has fits with it, hand sewing would be absolutely no fun either. I have a couple Artisan Toro 3000s and have had no problems. The shark, ostrich, and elephant are soft - just like leather - so they're easy to sew.

You might consider picking up a sample of the various "skins" of the elephant to see how the texture is. It's different for the main body, ears, and trunk. Then perhaps try to replicate that as best you can.

Don't sell yourself short at pricing your work. There will always be a group of people that think any asking price above $10-$15 is outrageous for an item that is truly worth 3 or 4 times that amount. I see it all the time in the holster business. A couple of things that help sell the product is the quality of the work, the customer service supporting that, and your genuine enthusiasm about what you've made. If you lack any of that, it's going to be a hard sell no matter what it is or what the price is.

Actually there are a number of metal clips available today that are capable of holding the holster in place without coming out when drawing the gun. I even use kydex clips, along with a number of other highly respectable holster makers, on some versions of holsters. The "clips" have come a long way in recent years and offer a viable alternative to carrying a holster.

I'd use a great deal of caution in how you do the logo - you may have licensing/trademark issues to deal with - especially with receiving money for doing it.

Hello everyone. I found your site link on The Rawhide Gazette and have visited often. I have been doing leathercraft for approximately 15 years and like to do any number of things. I do have a business/make a living at it with my holsters. My company is K&D Holsters, and I've been in business nearly 4 years with that. I do a variety of holster styles and accessories. Here's a pic of one of the recent holsters I did (has genuine sharkskin on it): http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v107/Lea...LaredoShark.jpg Here's a pic of some artwork I did last year. I also did the framing/matting: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v107/Lea...leTooledPic.jpg I've admired the other work displayed here on the forum and hope to learn more from you all. See ya around!