markush

Thanks! Shark was my initial impression because of the grain pattern but it seems way too..i don't know...pourous? It looks like it would soak up 10 times it's weight in water, like a chamois. I thought those ostrich edges looked unreal like a plastic coating or paint. Would acrylic paint hold up to any kind of use? I guess i have another topic to google now...acrlyc paint edging... The flesh side of the ostrich I have is very stringy and already very, very thin. Those "strings" are one of the problems I ran into when I tried burnishing it. I guess I'll see just how thin I can get a piece.

In my bag of lizard...I mean "exotic" scrap from Springfield Leather I received this single solitary piece of non lizard...what is it? My guess is Elephant but just a guess. I also purchased a bag of Ostrich scrap and want to know how to finish the edge like in these photos. I am sandwiching a piece of veg-tan between two layers of the ostrich and can burnish it somewhat with my wooden burnisher but it looks nothing like the photos here!

I haven't seen it mentioned here but Looper and Aker belts (been wearing an Aker for 2 years now) advertise using "Kydex" in their reinforced belts. I know next to nothing about Kydex and what I do know of it is that it's a thicker material that is used for holsters etc. and in that case it seems to be thick and stiff enough that it will crack or break. If it's thin enough does it flex instead of crack? If it is Kydex in my Aker belt it is definitely flexible enough for a belt and hasn't seemed to crack or break up at all.

Just wanted to show the finished product after I Incorporated some of your suggestions. I also posted over in the "Critique My Work" section so please let me know what else I could have done better. I do have a question for you guys that I didn't mention over there...I had planned to hide the T-nuts between the layers but I messed up and removed too much material to fit them between the stitch lines so I ended up having to expose them on the back. My question is...had I not messed up and been able to place the T-nuts between the layers....should I have been concerned that the T-nuts would corrode from the Vinegaroon and wet molding? If so, how should I go about placing the T-nuts between layers if I am going to use Vinegaroon and wet mold?

I'm "cooking" my first batch right now (5th day so far), and have a couple questions about the length of time I should submerge the leather at each step...I just dunked a sample piece in my vinegaroon for ten seconds, It was pitch black almost instantly. I then let it sit for about 3 minutes while I made a Baking Soda bath. Dunked it in there for 6 seconds then dunked it in fresh watter for 10 seconds. It's been drying a couple of hours and I just now see it starting to slightly shift from pitch black to grey...my questions are 1. How long should I submerge the leather at each step, Vinegaroon, Baking Soda bath, and fresh water rinse. 2. When I did the baking soda bath I saw bubbles...Will I still see these bubbles when the Vinegaroon is fully "cooked" 3. This will be a IWB holster and I will be wet forming while the holster is still wet from the above vinegaroon process...when should I apply oil..after it's totally dry?

Thanks! The draw is awkward if it's at the 3:00 position but the more I tuck it around back the better it feels. Half the thickness of the guns slide, not including protruding slide stops etc, plus the thickness of one panel of leather right? How would you figure out spacing for a revolver? I've seen holsters with huge...side panels?...and then I've seen them with practically no side panels, which determines belt look spacing, Is that simply aesthetics also?

I'm about to make my second holster but first IWB and have a couple questions. What determines how far apart the belt loops should be...I've seen them placed close to the stitching around the gun and I've seen them placed farther away...why? Is the half inch spacing around the gun (a S&W 5906) enough? Should I enlarge the reinforcement piece to cover the trigger guard? Will the placement of the reinforcement along the length of the slide look OK once I start molding...should I move it closer or farther away from my stitch line? I gave it an extreme amount of cant to fit with my spare tires and give the full-size S&W 5906 the best chance of staying concealed on me. Is there anything here that just won't work?