wizard of tragacanth

Things that help to stiffen the leather... Dunk the leather in very warm water. Not hotter than 120°. If it burns your hand, its' too hot. Leave the leather submerged until bubbles stop surfacing, maybe 30 seconds or so. Remove and blot off any excess water. Lay the leather on a rack to dry. Such a rack as the air can circulate all the way around the leather. Like an oven rack. When the leather starts to return to its' original color, squeeze it in a press or use a rolling pin to compress the fibers. This is akin to a tannery process called "holstering" the leather, packing the fibers and making denser. If the leather is too wet or too dry, it will not work. It should be to a point that when you bend the leather, it somewhat retains its' shape. After compressing, cut the pieces to shape and mold them the way you want. To go a step further, force dry them with 120° heat and a fan. In the beginning, check them every couple of minutes to make sure that they are holding the shape you want. Reshape them as necessary. Get them very dry but do not let them burn. You don't want grill marks on your finished pieces. If you are worried about burning them, lower the heat to 80° or 90° and when they are 90% dry, finish them by air drying at room temp. If edges start curling, bend them back as soon as you notice and maybe cut back on heat but even with air drying there will be some curling because the edges dry faster than the center. This is the general process. Use your own judgement. Figure out your own methods. If you live in the desert, setting the leather in a hot garage works pretty good in the summer. If you put it in the sun, it will brown. That could be a plus or a minus.

I use them interchangeably in writing and speaking but I'm sure there is a correct answer. Often when people ask me what I do in my free time, I say leathercraft, and they say, "What's that?" Oh... that means that I make things out of leather. Then they get it. I get similar reactions when I say, ham radio. : ) In which case I say... oh, you wouldn't understand. It's kind of like being on a forum.

Check e-bay. Years ago a forum member found one there. That's the only idea that I have.

In regard to my last post, two up ( I wish these posts had numbers for reference) I must have been suffering from old-timers disease. I meant to say that most CCW/casual belts are 1.5" wide, so the slot should be a little wider, like a minimum of 1/8" wider, so 1 5/8" for a vertical slot. Listen to Bruce Johnson. He said it right. Sorry.

Thanks for your opinion JLS. I have to agree, I think 6spi is excellent for most holsters. I am regretting spending so much money on the 5spi irons. Should have tried some cheap 5spi irons first. Live and learn! Love that brown holster you are showing there.

I second the notion that the best water repellency you can get is with Resolene (or Mop & Glo cut 50/50 with water). This is an acrylic film layered on your leather. It can be damaged and it is not 100% water proof forever but it is far better than any other top coat for this purpose.

Was going to suggest "Pull-the-Dot" brand snaps but just discovered that they require a special tool to set them. $124.

Did you find a punch? If not, here is my recommendation. Most belts are 1 3/4" wide, so add a little and make your punch 1 13/16". Most belts will fit 1/4" slot but give it an extra 1/16", so 5/16" wide is good. So, final answer is, minimum... 1 13/16" by 5/16". BTW, I use a 4lb. hammer for this punch. You are in Texas, so I would recommend Texas Custom Dies... good people. http://www.usacuttingdie.com This is the style that I have. If you have a clicker, that's different.

The bottom pic with the a close-up of the shot shell looks great. The other pics are dark and lack a lot detail. The background looks a cream color and I am guessing that it is white or close to it. Can you lighten your pics up? Your work deserves it. There are many ways to do it, with better lighting or changing settings on your camera. I have saved or improved many of my phots using a Freeware program called FastStone Image Viewer. It is very flexible and It is not too steep of a learning curve. It has been invaluable to me. I do make donations to them once a year. https://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm Oh, btw... nice work.

No glue? Well, then, that would be my first recommendation. I suppose there are other people who do not use any glue but that sure seems like the hard way to do it. I know some people say that the glue is only to hold the pieces together until they get stitched. Those people often use something similar to Elmer's glue. Personally, I feel that contact cement bolsters the integrity of the build and yields a longer life under harder use. I would recommend giving it a try. It's not cheap, it is a little messy until you get the hang of it and it has a somewhat foul solvent smell (kinda like some gun cleaning products). If you decide to give it a try, I would recommend watching some videos to understand it and pick up some tips. It is applied to both pieces of leather that you are joining. It has to "dry" for a few minutes and then the pieces are joined. It is an immediate bond. You only have one chance to get it right. I suggest laying a piece of parchment paper or wax paper (something that you can see through) over the bottom piece, covering most of it, with just a corner sticky out. Then lay the top piece on it, making sure it is registered with the bottom piece. Press lightly to tack the corner in place and check that all of the other corners and edges are in register with everything. Then, slide the paper out half an inch at a time, and tack down the newly exposed cement. Pull the paper out slowly and tack the leather down as you go. You don't want air pockets. When the paper is completely removed, use heavy pressure to fully bond the pieces. I usually just use my palms and my fists to complete the bond but if you have smooth roller that will not leave marks in your leather, that would work well. Your holster will be much stiffer overall. If desired, you can wet the leather and do more molding if you want. Contact cement is waterproof. I would wait overnight for the cement to fully cure before cutting belt slots or punching holes for sewing because the cement is rubbery and may stick to your tools. If necessary, you can clean up with Acetone.

Very interesting... love it!

If I may make a couple of suggestions? I would suggest that after you have glued-up your holster, you use some sandpaper on a small sanding block to gracefully level the irregularities on the edges of your holster. Use sandpaper wrapped around a dowel for tight curves. I use a paint stirring stick to do inside the belt slots. Then, use a #2 edge beveler to knock the edges off of all outside edges and the long side of the belt slots and sand them again to round them off. Don't try to go around the tiny curve in the belt slots. It is not needed and often does not come out looking good because the beveler gouges into the leather on the corner. Also, it appears that you may be using only a 4-tine stitching chisel to make the holes. I would recommend getting a 1 and 2-tine chisel to enable making more graceful curves in the stitch line. Use 4-tines, only if it is truly for a straight line. You can use a stitching wheel to mark the spacing for stitches on a curve for the 1 & 2 tine irons. Make sure that the TPI (threads per inch) of the wheel, matches the TPI of your chisels, e.g. if you irons are 6 TPI, the teeth on the stitching wheel should also be 6 TPI. So, look for that. After your holster is glued together and the edges are trued-up, set a pair of dividers for 3/16". Place one point to ride on the outside edge of the holster with the other point scribing a line in the leather, to follow for stitching. Do it just firm enough to be able to see it when stitching. This will keep your stitches equal distance from the edge all the way around. If you are using a strong contact cement, like Weldwood or Barge, you may not need to stitch around the belt slots at all, unless you just want to do it for style. I never do and have never had any separation of the layers, even after 5 years of use. Example...

My first thought was that this was definitely the wrong holster for this gun. After contemplating it for a few days, I have come to really like it. Anachronism, yes, but really very cool! Nick

Okay DT, that price seems reasonable enough. Thanks! If I decide to go through with this purchase, I guess the thing for me to do is choose 3 makers and get a quote from each. That would clear things up. Nick

Well, you bring up a very good point! I would be making small to medium holsters with veg-tan ranging from 6/8 to 8/10. Again, thanks for your insight CH. Nick