wizard of tragacanth

This is my third attempt at a holster. I'm not there yet but I am starting to *get* it... thanks to all of the great people on this forum! I still didn't leave quite enough room for a *full* firing grip and I thought that I had. It is just a smidge tight but this is not acceptable. Next time I will make absolutely certain that I do this correctly. On the double stitching that you see going the length of the gun, those were not planned. The outside lines were the initial rows. Later, I re-molded the holster, for a closer fit, and did the inside lines. I have never used a slotted style holster before and I am not sure that I like them. It is a pain to put it on and take it off. However, once it's on, it isn't going anywhere and it does snug up well to the body. I'm not sure which design to try next. I was going to try an Avenger but after wearing this holster for a few days, I think I want something that does not need to be threaded on the belt. Nick

I am soooo envious! Congrats!

We used chrome tanned to line our dresser drawers. Nice.

Actually, my first and only belt to date was a similar screw-up. A guy at work wanted me to make him a belt with a removable buckle. He said that he wanted it black, in a size 32. I told him that I needed to measure his belt. He insisted that all I had to do was make it 32". I told him that I really, really needed to measure it and he absolutely insisted that I did NOT and just make it 32". Well, when it was done, he tried it on in front of me and it was at least 3" too short. He said that the belt need to be 32" to the center hole. I assured him that it was. He said to re-make it "this much longer" (showing me with his fingers). I won't even go into the rest of the story. The bottom line is that I did not make another belt for him and got nothing out of that one. We work together every day and nothing more has been said about it. We are still friends. I blame myself for NOT getting a measurement, as much as I blame him for not knowing what he was talking about. I chalk it up as a learning experience but it kinda made me wonder if I really want to do this. Nick

Wow! People can be ridiculous! Thanks for sharing... it's kind of like watching the World's Dumbest Criminals... enteraining and unbelievable. Nick

You can get one of those buckles from Tandy for $9. I like it too, it's going on my next belt (for myself) . http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/Buckles/7875-05.aspx Nick

Thanks very much for the video. I plan to make an Avenger fairly soon. Nick

Disclaimer: This is my way of doing it and I am new to leatherworking. There are many other ways to accomplish the same thing and I am sure there are better ways too... but this will get you started and then you can start exploring better ways on your own. First, you need to sand the edges so that they are straight where they need to be or smoothly curved, which ever the case. Use a sanding block with 120 grit sandpaper for straight lines and outside curves. Use the sand paper by hand or wrapped around some round-stock, for inside curves. Once you have the shape right, finish off with 300 or 320 grit or higher. Make the edge look as good as possible at this point. Keep working until you are convinced that it cannot look any better by further sanding. Do not rely on burnishing to make up for short-cutting on the sanding. The better job that you do on the sanding just makes the burnishing go that much easier and better. Use a stitch groover to cut a nice groove that runs parallel with the outside edge of your holster. In order to have a good looking, straight stitch groove, you have to have a straight edge on the holster that the guide on the groover can follow. If you have an irregular edge on the holster, then the stitch groove will also be irregular. After grooving, run an overstitch wheel through that groove, for stitch spacing. Get a wheel that is 6 or 7 stitches per inch. If the leather has not be dyed yet, do it at this time, prior to burnishing the edges. Gum Tragacanth is dye resistant, so once the edges are burnished with it, you cannot successfully dye the edges. Get some Gum Tragacanth and a burnishing tool. I prefer the wooden tool sold by Tandy (see attached pic). Using a Q-tip, apply some Gum Tragacanth to 2 or 3 inches of the sanded edge. Apply just enough to wet it, You don't want it running down the side. Let it soak in for a few seconds, then rub the burnishing tool rapidly, back and forth on the edge. Rub hard and fast. You want heat and pressure. As the leather starts to heat up and smooth down, the Gum will be absorbed and start to dry. You will begin to hear a squeeking or chirpping sound. When you hear this, you know that you are doing it correctly. Continue for a few more seconds and watch the leather get smooth and shiny. That spot is done. Apply the Gum to the next 2 or 3 inches and continue until your project is done. BTW, you can go back over an area a second time if necessary. Good luck, Nick

Looks really good for a first holster. I would guess that though this is your first holster, it is not your first leather project. Correct? Nick

Sharp design... nice piece of work! Nick

I would suggesting curving the stitching around the trigger guard, following the natural line, rather than making it square. I think that doing the inside black and the outside tan is kind of different and interesting. That could be your signature design element. Did you use a stitch groover? Nick

Okay, so he hit a softball at 100' but was it a fatal wound or did the softball survive?

How long should the neutralising soda bath be? I did it for approx. 30 seconds.

I used a baking soda dip when I did the initial vinegaroon treatment. Do you think that another dose of baking soda would help... after the Sno Seal? I guess it is worth a try because I will otherwise throw this belt out. Perhaps another error of mine was that I didn't leave it in the baking soda bath long enough. Nick

Well, I am actually talking about the smell ON the belt. Perhaps I used the 'roon too soon? The belt was done around three weeks ago and still smells. Perhaps I should have let the brew age a little longer or expose it to open air for a while. I really soaked the belt in it and probably used at least three times as much as was needed. Then, the next day, I finished it with Sno Seal... probably sealing in the smell, so to speak. So, I can see several ways to reduce the odor possibly... airing out the batch before use, using only as much as needed on the project and no more, and then perhaps airing the project before finishing. Nick

I am new to leather work and new to vinegaroon. I made a batch of vinegaroon and used it on a belt project. Color wise... fantastic... I couldn't ask for anything better. However, the belt continues to smell like a bait box. Did I do something wrong or is this normal? If there is no way to eliminate the smell, I will have to abandon the thought of ever using vinegaroon again. In my mind, one of the nice things about leather is that it smells good. Nick

Madmax, I don't think you are talking about leaving the entire trigger exposed are you? I think that you are referring to many designs that I have seen where one can see the base of the trigger where it attaches to the gun but the "face" of the trigger is NOT exposed. Personally, I would always cover the "face" of the trigger, for several reasons... 1. I can't think of a reason NOT to cover the trigger 2. I will take all of the passive safties that I can get 3. Not covering the trigger could foster early engagement of the trigger finger with the trigger... not a good thing (IMHO). Could lead to shooting oneself when drawing the gun. OTOH, I do not see a problem with exposing the base of the trigger. I think the designs in which the base of the trigger is exposed, are done that way to keep the leather away from the grip so that one can get a full firing grip on the gun before it leaves the holster. The bottom line for me would be to cover at least the face of the trigger and the more that I can cover, the better it is, in my mind. Nick

Looks to me like the rear strap on the hybrid is too close to the grip to get a good purchase on it, but other than that, it looks good to me. The shark grips are a very interesting concept, for sure. Also, shark for a pocket holster seems like a good idea in every respect.... nice looking design too.

I wouldn't recommend running out and buying a strap end punch. I got a 1.5" English point and I am not crazy about it at all. I'm sure my technique is probably at fault but when I use this punch, it ploughs ahead of the starting point and results in a sloped edge, not a 90 degree cut. It was also not as easy to center on the strap as I thought it would be. The tip would be off center and result in a lop-sided cut. The results were worse when trying to use it on straps smaller than 1.5" so I don't recommend that at all. I actually had a better result using wing dividers to scribe the cut-line and hand-cutting with my utility knife. Since I paid nearly $50 for the punch and I would like the conveniece if I could use it correctly, I will be trying it again. I guess my message is that you should get the punch in every size that you need, don't try to adapt it to different sizes and two, don't be in a hurry, it may not be the perfect solution anyway. Nick

Here is a link to basic tools that might be helpful. http://unblinkingeye.com/Guns/LTools/ltools.html Be careful when you buy your first piece of leather. You don't want to buy something of such poor quality that there is no possible way to get a good looking project out of it and you don't want to buy a flawless, premium piece of leather that you cannot do justice to. Be sure to get the right weight of leather too. Just a rough guide but something in the 8 - 10 oz. range should be good but it really depends on what you are doing with it. If you are doing 2-ply stuff, then 4-5 oz back-to-back would be the way to go, again depending on which project and design you are using. Nick

If you want to sew a belt, especially with double row or ornamental stitching, you will need a sewing machine. A good sewing machine for leather is $2000 - $2500. You might want to start with single-ply, non-stitched belts in the beginning. As Doc said above, search YouTube for leathercraft tools and you can see some videos. For comparison, a hand tool such as an edge beveler from Tandy is around $15; a premium edge beveler is around $70 - $90. You will need at least three hand tools: a stitch groover, an over-stitch wheel and an edge beveler. Among the other things that you will need are... a strap cutter, wing dividers, cutting boards, anvil, punches, snap setters, etc. Nick

Thanks guys... I appreciate the help. Nick

I really like the styling... it's a perfect complement to the Glock... elegant simplicity. Nick

That looks really nice markush... nice clean work, and I really like the contrasting materials. Nick

Well, I don't know much about Western rigs and I cannot say anything about the workmanship because the photo is not close enough. However, I can say that I like the style and the rich color. That Ruger looks real handsome in there. Nick