wizard of tragacanth

Nice work! I'm sure that black is most frequently used but a lighter color shows off you work much better. I think it would look great in Red but I don't know if that would be appropriate for this type of thing. nick

Been making holsters for some time but this is my first mag pouch. I got the idea a couple of weeks ago when someone was trying to figure out how to accomplish some particular task on their project. Sorry, I don’t remember who or what project it was. Anyway, I had suggested that they fold the leather under. Then, I decided to make a mag pouch using this method, just for fun. Here is the result. I had a little problem, I was distracted when I went to dye the inside of the pouch. I had a fully loaded dauber. Normally, I would squish half of it out, but this time, I didn't. This wild excess of dye, turned green. For me, it was a happy accident. I liked it! Reminds me of the Northern Lights. Critiques welcome. nick Leather: 2.15 mm Thread: Ritza 0.8 Navy Blue Dye: Fiebing’s Pro Navy Blue Edges: Tokonole Finish: Satin Shene Snaps: Tandy Line 20 Black Plate

Maybe you are talking about a Monkey's Fist. nick

Oh, wow! Pocketing a red dot? Maybe with cargo pants, I guess. nick

Ross, what a nice Bowie. I have seen your antler/handle work before, which is of course, very nice. This time you stunned me with the overall shape, design and finish of the blade and hand-guard. Wow! Love that hand-guard. I have never seen anything like that "sling" attachment. Quite unusual, and cool. Is that your own design? nick

Every once in a while, someone brings up the idea of using wood products on leather. I think the consensus is that they can work, but that they are not optimized for leather. You could use leather dye to stain wood, but the results may not be as good as they would be with wood stain. I specifically remember someone saying that floor stain does not have UV blockers but leather stain does, to prevent fading. Anyway, use what you want, it worked... at least temporarily! I really appreciate your spirit of experimentation.

Now that you bring it up, your maker's mark is one good looking piece of art. One of the best that I have ever seen. And your work on the belt lives up to it! nick

I have seen a video on this somewhere -- can't remember. They used an appropriately sized, foot long piece of twine, glued it to a board, applied jeweler's rouge and stropped it. nick

fighttobreathe... I see where you're coming from. There can be some hidden gems out there. nick

Mop & Glo is just an acrylic floor polish. Fiebing's Resolene is essentially the same thing. Many people dilute it 50/50. But Mop & Glo is a cheaper alternative here in the U.S. Just look for any acrylic floor polish that you have locally. nick

I don't really have an answer for you. I mostly use Tandy. However, I am curious as to what you are looking for and I think that it would help others, help you, if you were more specific. Are you looking for more variety, better quality... what? nick

Well, it would help to see a pic of this in order to make a proper recommendation but off-hand, I would say -- stitch a line around the flashlight. That's how we would do it on a gun holster. nick

I am not normally a fan of floral but dang, that is very good looking. I like the red too! nick

Thanks for sharing this info. This is sad news. I wondered how they would work out. They sure look nice. Do you think pull-the-dot snaps are the solution? Are you going to try them? To the best of my memory, it seems that when snaps are used, they always loop over, and around, then snap on the front. I really liked the looks of the design, sorry it didn't work out. Let us know what you do with this. nick

I never use any products designed for edges, only Gum Trag and Tokonole on belts and holsters, but I have always been on the lookout for a good one, just in case I needed it in the future. I always thought of Edge Kote as the rubbery, semi-gloss paint, that I would see on cheap belts, at cheap stores. It looked like it would eventually wear, or peel off. That was just as guess, as I had never used it. The only two products available at my local Tandy are Edge Kote and Dura Edge. On the Fiebing's website, it has these descriptions... Edge Kote: Dries water resistant with a flexible, deep semi- gloss. Dura Edge: Fiebing's Dura Edge is a flexible and highly durable finish that will result in a professional edge every time. No need for burnishing, buffing or other labor intensive processes to get the edge you always desired. Fiebing's Dura Edge dries bright, hard and will not rub off. The convenient wool dauber attached to the cap allows for easy application with minimal mess. A few days ago, I ran across a Fiebing's product called Burnishing Ink Wax. That one sounded very interesting to me, as I could dye and burnish at the same time. It appeared to be available only in 32oz jugs. I asked my local Tandy and they had no experience or knowledge of this stuff. I searched this forum and found a post saying that it was not a good product. So, I went to the Fiebing's website, and for the first time, discovered their Shoe Care products. Under the Shoe Care products, they have Cobbler Classics. There are a couple of interesting products. However, I could not find any descriptions. I am wondering if any of our Cobblers on this forum could be of assistance here. Perhaps there is a product for sole edges that would work great for us? https://www.fiebing.com/shop/?c=34411/COBBLERCLASSICS nick

Very nice work... and quite interesting. I had no idea that "eating knives" were a thing... other than a table knife, as we know it. nick

I am absolutely NOT the person to answer this question because I have ZERO experience here. However, since no one else will answer, I will try. Honestly, I am not sure that you should even continue on this one but if you must, think of a flashing on a roof. Use a long strip of leather, folded down the middle, length-wise. Place it in the inside corner, sew to the side and the strap. Good luck! Hopefully, some one with real knowledge can be of more assistance. You might give it a week. I am here every day but many are not. nick

I use Tandy Harness Needles, Size 0 (zero). Mine measure an average of 1.09 https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/harness-needles-10-pk nick

Confession time: I always sew one-needle-at-a-time. I guess that is kinda amateurish and I may be the only one doing it but it works for me and I doubt that I will change. However, I am open to constructive criticism. nick

Sweeeet!

It's always nice to have a "little helper" around, right? I'm sure that your friend will treasure his gift. nick

Matt, what do you use to cut the Masonite,. a jig saw? nick

Very nice work. Those layers do look nice and clean. What brand of contact cement did you use? nick

Oh yeah... just re-read this thread (haha, there's a joke there) and realized that I did not address your thread thickness. 1.2 mm is just too thick. For me, 0.6 mm is a little thin. I use 0.8 mm Sorry Nigel... I just like a chunkier look on holster. nick

Well, you have definitely cleaned up the edges and have given it a nice contour. The dye and finish are good... and that firearm is awesome! I am a huge Sig fan. Things to consider: I am wondering if there is enough room to get a full firing-grip on the pistol. It looks like the leather comes up a little too high but that could be due to the slight angle of the picture. I am seeing some finger nail marks and the goal is not to have any. I had a huge problem with this on my first few projects. At first you will need to have great awareness every time you touch the leather. Later, it will become totally natural and you will not even have to think about it. The stitching that goes around the trigger guard and under the barrel, needs to be much closer in… as close as you can get it. If your sewing machine cannot get in there, you may have to hand-stitch that line. I only hand-sew so I can’t be of any help there. You could still fix this on this project. Here is an example. On one of my earlier projects, I did not stitch close enough. I went back and stitched closer in. It worked out. nick