MadMorbius

According to my doctor, Tennis Elbow is an overuse / muscle strain injury attributable to repeated contraction of the forearm muscles used to straighten and raise your hand and wrist....start with a heavier mallet, and stamp out a basketweave on a 50" belt... I Lost 2 months of work while it healed, and now I'm terrified it's going to flare up any time I stamp out a border. I have to go "tools down" as soon as I feel a twitch.

How about tennis elbow from the mallet?

Top notch job!

Collectively, thank you! The images are most helpful. Bobby, the customer seems to want everything but the deflector shield. Would the Hand og God template (aside from the skirt and the chape, which I would modify as per customer request) lend well to this? IE do the dimensions lend well to 8-9oz lined with 5-6oz, with the metal sandwiched in the middle or is the holster likely to be too tight for the application? Perhaps I should increase the size by about a half inch all around?

Nobody has any insight into this question?

I've had a request for a Mernickle-style metal lined holster for fast draw. I've never handled one of these, and neither has the client. My question is, how far does the metal extend between the two peices of leather laminate? IE, I know it's used to keep the mouth of the holster open, and usually extends up and around the shank to provide a stiff draw angle away from the body...but how far down does the metal go on the holster side? Does it extend only to the bottom of the cylinder, or is the entire holster lined with the metal? I'm thinking that lining the whole thing might make it a little difficult to seat the holster within the loop after it's rivetted down

Me too...sorry!

Mine are generally covered, but I agree with you; I'm not a big fan of an exposed trigger on any holster for n automatic regardless of weapon safeties. Many of my revolver holsters are open trigger however.

I learned two things in this thread... 1) Ecoflow Waterstain is good stuff but needs a damp leather application and multiple coats of conditioner to protect against abraision.... 2) Cow's can't fart. Who knew? Anyway, I was really hesitant to try anything eco-flo since my previous experience with it was somewhere below craptacular and I found the dye wouldn't penetrate at all....but along came the newer waterstains, I eventually succumbed to peer pressure and I haven't looked back since

I love Will Ghormley's patterns, and jumped on the HOG pattern when it became available locally. I was originally going to try the rust water technique, but went with Tandy Eco Flo Professional Waterstain, finish and conditioner. Here is the final holster. I'm still working on the belt. And here's a Black Canyon holster I just finished...a set actually, left and right hands, but only the right is shown here. Appreciate any feedback. I've been working with leather for about 6 months now, so any pointers are very welcome.

Definitely remove the Blackhawk markings and other non-standard raised text. That can really mess with the forming in "Wait a minute, Blackhawk didn't make this holster" kind of way.

Thank you for your comments, and I dont take offense at all. I missed sanding the contour at that location and the dividers dutifully followed the uneven edge...so my own fault there. Feedback accepted

I bought one, used it once, and haven't touched it since, for the same reason.

Yes, I ordered the versions for tandy swivel knives. Not quite ready to drop the coin for a Barry King knife

Thanks, I checked out Barry King's site and ordered some of his border blades as well as beaders...ordered some of his lifters while I was at it So I'll try that, but I'd still like to hear from others on how they accomplish this.

Folks, probably a dumb question. What' s the best way to make parallel lines around a piece of work, for example the 1/8 and 1/4 lines around the outside of Will Ghormley's Hand of God holster? I've tried to do this with a swivel knife, stiching groover, dividers, etc, but cant' find a solution that yields a result I'm happy with. I even tried this little tandy groover thingy that attaches to a swivel knife...and it sucks too. What tool do you use for this? See the attachment...parallel lines not so parallel. I'm sure this is easy, but I'm thick.

I know this is a late reply, but it seems to me that the exact pattern for that holster (Para Military Cavalry 1911) is included in Wil Ghormley's 1911 holster patterns, to be released in February of 2012. http://www.willghormley-maker.com/1911.html

I found the Boss to be quite reasonably priced considering it's portability and versatility. And yes, it's footprint is quite small, meaning less floor space in the shop needs to be dedicated to a full sized machine and table. I have a Juki LU-563 walking foot that will rip through all kinds of tactical nylon but won't run the 277 thread required for gun leather. For lighter projects, it's fine, but for the money, the Boss was the clear winner. Speed and "controlabilty" was the driving factor for me. Ruining a beautiful peice of gun leather with an out of control walking foot is a mistake nobody wants to make more than once. With the Boss, I'm in absolute control. If you're doing belts, it'll be more of an excercise machine than a sewing machine, but it's still great at what it does. It was also quick to set up and easy to use...the hoslter below was stitched up in about 5 minutes start to finish, and it was my first use of the Boss. I do have experience with other machines, so I'm sure that played a part in things but see for yourself:

Hi folks, I'm looking for some assistance with a design request for a leather holster for a Glock 17 with a Surefire X300 weaponlight. I don't have any issues with the basic pattern for a Glock 17, but I'm looking for advice, pictures or any anecdotal support from anyone who's done one to fit with a weaponlight attached. The request is for something either belt or molle compatible. I have a couple of ideas for the attachment, but I'm still hung up on the weaponlight and the fit in the holster. I usually rely on the trigger molding for tension. This won't be possible (I do'nt think) with a weapon light. Has anyone done this, and can anyone share some insight?

I just finished this gun belt, which was my first attempt at a Buscadero rig. The belt was hand stitched. When the skin grows back on my fingers I might do the proper holster for this belt