Splash

I got the 4500, If I go around like sewing a reinforcement piece, I usually overlap my stitching by 3 or 4 stitches. on the pancakes, like on the picture, by the belt loops, I mostly never start and finish on the same place. I start on the bottom of the holster about 5 stitches from when I am turning up aling the first stitch line. That way, I have about 3 or 4 stitched to go over on my second pass (this will lock my begining stitch line. Then at my stopping point, I'll reverse my machine and do 3 or 4 back stitches. does that makes sence?

Chief is correct, thumb break should not interfere with the natural position of the grip. there is a reason why is called a thumb break, it is the thumb who undo the smap. The snap and tab should be located where the thumb will naturally fall into place when you grab the grip of the pistol. I would use a re-enforcing piece if it is an IWB holster or if it is requested. the only other re-enforcement piece is on the thumg tab itseld to make it rigid enough for a clean release

Malabar, 6 on one hand or half a dozen in the other. It does not matter what you use, it is going to get hot. Neoprene by itself acks like a sweat band, like the ones used to "trim" your waist. too much sweating in my opinion, allergies aside, too much trapped sweat for an extended period will cause a rash. sheep skin will make you sweat as well, but is way more confortable. I carry my Lady smith with sheepskin all day without issues. I live in OK where it is quite hot in the summer, but not as humid like FL. Been in FL during summer visiting my sister and carry my sheepsking ankle holster without issues. It is all about prefference and confort.

Yes, there are people allergic to any metal that oxidizes easy. I just retired from the Military after 25 years and I am allergic to the actual red allergy tag. I wear a Stainless Steel Bracellet. I have a Ti plate on my neck and a test had to be done before the Dr would put that in. SS, Gold, and Ti are the only metals I amd not allergic to. I will ruin silver in about 30 minutes.

Andi, I have the same issue. I have found that Stainless steel, Gold, and Ti are the only metals I am not alergic to. I just retired from the Military and could not wear the mandatory allergy tag because I am allergic to the tag itself. I not only wear SS buckles because both Gold and Ti are cost prohibuted for me. you can also search for belts with SS pelican hooks, they dont look bad, I like them

I can say that I like the design. Smart thinking on your part IMHO. A lot of people does not like the guard to go above the bend at the elbow and then the string hits the edge. One thing I see is that the your knife could benefit from stroping as it will make your knife cuts smoother.

Since almost all of the molds are slimmer that the actual gun itself, what I do is tape the sides and top of my molds to make it the same dimmension as the real thing.

I very rarely chime in on any thread since on my mind, I am still learning. I have been making holters for about 5 years. I dont dip dye, I either use a dauber or a piece of whool. I normaly use oil dyes, the only Angelus I use is their Pink dye. my process is as follow: I dye let dry and re-apply until I feel that has penetrated enough (airbrush if I am fading a two tone holster), then glue and stitch followed by wet molding. The only time I have gotten an uneven tone is when I rush something or use low quality leather (usually only for knife sheaths). after I wet mold, I let it dry for a few hrs (about 4 or 5) then I place my holster into my kydex heating oven at a ~150 Deg or so with the door not completelly closed. I do this to allow the glued portions to dry since they do not air out as the other parts of the holster. once it is out of the oven and it has cooled, I then oil the holster and let dry overnight before finishing it. for holsters I only use HO or W&C leather.

Very nice and beautiful Holster.