TonyV

try to find an edge (perhaps an internal seam) in which you can see the grain edge-on. If it appears to be all one color, it is probably veg tan. If you can see different colored layers, like a sandwich, it is likely chrome tan.

All valid advise above. There are so many techniques available and you have options to choose and practice with. Fobs are great for learning new skills and methods and I'll add one: Have you tried buffing your finish as the last step? Shining up the outermost face of the piece can make the stamping really stand out.

mmmmm, halibut. My favorite. Grilled with a little lemon and dill. Steak o' the sea. That's a nice holster, too. It can be worn with pride.

I lock it with a square knot between the layers of leather. A correctly made square knot will not come undone under normal circumstances, and the knot gets clamped by the leather when I hammer the stitches. I rarely use glue on knots, but when I do, it's just a tiny dab of white glue.

I've never come across powdered dye for leather. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, though. Try Google. It might not be called "leather dye", though, perhaps something like "pigment". Customizing your dye should be an exercise in experimentation until you develop your own formulas. Fiebings Pro dye is great stuff, but it ain't the only dye brand. There is Angelus and others. You don't need to rely on "Leather Dye" as your only choice, either. I've seen people get good results from fabric dyes, like Rit. Or maybe powder. Another choice, I use good ol' homemade vinegaroon for a dark gray to black finish. My results vary in intensity and tone, depending on the particular piece of leather, but usually comes out a dark charcoal, almost black, which might be close to what you're looking for. For an aged tan look I use very strong black tea, or very strong black coffee to get a good brown color. Walnut husks and other natural make a great dyes, too. Play around with things and have fun!

Nice! I like it, especially the flexibility of wear.

Any chrome tan, suede included, can accelerate corrosion of gunmetal. If you don't want to use bark tan wool, then a good lining is a thin veg tan. It's nice and smooth and compatible with the metal. Also IME, the loose fibers of suede tend to break off and accumulate in the small recesses of the firearm. So I would pay close attention to the cleaning and maintenance of your rifles henceforth.

No need to change the dimensions, just cut slightly outside the pattern line, a 1/8 inch or less, then cut both pieces together to the proper line. That leaves room to cut both pieces together. Alternatively, when you have 2 identical pieces cut 2 layers of leather at once right at the pattern line. If left/right handed, reverse the faces.

lf it were me, I would decide that this is now a practice piece. Looks like I could carefully trim off the overhang witha very sharp knife, then very carefully sand it as smooth as I could. Will take some patience. Then I would slick the edge and decide if it warranted any more judicious sanding. You might get away with trimming and sanding, but you might not. I would anticipate having to make it again, learning from my mistake. Next time cut the edges together, as if they were 1 piece. Leaving a little bit of extra trim space and gluing them together, then making the final cut of both pieces gives a great result. Then make your stitch groove, chisel and sew.

I recently experimented a little bit with molding Crazy Horse leather because my brother wants a pancake holster made of a piece I have. I found that soaking it in hot tap water for a few minutes worked ok. NOt splendid results, but serviceable. Takes longer to dry and the finish appears to fade. I applied NFO and the finish was fairly well restored. Another little experiment was to dry it in the oven at 180F . It came out real hard, but still felt waxy. Definitely not as easily moldable as plain veg, but if you don't expect exactly the same results as regular veg, it can be done. Experiment with your technique before building a project.

I don't worry about it. The copper rivets I use won't get enough verdi gris to worry about. With handling and use, the minor amounts of corrosion gets brushed off. The only time that I have seen big amounts of corrosion on metallic trim on leather is when an article was left wet in a close up container for an extended time. Not to mention; when I topcoat my projects, the rivets and snaps get a coat of the finish. And ain't veg tan leather tanned with tannic acid ?

It may be the leather that's the problem. If you have fibrous leather that's gummng up your very sharp blades, I think it's not very good leather. But, we work with what we have. All I can say is make sure your blade is well-stropped, work on a hard surface and use patience.

yeah, hobbies are like that. Spend a couple hundred bucks on tools and supplies and build it myself with amateurish results because I don't want to spend 50 bucks for a professionally made whatever-it-is. But at least I have the pride of DIY!

I don't need another holster, but I'm making one for myself regardless. Treat yourself

If only I had a horse...

That looks like rust damage combined with physical abuse to me. Your most important tool will be patience. I used to have an old Barlow knife with similar damage. I got it sharpened to the point that I could use it, somewhat, but I could never get out all the edge damage. It would be tempting to use a grinder to get to a new edge profile, but that could easily overheat the steel unless you know how to keep it cool. Some file work might be in store before you break out the stones. I wish you luck! It could prove to be a worthwhile project. At the very least, an interesting wall hanger.

My daughter bought a rolling sharpener for her kitchen knives. They work ok for those, certainly better than nothing. Quick and easy, which should give wise people a clue. Sharpening is a learned skill. For leather workers it's an important skill to learn. I'm still not all that great, but I'm better at hand sharpening than these things will do.

I bought a bag of scraps several years ago which included some sheepskin pieces. I had no use for the sheepskin bits at the time until I realized they make great applicators for dyes, NSF and finishes.

I like to use clear packing tape to laminate the pattern and trace it on cased leather. Taped paper won't tear even on wet leather and I can reuse it several times (especially nice when it's a design I drew myself). I dont have a ball point stylus, so I use a dried-out deadsville ball point pen that I've had for years. Lead pencils can cut the tape and paper and ink pens leave a mess that can spread to the leather.

Yeah, 'simple' doesn't always equal 'easy'. The basic steps are simple enough, but leatherwork can be as simple or as complicated as we make it. Time spent practicing new skills and techniques is never wasted time. I have a box full of scraps that I've kept from my practice of cutting, tooling, sewing, dyeing, edging etc. I don't know why I keep that stuff because I rarely find a re-use for these pieces. But at least I can see where I've improved, as well as where I need to practice a whole lot more. Now, time for me to practice making a holster pattern.

have you tried slip-joint pliers? What type of glue? White glue? Contact cement, water based or other?

to get a deep black I will use a base coat of dark blue, let it dry, then top coat of Fiebings Pro black. This combo makes for a deep rich black. For a milder antique-looking black, I prefer home made vinegarroon. Any dye job I do gets a light coat of NF on top, dry for 24 hrs, then buffed.

You can round the corners if you wish. Modify it any way you like and make it your own. Change the dimensions, rearrange pockets, sew th long line. It's your template now, do what you want. I think those top corners might look better radiused.

You need both. Definitely. But a 12 oz requires less work to use IMO.

Nice! I've tried that same pattern with mules foot stamp but I'm not nearly that good.