kwelna

"Our Top Grade Tooling Sides are what most companies would call their #1's or premium...clean, white, and pretty doggone nice! These sides tool and finish very well. Available in 2-3 oz., 3-4 oz., 4-5 oz., and 5-6 oz. (*Note: 2-3 oz. has a very soft hand and average 19-20 sf.). Item # 133-72123." I bought a 2-3 and a 5\6 side. they are both quite big and Iowuld say are 95% usable. a few clip depressions on the very edge of the skin on both from tanning (This was expected) and one small hole on the 2\3. really impressed. also the 2\/3 is soft for being veg tanned even the belly parts of the sides look really good.

So I just ordered a couple of sides from Springfield leather (2\3 and 5\6) as i am about to attempt making a couple of messnger bags as well as fill a couple of orders for .22 mag holders. WOW! so far I am totally impresssed. They are very clean, smooth, very blond and have a very consistant thickness. Don't get me wrong, I like Tandy Leather and I think they provide great service and products especially to\for newbies such as myself. I will always patronize their establishments, But I have to tell you this leather is better than most everything i have seen at Tandy (in their lower grades of leather) and is competatively priced even including shipping. Plus I received the leather in less than a week (5 days). Super helpfull and super nice people that put up with my numerouse phone calls and questions. I was a bit nervouse buying leather on line, especiall since I could not see the individual peices and I had to rely on others to pick out my leather. For you newbies, all UI can say is give them a call and give it a try you will be happy you did. Will I still buy Tandy Leather? You bet. Especially if I need it "right now" But I wll also be buying from Springfiled on a regular basis as well. Thanks for the great customer service Springfield you now have another, "albeit small" loyal customer.

Stupid as stupid does...........I used to be amazed at depth of idiosy displayed by others. Just watch Cable TV and see them star on thier shows!! Now at 53 I expect it. Alas the world is what it is. Unfortunatluy, you do need to return the holster, he did pay for it and is the owner. What he does with it is out of your hands. Thankfully you have a great reputation and I rather doubt that anything he can do will impact your business.

Thank you for your comments and suggestions. I do appreciate the input. Next is a holster for a Para Ordinance 45/14. I am thinking of having a pinup girl carved into the leather. I do have to draw from this holster so i am thinking of a yaqui (sp?) style but a bit larger to accomdate the pinup girl. Hey it's all about the presentation. I am an average shot with a pistol so I have to dazzel 'em with something other than my shooting prowess or lack there of.

I am getting into shooting steel challenges both center fire and rim fire. Looking around I could not find a decent looking holster for the Buckmark, especially one with optics So I designed my own. I will say that I could not have done so with out the information I pulled from this site! The holster is made from a scrap piece of 9-10 leather and is lined with a piece of 2-3 goat and the mag pouch is made from a molded piece of 8-9 on the front and the back is made by laminating a piece of 5-6 and a piece of 3-4. I made the the holster just a tiny bit tight to aid in retention. Since you do not draw from a holster in rim fire steel challenges, the additional snugness is not a detriment. I am a novice leather worker so if you feel so inclined, please critique both the design and my work. Any insight you can give will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Just to add to the conversation, you may also may wish to examine the changes due to advances in weaponry through out history. If those with money were the soldiers they would become a major driving force in inovation. As they (weapons) advanced, so would the armor worn. As weapons and materials moved from stick and stones, to clubs, to spears, swords then bows and arrows to cross bows etc. I think it was the chineese that even came up with an early version of bullet (arrow) resistant armor by utilizing overlaping layers of compressed paper and\or silk on the exterior of their armor. Our saving grace is two fold. First the internet and sites like this one. Second is a paradigm shift from hording knowledge (aka Trade Guilds) where only those within the guild\group were privy to the "secrets" to sharing knowledge. Sites like this facilitate the dispersion of ideas, knowledge and techniques both old and new. Information and innovations that would\may have taken weeks to months to years to propogate across medieval europe now occur at the speed of light. The other is all your willingness to share your knowledge. Without that willingness to basically share with what could ostensibly be consideered your "competition" is truely a relatively new phenomenon. PS Being a novice leather worker, I for one truely appreciate the access to your knowledge and experience

Way cool answers, thank you. I also noticed that when edging my leather projects that in some cases the leather tends to buch up, where in other places on the same piece of leather it cuts smoothly. That is what precipitated my question. Hmmm food for thought as i start trying to wet mold magazine pouches. That beign the case, then it may prove to be advantageous(sp?) to rotate each leather piece before gluing (Liners on holsters - etc.) to produce a sturdier piece, kinda like plywood....... Thank you for are answers and insight

Maybe a strange question, but does leather have a grain? That is to say can I expect it to bend in one direstion better than another? Specifically when wet molding. So I guesss the question is do the cells that make up skin (Leather) tend to line up in one direction? Just askin'

True, Alas my abilities are not to the point where I can charge for my work. Plus I really only do this for my own personal satisfaction and so I can get exacly what I want. It is the same for my lampworking glass beads. Now! the fact that you mentioned $50 double shoulders has me excited! I think I am paying closer to $80-100 at tandy leather and from what I am reading, their leather does not merit those prices........So I will try one of the suppliers listed above and see if I see a differance. Thank you again for your assistance.

Ok a couple of dumb questions froma newbie. 1. If you double layer the leather, when you go to "Wet form" the leather, does the contact cement tend to loosen up? 2. Does the glue make wet molding the leather any more dificult? I like the idea of basically end up with finished leather insde and out.

Sounds like a plan I will heed your advice. Looks like i need to pick up some 5/6 leather. Oh well, it is only money ....right?!

OK I am a novice at both leather working as well as wet molding leather. I am going to attempt to make some magazine holders that will attach to a duty belt via belt slots for a Browning Buckmark. I am envisioning a "pancake" style holder that will have a flat back and molded pouches sewn onto the front\face. My first question is what weight leather for the unit. I am thinking 8/9 for the back and 3/4 for the molded front pouches. Or is that a bit light\thin for the molded fron pouches.