Tenpoundsledgehammer

Hiya Brian! Leather work is a great craft to get into. What is it you're interested in crafting? Any ideas already percolating?

Langston, I hear ya. My dad has been involved in the IHMSA (International Handgun Metallic Silhouette Association) since the 70's and with several other organizations like the CAS for pretty brief periods of time. Most of the fellas he's met have been pretty awesome, but there's always a handful of pretentious asses that have their noses up in the air about every little detail. Don't sweat it too much, bro. You do solid work, for sure. It's probably more their jealousy talking, rather than their honest opinion because they have to buy their holsters.

Hi there, Wayland. Don't fret about not doing things the "right" way. If it works for you, and you get results out of your finished product that you like, then it IS the right way for you. I'm mostly self-taught myself, so I was concerned that I'd get flack around here for the same reasons. Not so much. More often than not it's more of a "Huh. Well, have you tried doing it this way?" type thing. I really like your workshop area, by the way. AND the Mjollnir around your neck. Out of curiosity, what's the triangular piece hanging up above it? Oh, and what all kinds of metalwork do you do?

Nice to meetcha, Clam. You're in the right spot to learn pretty much everything you need to know. Just don't try to absorb too much at once. Your head might explode like mine did. I see you're interested in bicycles. Ever think about crafting seats and accessories? That sounds like it might be fun.

@Greg - That's awesome! It's always good to hear that some people haven't lost their sense of humor! If ya can't laugh, then there's something wrong. LOL @Bill - Nice to meetcha! That's a great idea. I don't know when the heck I'll be able to find the time to get over there, but I'll definitely try to carve out some time here in the near future. I work a full time job, and then I get home and work on my leather projects. I try to spend as much time as I can with my munchkins too, so my "free time" is pretty limited. I'll do what I can and keep you posted for sure though!

Hi there, Hellcat, Greg, and Arthur! Nice to meet y'all! Good to know I'm not the only south Louisiana resident on here. @Hellcat - I know where you're coming from. I lived just north of Chicago and in Polk County Fla. each a year, and I couldn't believe how much I missed home. The good folks, great music, fantastic food, and even the crooked politics! I still tell the story every once and a while about trying to describe crawfish boils, and how to peel the little suckers to a bunch of people up in Chicago. One of the poor girls was so grossed out that she couldn't finish the rest of her lunch. Silly Yankees. @Greg - I know exactly where that's at. Not a bad little place. @Arthur - I've heard about the Metairie Tandy. It's not that long a drive, and I can get a hold of materials a whole heck of a lot faster that way. I'm glad they have some good staff members working for them. I'd hate to see that location go east with the geese like the Baton Rouge location did so long ago. (I'm still pretty miffed about that, even though I was still a kid when it closed.) It's got to be pretty awesome to have everything you need right across town, huh? I'm sure I'll wind up there eventually. And when I do, it's going to be like a kid in a candy store.

That's some mighty fine handy work right there! Excellent work.

Really nice work! My dad used to be in the CAS several years back. There were plenty of folks there that crafted a lot of their own sheathes and holsters, but none of them hold a candle to this craftsmanship right here. How long did it take you to put all that together from the get go?

Hello everybody! I'm Trey, and live just east of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I've been tinkering about with leather since I was a kid. I love the way it smells, the way it feels in my hands, and the enjoyment of bending it to my creativity. Even though my dad was a pretty fair hand with leather, I've never had anyone teach me how to do anything. I'm all self taught, with a lot of trial and error along the way. I've recently gotten back into leather crafting after a rather long hiatus, and as soon as word spread around I started getting requests for different items and pieces. All of the sudden, I find myself with a long list of projects and officially in business. Oddly enough, the articles most often requested are restraints and floggers. Doesn't matter much to me, though. If there's a demand for kinky stuff like that, then I'm more than happy to supply it. As far as my strengths are concerned, I'm good at design, complex cuts, riveting, hand stitching, and durable construction. By far, my weakest areas are in etching, stamping, and embossing. I hope to meet the rest of you folks soon! ~Trey~

That's some real nice holster work for just starting out. Keep up the good work, buddy!