chiefjason

Mask off the area at the trigger guard to match the width of the light. Yes, it will leave a larger gap than normal. But the light will provide stability of its own. Scrap leather cut to size works for me. You will need to stitch in front of the light to build a ledge for the gun to sit on. That is also normally the trigger guard provides that.

Oil before resolene. The resolene is an acrylic finish. The point is stopping stuff from soaking into the leather. Dye, let dry Oil, let dry. If you do it after dyeing. resolene, let dry FWIW, oiling can be done several way. I've tried most. But I don't straight oil my holsters. I do have an oil/wax mix that I apply and melt in with a heat gun. There are a million ways to do it and most will work just fine.

You could try cleaning with denatured alcohol, deglazer, Oxalic acid, or acetone. That list kind of increases in strength as it goes BTW. If you are dying the leather a dark color, it will likely cover it over. Oiling or finishing it might darken it up to hide it as well and help cover it. I usually worry about dyed leather transferring to clothing. Never had clothes stain my leather. If it's for you, and it's for regular wear, just finish it. If you enjoy it you'll make more later. And the main thing is that it wears comfortable and carries the gun safe and secure anyway. As a maker, I understand it's annoying. But there very little that gets out perfect.

Thanks. It's not hard to sew. But it's impossible to edge. So that's what the panel around it is for. To hide that edge. It's also very difficult to cut. I use HVAC shears to cut them. The raised dots are hardened dentin, a lot like teeth. You can't cut them with a blade.

So, I've used some of the more interesting prints of stingray in some of my holsters. Ordered one a few weeks ago and the supplier was out. He called and we chatted for a while. Seems the stingray market is getting pretty tight and the printed hides are not being produces anymore. He had an ivory hide and we decided to go with that and I would try to dye it myself. He and his staff gave me some pointers on what to try. So shoutout to Alligator Jakes. I had previously been able to dye leftover parts of other hides very easily. This one not so much. I deglazed it. Then tried to strip it with Acetone. Finally, just sanded the entire hide but the spine and stripped with the acetone again. It finally started taking dye. Dyed it front and back multiple times to get the fade I wanted. Stripped it with black leather paint. There are some things I'll do different last time but I do like how it turned out. Just wish I had room for more of the stripping. The closer to the spine the less the paint took. Well, I was going to post some pics but the site is not allowing me to post what I want. Not allowing me to edit attachments. And generally driving me nuts. So let's try a YouTube link.

Anything thicker than a water bottle. Like a sports drink bottle. Most of mine are Body Armour bottles. These are the 2 oz bottles. I started using 4 oz but the bottom would start to firm up and go bad. I use enough of the 2 oz bottle that re filling it seems to refresh it as well. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083JZJKBF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I buy Weldwood a gallon at a time. Go home and split it up into 16 oz bottles I have saved. Drill a hole close to the top on both sides, just under the lid. Keep the lid on. Use one of the holes to pour into the 16 oz bottles. The other holes lets it breathe. The 16 oz bottles stay just fine if you don't open them. The working 16 oz bottle only gets opened to fill the 2 oz bottle. I use a 2 oz squeeze bottle as my working bottle. That bottle gets topped off out of the working 16 oz bottle every time it's used. I buy a gallon every 6-8 months and never have to throw any away expect what I can't get out of the gallon, or the last dribbles out of the 16 oz that start making a mess trying to pour out. And when I can I just pour that straight on a project to glue. The 2 oz squeeze bottle and a make up spatula are great for gluing up my holsters.

Dex Fit cut resistant gloves. Been using them for years after a customer gave me a pair.

Got something similar from a buddy. He gets it in Maine and told me they use it for repairing sails, IIRC. It's thicker than I use most of the time. He uses it on his leather belt buckles

I stitch several holsters at a time. So I have a soldering iron plugged up on the nightstand while I stitch. Got tired of fighting with the zappers and switched to the soldering iron. If I was only doing one, the zapper might be better. But sitting down and stitching 3-4 at a time, the soldering iron wins.

I glue and sew most of my gun belts curved. The will be worn on a curve. They will never be flat. Might as well start them off that way.

I don't use suede because of the possibility of holding dirt. The chrome tan is a non issue. There are some well respected companies that make certain IWB holsters exclusively out of chrome tanned leather with no issue. If you are worried about longevity go with the shoulder.

I've done several and love them. Even carried a couple of them handle down with just the magnet for retention. My Esse 4 has riden on the back seat of my truck, handle down, for years and never fell out. And I have a sheath on my shoulder holster as well. I use the small rare earth magnets. A couple small rounds ones are usually enough. But if you want more the rectangular ones are very strong.

So I'm working with some stingray and wanted to test this. This is Feibings Pro Oil Black. No deglaze. Just straight dye, one coat, on a scrap edge of a hide. No finish on the hide from me and assuming none from the tannery,. I think I'll dye this hide and use the rest of it as black now. That said, dyeing a new piece is far easier than trying to dye a finished piece.

Ask if they can holster the hide. Might just be with Veg tan but I have mine holstered to smooth out the back. I've not ordered English bridle from them but Weaver's leather has some of the smoothest flesh sides I.have found on their dyed veg tan.