chiefjason

I apply my M&G with a sponge brush and rub it into the finish. Usually foams up a little. Then I wipe it off before it dries. That's probably why I don't get the shiny plastic look. To get a nicer finish back I rub atom wax on it, let dry overnight, and buff. It's a more melow finish, nice polished look without looking shiny and plastic.

A buddy that has done leather for a LONG time recommended it. It's what he uses on belts. And belts are his specialty. Seems to work well. But I just do the 3 coats of wax and let that substitute for actually oiling anything. When I have used it on belts it seems to have less residue than Neatsfoot from what I remember. http://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/item-detail/8258

This^^ Walked into a pawn shop to look at an instrument for my daughter. Made an offhand comment about making holsters. Guy went into the back and came out with a bowling ball bag full of leather tools, dyes, and hardware. He said it just came out of pawn and he was not looking forward to pricing all the pieces. Looked in and quickly saw $100 worth of tools I needed since I was new to it. Told him to make me an offer I could not refuse. He took a minute and came back with $65 OTD. I went home and quit counting at $350 worth of tools. I still use old tooth brush handles to bone and mold holsters or press them when gluing. I have some kids craft tools I use too. Made my own strops. Made a skiving guide for belt tongues. Made my own palm protector for pushing needles when I hand stitch.

You don't want round for most applications, unless it's for skiving maybe. For cutting you want those ears on the side for inside corners. I cut off board. I use the middle for long sweeping cuts and the outside ears for sharper curves. Particularly inside curves.

It's called "pull up". Some like it, some don't. I've seen finished leather designed to do just that. I have better luck with the Pro Oil line from Feibings. Seems to get deeper in the leather.

I do about 50-50 beeswax and neatsfoot oil and throw in a splash of U-82 saddlers oil. I can run my fingers through it and get enough on my finger tips to rub a section of leather. My holsters get 3 rounds of wax and heat gun to soak it in. Then they sit overnight. I still do a light coat of mop and glo over it and don't get the plastic look. But it's dull so I toss on some atom wax and buff. Yeah, probably overkill but I get a really nice finish out of it.

I've used rubber fuel line cut to the length you need it. Have them in a couple kydex holsters I've made so I can tweak the retention.

You are basically throwing a pancake IWB. IWB and OWB holsters have to do different things. IWB needs to flex more. And the solid form of that is not letting it flex. OWB does not need to flex as much, and that's why that style works OWB. It's also to big overall. Bigger is not always better, even though there are a lot of IWB holsters out there with large footprints.

I feel like doing them that way makes them too stiff. So I cut it so the clips ride on posts where the slots would be. Lets the holster flex more, which I think it more important IWB. Where as OWB flex means it's not holding the weight as well on the belt. Kinda Milt Sparks VM 2 ish.

I have a sanding drum that I mount in my floor drill press. Saves space and does what I need to too. I use a bungee to mount the shop vac hose to the drill press table.

Left a message and never heard from him a couple weeks back. Figured he was done with it. Or maybe he does not speak fluent southern. lol

Mask and hook a shop vac up to my sander when I'm using it. I use the mask when I'm gluing now too. It's there, might as well. I had an art professor that was violently allergic to a very specific kind of paint thinner, then kind he used for nearly 30 years before he became allergic to it. He would not allow it in his class and talked the school store into not carrying it.

Thanks. And that looks good. I'm gonna have to make a wallet here soon.

You can contrast stitch with oil dye. I do black with white stitching occasionally. No problems. I built a stitching pony, but never use it. But I pre punch my holes with an awl blade in the drill press. With pre punched holes I stitch faster without the pony.

Tinker has it. The beeswax and oil helps to blend in any hard lines. I've had finishes I was initially not happy with that were perfectly fine after the wax. Mine is more mottled/marbled than sunburst. But I could use the technique to sunburst if I ever wanted too. I actually dislike a solid brown. Apparently a lot of other folks do too.

That's pretty much my bread and butter style on holsters. I have found that a 50-50 mix of beeswax and neatsfoot oil rubbed on and heat gunned to soak it up really evens out the irregularities. It leaves enough to look good, but not enough to look bad. If that makes sense. Plus those colors and a wax finish are a nice combo. The application is easy, I use a wool dauber and swirl it on. I'm not going for the starburst look though. The hard part is convincing yourself you are not going to screw up a perfectly good product.

If it's not for CC go with one of the Tec locks. They are adjustable for belt width and have a 2 stage lock. It snaps closed, then you snap another part over it. That's why it's on my woods holster. I can go from belt to waist band on my pack and not worry about it coming off. The large might be overkill. So you might have to check knifekits site and see if they have different sizes. If you can fit 2 6/32 T nuts under a piece of leather and get the spacing needed for the clip you are in business.

I prefer the pro oil black. FWIW, if you put the resolene on too heavy and let it set it can do that. I use mop & glo, but put it on kind of light and wipe the extra off. I had some splotchy finishes with the USMC Black and resolene. None with pro oil black.

I chuck an awl blade into my press and just use my fingers to hold the leather. I rub beeswax on the blade if it gets sticky. Springfield sells replacement awl blades, which is what I have. Another reason to use an awl blade. Other things punch round holes which cause the thread to bump up as it comes out of the hole. An awl cuts an oblong hole which allows the thread to lay flat when pulled tight. http://springfieldleather.com/search?keywords=awl blade

Any reasons you have to have the clip? I tried one OWB and didn't like it. I made a Taurus 605 holster with a Blade-tech Tec lok. It holds great. It's my hunting, fishing, hiking gun. Only down side is it offsets a bit more than I would like. But it's not really a CC holster anyway. http://www.bluegunstore.com/blade-techtekloklarge.aspx Next option might be a FOMI clip. http://www.bluegunstore.com/1-1/2DIYQUICK-CLIPBLACKWITHSLOTTEDHOLES.aspx You only have to inset 6/32 T nuts into the holster and attach these with screws. And yes, that laser is hateful.

I used to sweat the double stitch finish. A few hundred holsters later and no one has ever mentioned it. In other words, it's part of the process. IMO, machine finishes on some production holsters look much worse. Not all mind you. But some of those folks just don't care, and it shows.

To flesh out Dwights thoughts, here is how I do what he is talking about. GP100 4" made the above way.

IMO, better to just buy real mags. Figure I can always re sale them later. 99% of mine are real and loaded. Yeah, the unloaded rings mags are silly.

No I have not. And my LGS has not gotten one back in yet. I think they had one and I didn't even bother to look. However, the only real difference is they are slightly thicker on the frame. And with the odd shape of the 9/40 mag, who knows. If I see one I'll try to get some measurements. As to Rob, great guy to deal with. That's where the .45 came from. Even had my computer screw up the order and got it within the usual time frame. Working on stitching the holster now.

Use this to cut out the trigger guard and port. Just did it on my new Shield .45 last night. Way easier than a drill bit. https://www.dremel.com/en_US/products/-/show-product/accessories/115-high-speed-cutter