chiefjason

I dye all of my leather dry. But I do cut most of my dyes with denatured alcohol. Less if I want the truer color of the dye, 1 part alcohol 3 parts dye...ish. More if I want to lighten the dye, up to 50-50. If I apply any oil, it's after the dye has dried. I use an oil/wax finish at the end, so I usually don't add extra oil to a holster. Belts I oil heavily. Might want to think about ordering your leather from Springfield leather. By all accounts I see it's better than Tandy. Next best option would be to hand pick your leather. Was the part of the leather that cracked fleshy on the back? That smooth back is what you want. The fleshy stuff is less firm and the "fat wrinkles" tend to open up and crack after dyeing. Fleshy leather also edges poorly. That smooth backed, dense leather is what you want for holsters. The belly of the hide tends to have more fat wrinkles, damage, it's thinner, more fleshy, and less firm. All the good stuff is up closer to the actual side or back. If you are not ordering full sides it's probably hard to tell which end is which. But sounds like you might have gotten some belly leather.

Red, I've made some, bought the nylon ones, had my FIL make several smaller cocobolo ones. Nothing holds a candle to that new one I bought. Nothing. I can burnish with it by hand, sometimes just grab it out of the drawer if I need to touch up a spot quick. If you get the urge for a new toy, look into them. And yes, 100 ways to skin a catfish. I'm loving the liquid soap. Heck, I've started using pro oil black for my edges and it seems to help burnish too.

If you order by the foot, they will cut it down close and charge you for what you get. I've never had it horribly off. But sometimes I would get a smaller piece than I ordered. I guess because they had one around. I've ordered several qualities from them. Closeout stuff is always hit or miss. Got some that were nearly flawless, got some that looked like the cow had been shot with a shotgun. #1 sides were pretty good. Hermannoak B sides are very nice. IMO you can get other leathers as nice, but I've got nothing bad to say about the B's. Never bought from tandy, so no help there. I've since started buying full sides from another company. I tell them I want X number of sides, and they charge me a square foot price based on what hides I get. If you have questions just call them. The CS at Springfield is top notch.

Sounds like the first step might be to get better leather. But that's an expensive step too. I have a few feet of some old leather that I bought second hand from a guy that got it at a yard sale. It's worthless and cracks when it bends. Something does not sound right about what you are seeing. I use 15 oz Saddle Skirting for some of my belts and they are not stiff to the point of being hard to wear. They are stiff vertically to hold a gun, but the wear nicely. Same with my 13-14 oz Harness leather ones. What are you dying it with? You could try soaking the belt blank for a few minutes, but not in neatsfoot oil. It will stay oily a long, long time. A Feibings 4 way, Weavers saddlers oil, or Lexol would dry faster and less oil on the surface. My black harness leather belts go in a bucket of Lexol for a few minutes once I have them cut to size. Out of the bucket and straight to the burnisher, then let them dry.

I edge damp. Do a bit of burnishing when I'm done edging. I've found if I edge damp and immediately burnish by hand I don't really need all the sanding I used to do. I do all the other work including dying the edges. When I get to burnishing I wet the edges with liquid glycerin saddle soap. Run everything on the burnisher in my floor drill press. Usually go back over it with a 50-50 beeswax and paraffin wax. Rub that in by hand. Then one or two coats of mop and glo over it. I've used the black edge finishes. They are OK. But I can get similar results with the above. Oh, and I have the burnisher at the bottom of the page in the link. The hole/holster master. Picked it up on ebay from him. This guy knows what he's doing. I can burnish IWB straps, 5-7 oz straps, backers for my hybrids, holster edges, belt slots, and belts with this one burnisher. Money very, very well spent. Could not be happier with it. http://www.proedgeburnishers.com/drill-burnishers.html

I'm about to the point of needing to pitch some. Finally forcing myself to throw more of the small stuff out. I've got a buddy that makes a lot of belts. He's taken to giving the bellies and strap ends to a local Boy Scout troop when they build up too much.

Try deglazing it. You can use deglazer, denatured alcohol, or naptha. I use alcohol. Naptha is a bit strong, I don't use it much. It takes any residue off the surface that would interfere with dying. FWIW, I have had problems finding a black dye I like for those reasons. I mainly vinegroon my leather. But I just got a quart of feibings pro oil, and the first test is very promising. I'll probably dye my next holster with that. I cut it about 3 to 1 with denatured alcohol. The test strip was coated twice. Deglazed with alcohol. The first layer had a few spots that did not dye well. Second coat dyed solid black. Just buffed it a bit and very little rub off. I did not put a finish on it.

I do single layers, but I'm using 13-14 oz bridle and 14-15 oz saddle skirting. The saddle skirting is thick!

I'm with Lobo on the grip, at least looking at the pictures. I have big hands, so I don't want to be dragging knuckles or forcing my hand in to get the gun. I want a solid grip right from the holster. The only 2 places my fingers touch the leather are my index finger is straight along the slide and the knuckle of my next finger usually just touches the area covering the trigger guard once I get a full grip.

I have the Beretta 92 and a Sig P226 with rail. Both have worked out great.

Generally, the first thing I do when I'm going to dye something is head out into the garage with my nicest shirt on. And immediately splash dye on it. Come back inside grunting and groaning. Change shirts. And go back out and finish. I picked up some gloves similar to this recently. I really like them. Waterproof on the palm and breathable on the back. Easy on and off. I like them better than the thin nitrile disposables. http://www.lowes.com/pd_315096-21760-LW37719-L_0__?productId=4564836&Ntt=gloves&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dgloves%26page%3D2&facetInfo= As for transferring dye. I find it easier if you are transferring it into a jar with a larger mouth. I just stick the bottle in the jar and dump it out. I bought a box of 8 oz jelly jars today to start mixing dye into. I usually do my transferring out in the yard. Don't have to clean up the grass.

I just got 2 from Rob that were backordered and it took close to 2 weeks. I ordered another one from him today and it shipped today. Luck of the draw I guess. I won't order from Botach, a lot of negative press out there on them. I have ordered a few off ebay with good success. Sometimes I'll catch a used on at a good price or a Blackhawk training gun. Most of mine still come from Rob.

Hey, why not. The suspense is too much. I gotta know.

Moving a bunch of my hybrid holsters the last couple weeks. Finished 2 tonight that I don't normally keep around to ship out tomorrow. Shipping a back quiver out tomorrow. Just got an order for 2 belts by Christmas tonight, so I know what I'm doing tomorrow. Luckily I got started on them last week on a whim. I just need to get them to size and do the finish work. Single layers, so it's easy to keep some about 75% finished. He's already got a holster set so I want to get it out for him and his son. Unless it's something I stock or I can knock out in a hurry, I think that will be it. Just in time for my real job to pick up this week. lol I'm ready for a break.

I'm mostly using 00 harness needles and 346 thread from Tippmann. I'm stitching 8-9 oz and making holsters. The only thread I like better than this is the waxed thread from Silver Creek Leather Company. I get that at Hobby Lobby. Most of the stuff I ordered online seemed a bit too thick.

Weldwood here too. Picked up some Barge in a pinch at Hobby Lobby. Did not like it.

Maybe this will help. I had a buddy that wanted a rig to throw on over his pants, coat, whatever to go check his barns. This is what we came up with. There were 3 sets of stoppers on the belt. The stopper was a 3/4' wide piece of 6-7oz leather. I punched a hole in the center and one on each end. Then punched a hole in the belt. Then I ran a Chicago Screw through all the holes.

I make a lot of my laser mock ups. I've got a TLR-1 mocked up out of pipe and leather. Most of that is for kydex work though. The trick with accessories is that you want the space, but don't really need an exact mold. Puts the retention on the gun, not on the accessory. At least that's how I approach it. Just missed out an a used TLR-1 locally. Kicking myself on that one.

So, you have like 6 days to work with right? Seriously though. One thing is to develop an eye for those details if they bother you. Then cut your pattern around them, or manage the flaws in some way that they don't make it into the finished work. It comes with time. As I've developed it I find that I see future problems in the hide and find ways to work around them or put them in places that won't be as much of a problem. But if you are going for a natural leather look, you will be hard pressed to get flawless finishes. The reality is, leather is natural and flawed in places. Could be sunlight. Could be something to do with the cow. Could be from the tannery. The folks that get natural and flawless probably have some tricks and put in the work or spend time choosing hides that they want. Those of us that order sight unseen have to work with what we get. And to be honest, I see what you are talking about. I just don't see it as a problem. I see it as part of the character of the material you are working with. I do understand that some folks don't see it that way.

I go 6X the length of the stitch and have yet to come up short. I'm saddle stitching 8-9 oz leather.

#6 x 3/8 flat head phillips machine screw. Yes, it's 6/32. But that's how my local hardware store orders them for me. Just like this one. http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/details/1172621;jsessionid=lJphSkkQdvGySBNT9qZtYq3ppVRJgXnn1hFtSBLpwd121bXwL9ll!1425370175!-923587657?isPunchout=false

Might be the wax. What wax are you using? I use several different things depending on what I'm doing and what I want out of it. Liquid saddle soap works well. If it's larger pieces that I can dunk I've got a mix of liquid saddle soap, water, a splash of neatsfoot oil, and a splash of bleach. If I need to touch up a spot I'll use one of two wax mixtures. One is 50/50 beeswax and neatsfoot oil by weight. The other is 50/50 beeswax and paraffin by weight. I've completely stepped away from gum trag. One thing to keep in mind. You can put in the work on the front end prepping it or the back end fixing it, but you will put in the work somewhere. I square the edges with a sanding drum. I wet edge my stuff a lot of times. I seem to get more of a rounded edge and less of a shoulder. A sharp edger is important and you want the edge damp, not wet. I hand sand all my holster edges as a final step before dying. For holsters I start with straight liquid saddle soap and a cocobolo burnisher. Touch up with wax as needed. And yes, we've all got our quirky different ways of doing things.

Yes, I burnish mine together. I also don't do my final burnish until the dye is applied. Depending on what you use to burnish, it can go from not taking completely to not taking dye at all on the edge. BTDT. I have a small modeling spoon that I burnish the reinforcement piece with where it's glued to the holster body. It's a hassle. The only trick I have found is that you can do a light burnish with just water before you glue. It's about the only thing I have found that does not effect the dye process.

Apply the cooled and hardened mixture with your fingers. I find it easier to do one side, then heat it. Then do the other side. I do that twice on each side. Sometimes I'll wave the heat gun over the container to soften the top of the oil/wax. The only additional neatsfoot oil I add is with vinegrooned holsters. I add the neatsfoot oil earlier in the process though. After it has dried from the groon. With anything else, I let the oil in the oil/wax mix stand alone. Don't give me too much credit. Dwight set me straight on using real beeswax a couple weeks ago.

I melt beeswax and neatsfoot oil together. 50/50 by weight. At one point I was using toilet bowl rings as the wax. Thanks to Dwight, I switched over to beeswax that I buy in a bar at Hobby Lobby. Check the candle section. I melt them together in a small crock pot and pour the mixture in a plastic container to store it. The end result is similar to shoe polish. If you want it thinner add a touch more oil. I rub the wax on the edges and outside of the holsters. Then I use a heat gun to open the leather pores to absorb the oil/wax mixture. With the toilet bowl ring, I had to use atom wax because the finish was dull. With the beeswax bar, I don't need atom wax anymore. The finish is clear enough on it's own. It's every bit as effective as what you are doing. I find that it wears well and no issues with cracking. Basically, it's an old technique that has made a comeback. Kind of like a sno seal for boots. Also, it doubles for burnishing wax too. This is one I finished up the other day with just the oil/wax as the finish coat. FWIW, I do use 50/50 mop and glo as the finish on the inside. The oil will darken leather slightly and I want the more natural color left. And it's easier to apply the M&G on the inside of the holster.