chiefjason

I use both. Mostly depending on where the stitch line is or how thick the material is. I crease the stitch line up against the gun. I use an adjustable edge creaser on the outside. And a free hand grover for the line beside the belt loop because it's just easier.

Looks great. So far I've only done vertical shoulder holsters. Do you have any issue with the 8oz getting squeaky? I went to 5 oz straps and they have been much quieter.

I don't add stiffeners to the front. Sometimes I'll add some exotic piece or leather panel that does the same thing. But the vast majority of my pancakes are made without one. Get the stitch line in as close as possible. Over time, the stitch line is the most important part for retention. Molding and boning will soften and break in. Leather will stretch. A wide stitch line will loosen. So the closer that stitch line is to the mold, the less it's able to loosen up. So you get better retention over time.

I'm a fan of them for certain things. For exotic panel on holster that have to be stitched first. Stuff made from thinner leather. Smaller items I can do quick. For 2 layers of thicker leather I find them too much trouble to deal with. I wanted to like them. I tried. I went back to my awl chucked into my drill press to pre punch holes.

I think I have about one of every maker of molds out there. They all work. Generally I buy from Bluegunstore because Rob has been great to deal with over the years. I use Holstersmith when I can't find it at BGS. The vast majority of mine are Rings or Holster Molds, with a few Cooks, Duncans, Asps, DIY's, and small time makers thrown in with the real guns. Cooks has gotten good at picking the oddball stuff no one else it making.

PM inbound

Use eyelets as the holes and "sew" it with parachute chord. The eyelet will actually be what holds the sheath together. Just like leather, any stitching will be the secondary way it's held together anyway.

Got any local boy scout or cub scout troops? They might take some. I use mine to pattern stuff I'm not sure about, make some of my personal gear, glue spreaders, put under projects to punch, or small pieces of projects. When it gets to be too much I'll offer it up on a local board for other folks. Had a local guy whose son makes kydex knife sheaths and needed leather for straps take a bunch of it.

And while you are at it grab some plastic snap in protectors for the inside of the snap. Metal on metal is no good. But for the life of me I can't find them now. http://www.bluegunstore.com/clearplasticsnapprotector-line24size-2.aspx

Yeah, for a brief period of time I think they had a brand of Black Rifle Coffee on that list. SMH

Are we sure that's leather? In 9 years or so I've seen leather do some funky things. But I've never seen the grain come off of a full grain piece of leather. Crack, split, break? Yes. I've only seen faux leather do what yours did. Between that crackled surface and the grey underside, something is not adding up for me.

Rob does free shipping so figure that in to the process too.

I've done hundreds of holsters with my guns and customer guns. Never used any wrap. The leather should not be wet enough to do anything but moisten the outer finish. Wipe that off, or not, it has made no difference. If it makes you feel better, fine. But it's not necessary.

If the above does not work out just order the Springfield below. The main 1911 you need to be careful with is the Sig. The Nitron slides are wider at the top. The next thing to be careful of is something like the 2011 with the full length rail on the bottom. The rest are pretty much the same. http://www.bluegunstore.com/SPRINGFIELDOPERATOR1911-A15.aspx

If I'm confident I'll sell more, I buy the gun with no extra cost. If I'm not confident I'll sell more, I turn down the order. I've taken to posting listings for blue guns I don't have and only ordering when someone places an order for it. I've gotten big enough to have wiggle room to do it that way. And it keeps me from buying blue guns until I've at least got the cost of it covered with an order. I use Holstersmith and Bluegunstore. Sometimes I'll jump on one of the hot new guns if I think I can do well with it. When I first started I worked from my guns, customer guns, or occasionally had an FFL that would lend one out to me. It's a handy way to get started without going in debt for supplies.

I use sturdy shears to cut it. Then I inlay it under a leather border to hide that nasty looking edge. I pre punch my holes with an awl chucked into a drill press which works well too.

Based on that edge pic I have some assumptions. Too much pressure. Too much time spent against the burnisher. Not enough lubrication. When I burnish my holsters I use moderate pressure but kind of swipe the edge back and forth a couple of times. I keep the piece moving. I've started using Tokonole for my burnishing too. I've tried lots of things and it is far and away the best thing I've found. I usually wax the edge afterwards to fill in any of the small inconsistencies that don't get burnished out.

I use my drill press to drill the holes initially. If you still want the look of punched holes you can push the awl in to change how the thread lays coming out of the hole. Thread tends to lay flatter coming out of a hole punched with an awl as opposed to a drilled hole. Twice the work, but you get the effect.

Does my garage count? I have locals coming by semi regularly to talk to me or see what I do and place an order. About half of them are folks that I know already though. Would I like to do this full time? Sure. But the thoughts of having to quadruple my income at this is a bit daunting to say the least. It would take at least that to replace most of my real job income and some of the benefits. It might even take more than that. Not sure I could push it that far. And it's too much of a risk with a family and I'm the sole income already.

For saddle stitching I pull off 6 times the length of the stitch line I'm stitching. I have never run short. And if you are using light thread it lets the ends collect any extra dye so the rest of it still looks good. And you can just use decent length doubled ends instead of trying to tie a knot or anything fancy.

I recently switched to Tokonole. Could not be happier. Works great at laying down any loose grain on the flesh side too. Burnishes about as well by hand as with a powered burnisher.

I'm using mop and glo mixed 50/50 with water. But you can do the same with resolene or any number of acrylic finishes. They are basically the same thing. I think you just need something that's going to seal the wax and dye up better.

That's gorgeous. And I've never gotten leather to tan and look like that. Apparently I need to try a few more times.

Their Skirting leather comes in Russet. It's not waxed either. So that is probably your best bet. Or call them and talk to them. They have been very easy to work with for me. FWIW, I use natural tooling sides and dye them myself. If you need it they will split it for free. It just takes a few more days to ship. If you wanted it quick and in a do it all weight the 8-10 oz is what I used for a long time. I cut my backs close to the spine and cut my fronts lower where it was a bit thinner and not as stiff. I sell enough now I order an 8-10 for my backs and a level 8 for my fronts. If it matters I'm doing flat back holsters so the stiffer back has been a nice feature for me.

I ditched edge coat after having it come off a couple spots. So back to my old routine with a bit of an addition. Dye the edge. I use Feibings Pro Oil Black. Burnish with Tokonole. I love this stuff BTW. Apply a beeswax mix to fill in any small imperfections in the edge that did not burnish. Two coats of acrylic finish. I have a couple holsters on the table with a single coat of finish from tonight. Black edges. No rub off. It sounds like you are testing the edges without adding a finish and expecting the color to hold. If that's the case you need some type of finish to seal them.