SooperJake

Nice work Ash!

Not the rivets I am looking for. I'm pretty sure the rivets in the pictures start out flat, and after setting, they are now slightly concave. There is a dimple in the center of the backside or exposed part of the rivet. I'm guessing that the dimple is from a press used to install. Maybe they are something custom made but I've seen them on more than one holster maker's product, so I have to believe that somewhere in the world they can be bought.

Mike, I didn't send any rivets for the thumb break stiffener.

Anyone happen to have a source for a flat rivet for thumb break installation? I am looking for something similar to those seen on commercial holsters like Aker or Blackhawk use. These are quite small in diameter and have flat heads on them. Pictures tell all. I'm not happy with the 2 piece rivets typical of the leather stores. Thanks.

Would you consider neetsfoot oil as a leather conditioner, or is the wax componant of a conditioner important?

I concur with your observation about the similarity of leatherwork and woodwork...plus many of our tools serve double duty! Craft is craft, afterall. Nice Work.

Nice work. I'd like to see a picture of your edges if you have one?

That's incredible work!

Awesome work!

Beautiful!!

Should an IWB holster be molded less sharply to help disguise its presence?

Nice job!

An interesting read, and somewhat paralleling this topic to a degree, is the "Terms of Sale" found on Aker's site. Then, go read the Magneson-Moss Warrenty Act of 1975.

This is one of the best discussions I have read in the forums, to-date.

Someone that makes and sells the perfect holster...please post pictures of it. I want to see how far I have to go before I get to that level of quality.

I thought you meant the beveler blade was from Barry King. Now it makes sense. Thanks.

The official count was 46 people!

Happy Thanksgiving, Mike and All! I'm thankful that I'm still able to walk. The last few years have been a challange after my injures from 2 car wrecks. Things are finally looking up and I've healed fairly well. We had almost 40 people for dinner, so we cooked two 20 lb turkeys, a big ham, smashed taders, sweet taders, corn cassarole, relish tray, vegetable tray, gravy of course, 3 kinds of bread stuffing, 20 some pies, cranberry relish, jello of all manor and color, and a few things I'm forgetting to list but surely ate. Oh yeah, deviled eggs, and rolls too.

Mike, by burnisher, are you refering to another type of swivel knife blade or a push beader?

MIke, can you share a picture of what the cut fromthe beader blade looks like?

On a more serious note, who determins what is perfect? I was just looking at a VERY high-end custom holster pictured on a VERY well known and highly regarded maker's site, familiar to many of you here, and I found a defect in the holster as pictured. It seems like you just look at leather a little cross-eyed and it leaves a mark of some kind. Is that an imperfect product after that? Years ago, when I turned wood for a living, I'd screw up and poke a hole through the bottom of a bowl or hurl one off the lathe or, sometimes, for no reason apparent- they'd explode. Some of these were exotic woods of considerable cost to me. I piled all these up in a box, and when we went camping on Labor day weekend, I cooked a Porterhouse steak over them and, in effect, ate my mistakes. I cannot tell you how many times I was asked by friends and family to sell them one of my defective bowls. The looks I got while camping, as I burned my work, ranged from grins to utter outrage. So, in regards to this topic, I am torn between two camps. On the one hand I see everything that is wrong with my work and don't want to let it out of the shop. On the other hand, I know that nothing is ever perfect, and people project all levels and manners of "values" on objects, which is beyond our control. They also find something wrong if they look for it hard enough. In the words of Jiminy Cricket, " Always let your conscience be your guide."

Nice job, Swiety!

Awesome, Dan!

I never make mistakes...but I do make a boat load of engineering changes.

Dan, I bought it from Weaver since you seemed so please with the one they made you. Mine is useless. The slot is off center, the metal is soft , and since the slot is off center too far, I cannot stop the metal at the edge from collapsing under maul force once a proper edge is sharpened on the punch. My maul weighs nearly 5 pounds and my bench is stout enough to hold a V8 engine . In contrast, my Osborne punch with a factory edge takes two hits to cut clean on 8-9 oz. I also strike over a leg. Keep in mind I'm not even trying to cut 2 layers of leather and the Weaver just bounced off. That's why I sent it back in the first place. It wouldn't cut at all. No apology from Weaver, no offer to pay freight when I sent it back, and when I called them prior to getting it back the second time, I got a wishy washy " It should be sharp enough now" lame answer from Jackie of their tool room. I'd wager they never even tested it. Enough said, it's a dead issue now for me. I sent it out to have it welded with a layer of hard face and I will reshape it myself. $143 bucks in total dollars wasted. One cheap lesson on who gets my money from now on.