jkwparrott

A friend of my wife has an Italian purse that their cat scratched up. She is looking for a way to repair it and I can't think of a way without ruining the color. Any suggestions?

Lesking, yes you will need to sharpen the awl and strop it. I use a fine diamond stone to sharpen mine. Get some jewelers rouge and rub it into a piece of leather then strop the awl blade good. I find the most important thing it bees wax. Stab the tip of the awl into some bees wax, don't stab the entire bade into the wax, just about 1/8" or so of the tip. This helps lubricate a little and you'll notice a huge difference. The awl pulls out of the leather easier with the wax too. I also recommend a stitching pony of some sort. It really helps a lot!

Welcome, from a former South Carolinian. I lived in Latta, SC for a few years before heading back home to Indiana. Glad to have you here. I agree with the suggestions from everyone else, like any hobby it is easy to pour a lot of money into it.

Yes, it has a lot of forward cant, that's what I prefer. Being old and lumpy around the middle it's just more comfortable that way. I started on a new pocket holster for a small Kel-Tec .380 last night, nothing fancy. We'll see how it turns out.

Welcome Paul, nice to have you join us.

Tree Reaper is right. Use a French Curve if you like, but just draw half of the flap, then flip that over and draw the other half exactly the same. That's how I do everything that has got to be the same on both sides.

Welcome Ben! I did some leatherworking when I was in high school, about 35 years ago and really enjoyed it. But I was interested in other things and leatherworking fell by the wayside. Last year I got a new pistol and could not find a nice holster for it, and decided I could make one. It took me some time to get it right, but I finally did it. I started back in the hobby by getting a package from Tandy that had a belt, wallet, cell phone holster, some coasters, etc. and practiced a lot. I really enjoy working with leather, not just putting things together, but allowing the artistic representation of what I want to make to become reality. Enjoy it!

Well, here it is. Thanks to "Particle" for the teaching via his video on making Avenger style holsters. I made a few mistakes and was really just making this one as practice for a more serious try, but I like it now that it's done. I made a few mistakes but nothing really noticable I don't think. This is the main reason I got back into leatherworking, I got a new Ruger and could not find a nice holster for the P345, so I decided that I could make one. Let me know what you think.

I see there is a Tandy store in West Columbia, not too far, but that would be a good place to start looking. What type of tools you'll need depends on what you want to do to the leather. Knives, stamps, edge bevelers, there's just a whole lot to choose from. Personally, I fell away from the art many years ago and recently got interested again. I ordered a Deluxe Leathercraft Kit from Tandy to get back into the hobby. You get basic tools and several kits to get some practice.

Thanks everyone, it was a fun project and she loves it. She took it to work and everyone there loves it too, so I may have a lot of work to do now.

Very nice holster. Your stitching looks great and I like the overall design.

I didn't have a lot of time, so I am afraid I cheated a little. I bought a cheap Kindle cover from Amazon, then tore the cover apart and used the interior. So inside it is just a regular cover.

My wife wanted a new cover for her Kindle for Christmas. Just finished it a few minutes ago.

I went to Wal-Mart in the craft or sewing section and got a cutting mat for something like $15. It is a large one, 12" X 18", and it works great for my needs. I have it on my desk in my office and use it for all cutting.

I agree. I have been playing around with my Droid and cannot post pictures from it.