Red Cent

Thank you.

And I am probably older. Never could wear the ankle thing. And my 16" high boots are hard to pull up the pants leg to get to the gun. Very nice work.

CFDA legal. No retention. Cylinder spins freely in holster.

Detail is awesome. And the flowers look good. Seriously, all the lines are flawless. I gotta slow down and get neat.

It is really not hard to do with the quilting device or something similar. Draw two parallel lines. These lines represent how tall the ellipse and the diamond will be. Divide the two lines in half with another parallel line. This where everything "crosses". At some point on the bottom establish a point/mark. With the guide, all you do is line up two "points" in the groove of the circle chosen.. The point/mark established and the top groove of the circle on the top line. Hint: the biggest circle works best. With your pencil, start at the "point" and follow the groove (left or right) up to the top line and as you come over the top stop at the halfway line. At this point you have drawn one quarter of a diamond and one half of an ellipse. If you use a slender sharp pencil, stacked tolerances will happen. This will make your points come out a little off. Keep your pencil against one side (outer side of the grove or the inside of the groove) of the groove when ever you draw. This will help some. The circle I use is 10" in diameter.

Actually you would get better sight clearance without the welt. BTW, very good looking holster. Seems to be the style recently.

Thank you. Now the holster.

They all told me I could buy patterns but I would have to make my own some time. I used a quilting half circle helper : http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2ssunQr1FDY/S0LB5h22UAI/AAAAAAAADqc/JGKHLn6sJ_s/s1600-h/Cutting+Circle+Templates+from+Freezer+Paper.jpg and drew the lines with a pencil oh so lightly. And no one better say "Yeah, it looks like it".

Can't see the wrinkles very well. Most are under the holster band.

The piece came from a double shoulder and it does sound like what JLS said. And the piece was a little low on the shoulder. Is this something I can expect once in a while. The picture was just that and didn't think of showing wrinkles. However, if you look close at the holster you will see them. Wooops, pictures coming.

When you flex a piece of leather (make a U out of the piece) inward (finished side) and it wrinkles (permanently) , what is the problem with the leather?

Okie, I think you are biased. As I am. I love the leather. Kydex ain't got no soul. And I agree with the remark about a well made holster. But....you go to an IDPA match or a USPSA match and plastic rules. I edc a Colt Commander in a SERPA 1 holster with a radical appendix carry. It is fast. And I am drawing a pattern and creating a leather holster to replace it. The hybrid and total plastic holster sells.

One layer in back and two layers up front? Curious. I ain't never used gator.

Harley,a retired LEO loves this. You can raise the clips a hole or so and wear it outside the belt. I told him that this was a prototype and if he liked it I would make him another good'n. He won't trade and he says it is fine like it is.

Chief, I usually do not sew up the middle on double pouches.

Kinda cumbersome ain't it? And, you can adjust your rpm from slow to scream. And I would think you would be able to finesse the Dremel (doesn't have to be a Dremel ) on that light stuff. http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=Rotary+Tools

#1 was introduced to me just a few days ago. All this time and I had never read (I think) about OA. #6 I have not done. Are you saying that after you let the leather drip a minute or so, you wipe the piece of leather, back and front with a paper towel? I usually air brush and I work a lot with the natural leather treated with NFO and neutral shoe polish when dry. And, I color everything before I construct. Like using drum dyed leather. A lot of my belts are colored on the main piece and the lining is usually natural. I dip dyed two pieces of 5-6 ounce in some of the dark brown dye cut with alcohol. After they were dry, I could have hurt you bad with them. Armor hard. They were the holster lining and about three applications of NFO got them to the point that they could be used. I am happy the customer chose black thread so that I can adjust anything to the right shade. I am sewing up the welt in a few minutes. After I get them done, I will take pictures.

I dipped the new leather in full strength Fiebling's Pro Oil Dark Brown. I used a baking pan and immersed the holsters and spread the dye around generously with gloved hands. The I laid them flat on the concrete floor. The next morning, no dark edges but several areas looked like cordovan. I am finishing the holsters today and airbrushing any areas that reddish. I have Golden Brown which looks like a light walnut color. I also have Saddle Tan, Light Tan, and Mahogany. I made this belt and tried to match holster color (Mahogany). Saddle Tan looks OK. And, of course Vinagroon always works. Either I got ahold of some weird leather or Dark Brown has to go.

I hate to dye leather!

"Saddle soap is a proprietary compound containing mild soap and softening ingredients such as neatsfoot oil, glycerin, and lanolin." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddle_soap If I were to try to burnish the two ply 3/4 ounce stuff, I would barely wet the edge with water and alcohol mixed. Or just plain water. Maybe a 1/16th of the edge. Too wet and the edge will deform. Alcohol will dry the leather and make it a little stiff. After a minute or so, I would take a Dremel tool that would allow a light touch but rpm for some friction/heat. The top one is a combined 8-9 ounce with a 5-6 ounce burnished with water and a drill press. The edge of the bottom one has been dyed and burnished. The spirit dye contains alcohol/thinner that really helps burnishing. And I do a lot of sanding on this big stuff.

Sounds like you need a Dremel tool. Saddle soap is a leather softener. I would not think it would lend itself to burnishing. Burnish is to make something shiny. To get a glass like or just a smooth edge, it would be better to stiffen the edge temporarily. A bunch of us use bar glycerin soap on the edges of our leather. We rub the bar on the edge and burnish. Another world, huh?

I am trying to picture burnishing something that thin. 'Course I am used to burnishing 8-9 ounce up to the thickness of two 5-6 ounce and two 8-9 ounce together. Do you use a powered burnisher? Just curious.

Today I received two double shoulders from RJF. They look beautiful. I asked Roger to pick out a couple firm hides and he did. Noticeably harder to cut the 8-9 ounce shoulder. The 5-6 ounce feels firm also. Going to dip dye holsters tonight and see what happens in the morning.

This soup is about two years old and is about half or more of a 5 gallon dry wall bucket.

Thanks for the responses but the fact still remains that the customer associates detail/boning and quality. And they believe it is necessary for proper tension. Glad that the cowboys know better. Building a good cowboy holster demands that enough tension is provided to endure full out running and abrupt stops but still allows a smooth and quick draw. Neither Mernickle or Kirpatrick bone their leather. Seems it is centered around the concealed carry bunch. Now were did I put that deer antler............