Billy Hell

Which punches do I need for these belts?

My latest for a 22 magnum. I didn't put the antique on this one but I might add it. After doing a few I can really see the flaws...which is a good thing and a bad thing. I posted this on Facebook and immediately sold it - now to buy more leather!

Thanks y'all! I have to say I'm pretty excited to make these holsters. Next is gun belts...I have to have something to hang these on!

You know when your in the Tandy store and the man says, "what is it you will be making?" it seems odd to just outright say, "holsters." I had never made a holster and at the time really had no idea how to make one, much less carve one. So to say, "I'm going to make holsters" felt the same as if I had said, "I'm going to carve a pocket watch out of aluminum." Could it happen? Maybe. WIll it happen? Hard to say!! I'm happy to report that I can say with confidence now, "I make holsters." I grew up on ranch in Texas surrounded by land, Herford cattle and guns. My dad was ex Marine, so we had 1911's, M1 Garands and ultimately single action Colts. I love tooled leather. I used to google just to see what was out there. Actually figuring out how to make something was one thing, tooling a whole other and finally the thing that stopped me every time was stitching. This year I decided to take the advice I give many folks and I googled it. That's how I found Leatherworker.com. This is my go-to site for just about every question I have had. I started buying tools (with help from members here) around June. Just a little while later I have some holsters to show for my time. Thanks to all of y'all that have helped. I'm excited to keep learning, making and having fun!

I'm about to make a check list that sits on the work bench. Hopefully that will help me not miss a step I can't get back. It's not the cost of the leather, it's my time that is most valuable.

20 seconds after I start Bag Koting my holster I remember I didn't do my border stamps - DOH!!

As newbie I needed to find out what did what to the color of my leather. My online research showed that some folks dyed, oiled and then did a sealer. So let's say you use Feibings brown oil dye (most leave to dry over night), then you hit your leather with Neatsfoot oil (can darken the color more), and then you seal the leather with something like Tan Kote (shiny) or Bag Kote (not as shiny). I have my own taste on what color I want my leather to be so I ordered some things and decided the best thing to do would be to test them all out. I have been practicing tooling on leather rounders and these were perfect for my dye tests. Here are some photos showing my findings. I thought this might be good for someone that needed the same info in the future. Fiebings Bag Kote This is my personal favorite. I like how it brings out the tooling and it's not too brown. This is a sealer as well so its a simple solution for me. This is a water base finish. You can buff this out to a shine but like it it nice and flat. This was designed to be used on mail bags, hence the name. Neatsfoot oil and Bee's Wax This is an old saddler's method to treat leather. You do a 50/50 mix of Neatsfoot oil and bee's wax. I used a mason jar. I put in my wax and oil in the jar and dropped the jar into boiling water. It will melt together and then you pour it into a cup. I liked the idea of using the the old method and the look is pretty authentic as well. Eco-Flo I love what Eco-Flo highlighter does to leather. The only problem is that I can't keep it on if it gets wet. I used Bag Kote on this rounder and rubbed in the Eco-Flo highlighter. This is what I got. Neatsfoot Oil This is just Neatsfoot rubbed into the leather. It will darken it up just a little. This is not a sealer but this is how it looks on leather. Olive Oil Next to Bag Kote I like just plain olive oil. You want the extra virgin kind. Leather will tan like your skin. I oiled this rounder up and sat it outside for a few hours. It looks great. This is not a sealer either. Fiebings Oil Dye - Light Brown At least I ordered light brown. It didn't say it on the label. This looks more like a dark brown to me. While it's too dark for most of what I have been doing I have used it on trim and it looks good. It's oil dye so it's not going to ever wash out. You can also cut this dye with denatured alcohol to lighten it up. I'm sure this color will come in handy for many things. Finally, here is a bracelet I made. I used Fiebings black oil dye for the background. Light brown on the edges and straight Bag Kote on the tooled parts and everything else after I was done. I like this one a lot.

Hair tool I think: https://youtu.be/eqJlv0jkFIo

I purchased 37 Craftool Co. USA stamps and they came with a swivel knife. The knife also had what looks like a beveler? What do I do with this swivel knife tip?

I have not laid knife to leather but the Tandy style is what I usually buy (belts, holsters, etc) I collect single action Colts and want to make some holsters for those and my .45 autos. I'm trying to get some good tools just to get me going.

Here is that lineup: Ken-Rich Leather Stamp - 830 Camouflage Tool Early Craftool Company Leather Stamp - 104 Backgrounder Tool Early Craftool Company Leather Stamp - 853 Mule's Foot Tool Early Craftool Company Leather Stamp - 208 Pear Shader Tool Early Craftool Company Leather Stamp - 714 Pear Shader Tool Early Craftool Company Leather Stamp - 705 Lined Seeder Tool Early Craftool Company Leather Stamp - 707 Shell Veiner Tool Early Craftool Company Leather Stamp - 406 Veiner Tool Craftool USA Leather Stamp - B200 Smooth Beveler Tool Leather Stamping Tool - Sheridan Style Border Beveler Leather Stamping Tool - Pro Crafter Series Flower Center

Thanks for the input!

I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

Thoughts?

Images...

Update - can get the 35 Craftool Co. USA tools for $80 shipped. This has everything I need plus some pieces like the 3 seed seeder, a wavy veiner, etc.

I'm sure this is a question asked time and again but I'm about to purchase my first tools for floral design. I'm not going the Sheridan route. I like the Tandy style. I can purchase 11 Craftool stamps (numbered no letters) for around $125. This would be a couple of veiners, seeders, camo, a couple of shaders, bevelers and shaders. Another option is to pickup 35 Craftool Co. USA stamps for around $90. Should I go with a few older tools or get a more of Co. USA tools? I build guitars and usually commit pretty hard when I jump into something.