Boriqua

For years I predrilled my holes, then I used chisels for a while but for the last 8 months or so its been strictly awl. I notice sometimes when I am sewing a holster together, 2 pieces of 8-9 oz leather that the side where the awl exits or the back of the piece I get some unsightly raggedness around the hole. Usually happens when I have predyed the pieces before sewing which I dont always do. My awl is Deadly sharp and I have spent hours polishing it from the point back about 1/2-3/4 inch. It shines like the sun. I am thinking about slightly moistening the back side along the sew line. I think the dye especially when cut is drying out the leather surface some? Anyone have a solution? Or can point me to what I might be doing wrong. Thank you! Alex

Thanks everyone for your kind words!!!!

This gentleman .. a repeat client ... love those... asked for a holster for his 22 cal 1911. Didnt know they made such a thing but apparently they do and he has one. He siaid he wanted knot .. maybe celtic knot. I pressed him some more to try and see where he was at in his head. Im so lucky because most people just give me a thread and let me go off. After about a week he sent me this pic below and said that something about it spoke to him. You got it brother .. give me a couple of weeks. The design he sent would have just plopped down in the center of the holster and I wanted to use the entire holster to create an art piece so I modified the drawing. What appealed to me was the origin of the knot and it being incomplete. Not yet pulled tight and came to what you see below. He was very happy which is what matters most and then just behind that I had fun. His inspiration The holster I made for him

Hey Everyone So how close can I get into the seam to stitch with a machine. Below is done by hand and is right in the crease. Im pretty sure I cant do that with a machine but I dont know. If you have pictures of a similar project sewn by mahcine that would be AWESOME!!

That is toooo funny. I keep trying to get my wife to take a hand at stitching but whenever I bring it up she looks at me like I dont speak the same language. She is no wimp now .. she works outdoors everyday at a Botanical Garden but I think she is wise to me wanting her to help on the stitching and she is playing dumb. That or she is from the Bronx and I am from Brooklyn and there really is a dialect language barrier going on ... still after 16 yrs!

well just in case anyone else is looking for the answer ... I applied supersheen with a littley dampened sponge to a new test piece with red white and yellow paint and some areas left natural. The I went over just the white with a brush after the first application was good and dry. Worked like a charm. Colors are nice and bright and stain is just where I want it.

I am making a set of saddlebags and am using a compbination of Black harness and Burgandy Latigo. Both are good and oily but I would like to impart a little more subtle sheen to the Latigo. I have seen latigo bags online with a soft highlight. I have a jar of neatsfoot oil/beeswax paste I mixed up a few moths ago and it gives a wonderful shine to things. Is it safe to put some on the latigo? I dont want the latigo to be Shinny .. I know what I bought ... I just wonder if it can be shinnier? Thank you for any help Alex

I dont know why I am having so much trouble but I need help! The image is a small section of a larger project I am working on. It was just a color test and good thing I did it and didnt ruin a completed project. Here is my problem. I want to keep the colors as pure as possible ESPECIALLY the white. You can see that the red is muddy and the white turned a dingy yellow. Here is what I did .... I painted the piece and let it set for several hours. I then sprayed the surface with a 50/50 of resolene and water through my airbrush. I let that sit a couple of hours and then sprayed it again somewhat heavily and let it sit several more hours out in the AZ sun. It was not tacky and before bed I took a brush and brushed straight resolene uncut from the bottle onto the white and yellow portions of the carving and let it sit over night. I would say it cured about 12 hours after the last coat. This morning I took a piece of terry cloth and a heaping amount of Fiebings Tan Acrylic Antique stain and applied it to the piece. I let it set for about 5-10 minutes and with a piece of tee shirt folded flat and a touch of dampness I wiped down the piece. Trashed! So I am thinking a couple of things and wanted to get some feedback. I used to use supersheen uncut for my resist and it did a great job of preserving the colors. I attached a pic of a little bag I did in around 1991 and I am happy with the yellow and light green. Problem was I had a holster finish crack to all get go and I stopped using super sheen and I dont think the resolene has the same resist.? Creative wise .. I am thinking the tan sent the white yellow and the Mahogony sent it pink that maybe I should use the Fiebings Acrylic Black stain to send it grey? Should I try the Tandy eco antique gel? never trried it but I am game for anything. Any thoughts. Basically ... throw out any ideas you are willing to share on keeping the colors pure ..ish

I would be down for that. Im way out east though. Great to see what everyone is up to and maybe down the road do a little show.

Thank you for pointing that out. I have never used a sewing machine and I wouldnt have even to know to ask about feet. Here are feet he offers on the site http://www.windhamcub.com/?page_id=132 Will those get me close enough to an edge to sew. would i need both right and left. I have to see how much that adds to the cost. As it stands it is 1495 for the machine, Im guessing around 50-60 bucks for shipping and then feet, thread and I have to ask about needles. Getting up there in price. Bummer I would really like a human powered machine but I keep coming up with either this or the Boss and the boss has sketchy reviews. One of the things I like about the windham is he says it can go from fairly thin to fairly thick which is just what I am looking for. Well Glad I have a nice sharp Awl! Please if any of you with experience can think of any other questions I should ask please let me know. Thanks! Alex

I am in East Mesa now. Was in Glendale and before that Laveen. www.boriqualeather.com

And here are some pix he sent .. I find the machine oddly beautiful. the stitching looks great. Not as nice as a good hand saddle stitch but clean. Now to get past that 1500.00 dollar thing.

As an FYI for anyone interested in the machine I did hear back from Mr. Luberto Today and here is the relevant info: 1. You can use thread sizes from 69 to 346 usually with only an upper thread tension adjustment. No dropped stitches either. 2. The Cub will sew on light leather such as wallets and chaps up to saddle skirts and heavier, a good 5/8". Again, with minimum upper thread tensioning. 3. The machine is made of cast iron. 4. Lead time is usually around two weeks. 5. Replacement parts are readily available and a complete illustrated parts list is included. 6. Our warranty is standard with a 30 day money back warranty starting on the day you receive your machine then the major parts are covered for one year. We have an excellent reputation for service after the sale. 7. Yes, we are set up to service your Cub in the unlikely event that something should break. You see, the Cub has very few moving parts and those parts are very heavy duty. There are two springs that would eventually need to be changed, and one of those should last years. Both only take minutes to change and it's covered in our instruction book. 8. The Cub is a full rotary machine so a wheel or pully can be attached instead of the hand crank and then set up on a treadle stand. It could also be motorized. 9. The stitch length is adjustable with a dial on the front of the machine and stitch lengths vary from less than 2mm to 6mm. (10 stitches per inch down to 4 stitches per inch) Yes, $1,495.00 is the best I can do. When you use a Cub I think you'll agree, it's a really good deal. For financing we offer a loan or lease to own arrangement. Hmmm I still like this thing.

Well I guess I struck out on the Cub. I sent a small list of questions to him on the 11th but haven't heard back. Makes me a little concerned about being able to get service or parts later since it sounds like a one man show so the search continues. Meanwhile I will keep happily hand sewing.

I should add it was a holster so it was 2 pieces of 8-9 oz. There maybe I dont feel so bad now

Dude you are my new hero!!!!!! That is stunning stitching

I love the Zen of the repetitive motion of hand stitching with an awl. Just something so soothing about punch stitch stitch if you get a good rhythm going. Im not looking to break any speed records but I am curious ... I can stitch a really pretty saddle stitch at about 6 inches in 12 minutes. About 30 stitches. Seems dreadfully slow. Seemed very mechanized when I was doing it but 12 minutes .....

The part that is usually the sticking point is the fold in the thread at the eye of the needle. If you shave down your thread like suggested in the Stohlmann Hand stitching book it makes life alot easier. I use a Sz 0 harness needles. Listen to what Crazedlemming wrote too. I have been trying to ingrain this in my movement and it makes a huge difference. Lastly if you really need a little extra uumph like when sewing through really thick leather the Rubber finger tips work great and I paid 3 bucks for a box of 12 at officemax. I place one on the right thumb when I sew up a sheath with multiple layers and it works great. Sewing up a holster with 2 layers of 8-9 oz though I go naked and so long as I shave the thread I am good to go.

How did you do the art work for the machine? PDF? Looks great!

I am putting together a weaver order and looked at the pasted Flesh shoulders but have some questions I cant seem to find answers too. Will the pasted side accept dye? Will the pasted side interfere with water absorption making boning a problem? I have never used pasted back leather so any warnings would be great. Thank you ALex

What a great looking holster! Is this the book you are referring too? http://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Holsters-Al-Stohlman/dp/1892214989/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431626205&sr=8-1&keywords=al+stohlman+holster

The other thing I forgot to mention is that with regular contact cement should you get some on the smooth part of the leather you can just let it cure some and then kind of peal it off and that spot will still take dye. One drop of gorilla glue misplaced and you have to throw that piece away. It will never accept dye since its a resin. I get the quart can at about 8 dollars. Its a lot of glue. I put it in smaller jars so it doesn't get nasty before I use it all up. It lasts me months and I work with leather everyday.

I wonder if it didnt get moldy could you just reintroduce some oil. I have had leather that was around for a bit and oiled it up lightly with pure neatsfoot oil and left it alone for a week and was able to use it just fine with no ill effects.

Gorilla glue expands and can come out of your seams if you are not careful. It is also a very stiff kind of foam when dry. May not matter in some areas but that is your call. If you stick two piece together it will be very stiff. Regular old contact cement from the hardware store is cheap and remains flexible. I LOVE gorilla glue for wood but I wouldnt use it for leather