Davm

Thanks- not to answer my own question but in looking at some holsters with laced edges- I was using a straight tool to punch the slits, I know there are angled slit punches and I didn't realize but I think the angled slits position the lace so it is close together.

I have so far in my leather work only stamped a border on my holsters, etc. Now I am getting into carving leather and I need a floral template for a holster for the above, 5" barrel. This will be a very simple pouch and a tab that folds in back and sewn- for a belt. Not a skirt as in a standard "Loop" holster. I want to use lace on the edge. I could try to work out a pattern but as a beginner a template would make it a lot easier. All help appreciated. On lacing, I am using the Tandy Leather Craft book that has single, double and triple. I thought years ago I saw holsters where the lace covered the entire edge without all the "build up" involved with Tandy's Double and triple stitch- but I may be wrong.

Okay, took the plunge and made the square that is in Tandy's leathercraft manual. It actually came out a lot better than I thought it would. On the shade/pearing- I need to get that deeper and on the beveling- better at that. The swivel knife cuts to start and the decorative cuts at the end- those went pretty good, as did the stamp work. I've done a lot of border stamp work etc. In any event, I think I'll keep making the exact same pattern from the Tandy book until I get it right. I really enjoyed it.

Okay, a trick of the trade. On a repetitive border stamp I took a short square piece of wood, 1/2" x 1/2" and 4" long and drilled a hole midway and epoxy glued the stamp. This gave me a very good sense of the tool being in line as I stamped. Sort of crazy but it worked for me. I like historical holsters, etc. and years ago a fish scale pattern was common so I have done the fish scale and it is actually fairly easy, I was surprised the basket weave requires more skill to look right.

I just use the gun, oil it, baggie it, wrap aluminum foil, another baggie, You might want to add padding in certain areas, another couple of baggies. It isn't the exact fit you see on some holsters but pretty good and I've never had a gun rust so far. If I was making a lot of holsters of the same size- I'd do a model.

I really like the look of Sheridan carving but other than the Sheridan being one color, what is the difference between Sheridan and regular Floral carving?

I'm having trouble stamping a good looking basket weave. I do a cross line and stamp along that but then the next lines get out of line and in the cross wise direction the lines don't match. Any tips? Are there any basket weave stamps that make the job easier. I thought doing a basket weave pattern would be easy- not so. (at least for me)

Thanks everyone

Thanks everyone

I've always used stamps since I figured that carving was beyond my skill level but now I want to give it a try. I need a pastime that doesn't cost a lot. With leather carving I can spend a lot of time on a small piece of leather. I make knife sheaths and handgun holsters so that is my focus. What are the easiest for beginners/ Floral? Leaves/acorns? Thanks for any help.

I have a swivel knife that doesn't seem very sharp. Tandy model. I bought a clamp on guide for sharpening but I don't seem to be able to get it very sharp. If you are supposed to strop the edge thn I am assuming you need it very sharp. Any help appreciated.

Well gave it a try, same as usual- On the exposed area if you scribe a line, etc.- looks okay but on the other side- I personally have trouble getting the holes lined up straight and it looks really bad. You have to know your limitation, for me, best to leave it off. It's like a bad engraving job on metal- nothing looks worse. I asked in case there was a tip on doing it. It seems to be more "art" than anything else. Chuck? Where in WY. Family from Lusk/Douglas, Great Uncle in Laramie..

I fly fish. What about a leather tube case for the rod?

I look things over but off hand, I can't see how things/dirt can get trapped in a holster unless you did a lot of moving around with gun in hand and an open holster- that might do it. I agree about using the heaviest kind of leather as the thickness helps on the 45 degree stitch. When I'm hunting I don't cover the end of my rifle or shotgun so an open bottom on a holster- same thing. When I put in a plug- mostly for appearance. I guess it is most "art" in the respect that on one side- the outside of the holster- you can get a perfectly straight line of stitch but on the bottom- you have to keep the angle the same from hole to hole to keep straight stitches.

I sometimes sew in a plug and sometimes don't. I find it a challenge. Theoretically you run an awl at 45 degrees between the pieces. For those good at this.... 1. Do you use a wood form to place into the holster to help hold everything while doing the work? 2. The plug. I have trouble with the back "pointy" end. Either too large or too small. I find it very hard to get the correct size. I will sew up the area and hold the holster on paper to scribe a plug size but still, if there is a gap at the back- doesn't look good.

Not to be a dummy but- could you recommend a particular awl and will it make a hole through the holster pouch edge with the holster on a stitching clamp set up? What I am thinking right now is to use the wheel on top of the edge to mark the spots and then an awl to make holes through the top half. Then apply glue and clamp both halves of the edge together and let dry. Some glue will seep into the holes on the top half but I guess I can live with that. Then put the holster in a vise and use a good awl to go through the back half, using the existing holes on the top half for a guide. If I am a little off- that is, on the back instead of a straight line from hole to hole- I didn't pierce the hole at a perfect 90 degrees so on the back- a little off- it won't be seen so no one knows but myself. On the skiving, I think I'll glue on an oversized liner and trim, then skive the edge- which will cut off the smooth liner surface along the edge and leave a rough surface to glue to a rough surface. As I said before, these small details make a big difference and don't get discussed that much. Thanks for all the help. AND.....we have another thread on border stamps but just out of curiosity how do most of you do it? I am using a caliper and making a very light mark with an awl, then wet/card the leather, and when I stamp -the stamp impression obliterates the awl mark. Even doing that a close inspection might show a tiny amount of different from stamp mark to stamp mark.

And while we are at it, on the broken awl tip. This was a "stitching" awl- the type where you make loops in and out. I was trying to make holes through about 1/2" or more of leather when I snapped the needle. I think what I'll do is roll out the wheel for the top half of the pouch edge and make those holes. Then glue and clamp, then put in my makeshift stitching vise and make holes through the back half and then stitch it all up. I usually make the portion from the stitches to the edge a little wider and trim it all down after the stitching is completed. ANOTHER question. I use glover needles. Dull the tips as mentioned. I run the first needle through a hole and then sort of pull on the thread to force it to one side of the hole and run the second needle through the hole from the opposite side (saddle stitch) but before I pull the second needle all the way through I "play" with the first thread, moving it in and out to make sure I did not accidentally piece the thread. On a holster I'll generally not have a problem. Even on a belt, the perimeter, I make snag a couple of times but I'll back out the needle and try again. Wondering how others do it.

Okay, more detail. Years ago I used just a single sheet of leather, say 8 oz. And Mexican Double loop. They were okay but a little flimsy. Not like Great grandfather's "real" holster. So....I started taking two sheets of leather. The additional sheet was much thinner, 4 oz. so as you said when glued together you end up with a 12 oz. And..smooth on both sides- which is nice. THOSE TWO Sheets never come apart and I use barge cement. OKAY, so now I have my pattern all cut out. Everything is flat, both sides of the pouch and the skirt above. I now take one side of the pouch and fold it over and sew the edge. THAT edge I have just sewn, no glue. When it is first stitched it looks fine but a week or two later the edge has a crack in it. It has now happened twice. What I have done is use toothpicks to force the edge apart and more toothpicks to put barge cement in the crack and then clamp along the edge- using those office clamps for 20plus sheets of paper. That has worked, the edge stays closed but I don't like making things that way. I have been making the holes BEFORE stitching everything together on THE EDGE in question. I've drilled the top then clamped it over the bottom and drilled the back half- hope that makes sense. With all the holes drilled I then saddle stitch. My problem is AFTER the holes are drilled, if you glue, the glue sets up so fast that all the holes (the top side and the bottom side- have to line up or you are in big trouble. As I see it there are two options. One is to make all the holes and then apply glue along the edge and use steel nails/brads to temporarily hold it together and then pull one nail out at a time as the edge is stitched., the thread a substitute for the nails. The other option is to not make any of the holes. Just glue the two edges and then make the holes. I hope that clears up what I am trying to describe. A third option, make all the holes on the top side- the side you see and glue and then use those holes as a guide and make holes through the back as you stitch the edge.

Yeah, sorry for confusion. When I said folded, I meant bending over the pattern to form the pouch.

Thanks everyone. I am actually working with 4 layers, that is, normally you would fold over the two sides and sew them together so that's two layers, but if you laminate the holster, I glue flesh side to flesh side so as the outer surfaces inside and out are smooth, when you fold it over, the edge is smooth to smooth, so I'll roughen it up. Next, to prevent a thick edge, I skive the heavier piece but now I am thinking the liner- just along the edge, maybe skive that after the liner installed to leave a flesh/rough edge to be sewn together and first glued. As others have stated- I normally cut the liner a little oversized and trim. I use scrap plywood 1/4" thick and cut out a curve that matches the edge and clamp that in place as I trim off and burnish the edge. In any event I think on my next project I'll first glue the edge and then trim, make the groove, make the holes. On the drill. I had issues with making holes. On the top they were fine but on the back a hole here or there might be out of alignment. This hand drill I use has a built in level so I can drill exactly 90 degree holes- they line up okay front and back. I'm using a small, round awl from Tandy. I think I probably need a better awl that will make holes through the leather and skip the drill. On the needles- I have had problems with catching the thread so I stone the sharp tip down to a blunt end and that solves the problem. One other question, how hard do most of you pull the threads as you stitch, maybe I should have them snug but not pull excessively. On the grooves. For the top of the holster I make a shallow groove so the stitching stands out as it is decorative but on the back of the skirt- that may rub against your leg. To protect the thread I cut the back groove a little deeper so the thread is flush or a little below the skirt surface. I know these are small details but if you look at a lot of books- lots of general info but not so much on details. Again, thanks to all. I also have a makeshift sewing horse I use.

Okay- now I realize there is a whole lot I don't know. This is what I've done. I groove the top edge and then run a wheel along the bottom of the groove to space out the holes and then use an awl to deepen the marks. At that point I have a broken off awl tip and I have put that in an electric hand drill and finish off the holes, I use cheap plywood under the leather. Now I bend the sides together and go through the drilled holes to also drill the back half. Now I have all the holes lined up and spaced apart okay. Next I use heavy waxed linen thread and glover's needles and use a saddle stitch to stitch the sides together. If I glue and clamp. it seems the holes would have to be made after that. On the glue and hammering. What exactly is the hammering? How and why do you do it? Thanks for the help- really appreciate it.

I've quite a few holsters but the last two...new problem and I can't figure it out. One difference is the old holsters were a single thickness of leather and the new holsters- I've glued in a liner of thinner leather. In any event I hand stitch with waxed linen thread- same as always but after a couple of weeks a crack develops. I've used toothpicks to get barge cement into the crack and so far it seems to work but I'm not happy with having to do it. How to prevent this? I've thought about applying barge cement, clamping the edges together and keeping the holes lined up by using steel brads- run through the holes. Any suggestions appreciated.

I'm going to record my progression on this project just in case anyone is interested. I think most ranger belts are dress belts, not gun rigs so the gun rig is different. 1. The tongue has to be thick enough to snuggly fit the metal tip. I used leather a tad thicker and skived it just a bit plus trimmed the sides so the metal tip is even with the leather. To make the belt strap and tongue appear similar they ought to be the same thickness but then the belt strap is too thick to bend over the bar on the buckle and too thick for the metal belt loop so the buckle strap end needs to be skived down quite a bit. 2. Question. When a gun (cartridge) belt uses a center bar buckle the tongue and buckle strap can be 1 1/2" wide whereas with the Ranger the two pieces are much more narrow, 1" or less. On the 1 1/2" width of a center bar buckle there is a lot of strength (top to bottom stability) which is greatly reduced with the ranger set up. I'm worried tha the downward weight of a large revolver may put a kink in the main belt and then the tongue and buckle strap are out of alignment. I may be worried about nothing but I'm thinking about adding a second main belt loop so the main belt is held even with two loops and the tongue and belt strap just tighten everything up, they aren't used for lateral strength. Hope I described it okay. I'm going to color with vinegaroon as I've never had the color bleed when wet and this is going to be a working item- not just for show.

The thing I like about vinegaroon is that it doesn't seem to bleed out if the leather gets wet. I make a lot of gear designed for the outdoors and all the other dyes I've tried, if the leather gets soaking wet in the rain and you have a white shirt- your white shirt now has a brown spot from the wet leather. I've dealt with this problem-folks tell me to seal the leather, etc. but if the leather is abraded in outdoor work, etch- it will eventually bleed. I'd prefer a nice brown to the blackish vinegaroon but so far I haven't found anything.

Thanks