TexasJack

Screw the whole thing! Download Google Chrome and run it. Much less overhead than IE.

Really nice, Chuck! (I wouldn't expect anything less!!)

Maybe the real question is whether or not it's worth the $$$. I've seen chisels sharpened on one, and it did a nice job quickly. But I've seen them sharpened almost as quickly without a Tormek.

I like it!

I like the ammo holder, but I suspect it would be better as 2 single units. The bolt holder is.... well, it's pretty sad that it's come to having to do that... but your holders look pretty good.

I don't know - I might file this under Darwin Awards. Didn't his mother tell him to be careful with sharp, pointy things? I love the way the story reads - like the knife jumped out and did the deed and the two idiots wrestling had nothing to do with it. A friend made a great knife for a soldier going over to the Sandbox. The sheath was not structured for such a solid knife and cut through it. As I recall, damages included: the seat of a Humvee, a pair of Kevlar gloves, a boot, some socks, and a large portion of the soldier's hand when he reached in his bag and discovered the knife had come loose in transit. Chuck Burrows makes sheaths and other leather goods for these type of events and I suspect you won't find many 'failures' among them. There's something to be said for making quality products. And don't run with scissors....

There are better write-ups posted on this thread than I could give! I use a belt grinder with whatever fairly fine belt is handy. It doesn't get the edge looking 'pro', but it gets it even. So the grit isn't critical. The burnishing is what makes it look nice. A bit of gum traganth helps slick it up.

One thing I picked up from watching Chuck Burrows' DVDs is that the edges REALLY make a difference in the looks of a piece. In the photo you can really see little 'strings' of leather on the triangle shaped part. Also, the edge at the top of the holster looks like it was just roughly cut. I won't even try to pass myself off as an expert on this, but I might suggest cutting the leather slightly longer and then belt sand the edge down so it's nice and even. Then wet and bone it really well. I don't know how important it is on this type of holster, but I generally like to see more of a groove for stitching. In the picture, it looks like the leather has assumed several different shades. (Could be the lighting.) To look great, the color needs to be even. I don't want to harp on the negative, because overall it's a nice looking holster. It needs a bit of 'leather love' to dress up the small details that make it look professional.

It sold for $60.

I've always like Shakespeare's quote: "Golden lads and girls all must As chimney sweeps return to dust" There is an old Boot Hill Cemetery quote: "He was right and we was wrong But we strung him up and now he's gone." When I was a kid, there was a cemetery in another town that had a tombstone made like a chair. I can't remember the inscription, but it was something about if you sit in the chair you will be dead in a year. Of course, all the teens in the area made trips to test their 'courage' after a beer or two. My own personal preference is not to take up a plot of land. When you're dead, the body is just worm food. (The Bible says, .."ashes to ashes, dust to dust..") I'd prefer to be cremated and fertilize some field. In Texas. I just hope that my death doesn't make too many people happy!!

Well done site, although the name is confusing. Almost makes me wish I hadn't given up on America. (Now "Amerika") Almost.

White gas is an old name for unleaded gasoline. All gasoline is unleaded now, but they add a lot of alcohol to it. Coleman fuel would be the closest thing to the older stuff, as has been pointed out. Honestly though, I would really not recommend using gasoline-range hydrocarbons as solvents. It's very easy to build up enough fumes to create an explosive mixture in air. Anyone with alternatives??

Sorry, Johanna. Kids. No matter how bad you may want to, you can't put 'em back where you found 'em. I've heard Ohio is pretty rough on enforcement. In Texas, you just have to get your insurance in order. Usually for first offenses on anything except DUI or theft, you can have the charge dropped if you take a driver's education class. I lived in NY for a few years and they had a huge scam going on traffic tickets. If you got an attorney, he could plead anything except DUI down to a non-moving violation - like 'bad muffler". If the speeding ticket would have been $100, then the non-moving ticket would be at least that much, plus the attorney fee. But it did keep you from racking up points and kept the insurance from going up. (In fact, you may want to talk to an attorney before going into court, just in case he can get a break.) I have a neighbor kid that stole money. When he was caught, he denied that he stole it. The officer said, "Son, we know you stole the $80." "No, no," the kid insisted, "it was only $60." If ignorance is bliss, he's one happy kid!

Try this: http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/pdf_forms/bmv2150.pdf "...If you have not had a driver license cancelled, denied, revoked, or suspended or have not been convicted of serious traffic violations, you would not be listed in the NDR. Every individual is entitled, however, to request a check of the NDR records to determine whether or not they appear on the NDR file...." Looks like the stepson would have to file the request.

"...cyber-Katrina..."?!? They really do set the bar low for election to Congress, don't they. We have a Congresswoman who asked the folks at NASA if they were going to bring back the flag Neil Armstrong planted on Mars. Yes, she said Mars. They tried to gently correct her and she told them she knew what she was talking about. Jay Rockefeller isn't even from WV. He moved there because he could afford to out finance opponents. Hitler did a lot of things in the name of national security. The really funny part is that they don't even understand how much traffic they'd have to monitor. They already scan for keywords, but it's really easy to switch those around. I have this picture of gov't cyberweenies in a dark underground room scanning email. "Go wake the President. Burrows has made another holster."

Communication experts warn business people to be careful about using email because it's the biggest source of misunderstandings of any company communication method. The reason - which I think is kinda interesting - is that it's informal, but you can't see the person's face. The same words that you might take as a joke face-to-face can become an insult or threat on an email. Posting on a message board like this can be very much the same. I haven't seen it here, but I have seen it on other boards. And if there are no boundaries - make that enforced boundaries - then it becomes an open invitation for the crazies to show up and start baiting people into fights. BTW, I think Ian made a really good point about the 'hate speech' definition. It shocks me to see how many people want to censor anyone who has an opinion contrary to their own.

I love to discuss politics and such. I think about it deeply and am not shy about discussing my opinions. HOWEVER, there are forums for that sort of thing. One of the great things about this place is that Johanna does a great job of keeping people from getting too far out of line. (This may be my imagination, but her icon seems to smile more broadly when she cracks the whip. A little scary, but I guess it does fit with some parts of this forum. Will she jump in and confirm this?) If she has to address personal attacks and such on an 'open' forum, it will quickly become a huge distraction. As this network stands, we already discuss some things that are peripheral to leather - for example, new regulations on lead (that could affect leather sales), choosing guns (and holsters), PETA (Prefer Eating Tasty Animals vs. that other bunch), etc. That's all cool, and pretty simple to control. I hope that we can keep the broad, open nature of Leatherworker.net. But let's stick with the subject that brings us here.

Best wishes to you, amigo.

I really like the looks of that! Clean lines - something that could really be put to work. Nice job!!

I don't know how Joe Horn was portrayed elsewhere. The rag thats barely fit to line birdcages - Houston Chronicle - did their best to bury him. Probably 99% of the people in Texas consider him a hero. For those who didn't hear the story, Joe Horn is an older fella that lives in Pasadena which is just east of Houston. Largely industrial/blue collar area. One day he spotted 2 guys carrying stuff out of his neighbor's house. (Both turned out to be illegal aliens with long rap sheets.) He called 9-1-1 and reported it, then took a gun over and ordered them to put the stuff down and put their hands up or he'd shoot. They didn't comply, so he did. What he did isn't really covered under Texas laws, but the grand jury refused to indict him. While I totally support what Joe did, the poor guy was hit with all sorts of legal problems, was threatened by gangs and such, and was completely harassed by the press. He would have been far better off not shooting, even though that would have been worse for the rest of us.

Ouch. Been there, done that. 1996 - Divorce, laid off, broke, car wreck, concussion (bike wreck), fire, broken water pipe, couple of deaths in the family, and my dog died. (Someone suggested that I should go to Nashville as I had the makings for a number of country songs.) I was afraid to go outside for fear the plague of locusts would show up. And when you're down - esp. with a divorce - it's pretty amazing how many 'friends' disappear. On the other hand, it was pretty interesting to find out who my real friends were. Also discovered, eventually, that God hadn't abandoned me. That allowed me to fill a gap in my life that I didn't even know was there. As long as you're vertical and ventilating, it's possible for things to turn around. There will be days where all you can hope for is just to survive. Just take it one day at a time. Things will get better.

Trust me, in Texas the law is very much on the side of the homeowner. Chances are very good that anyone breaking into a house (or even breaking into a car) in Texas is likely to be shot. I have no sympathy for the bad guys and I don't have to reach far to get my hands on a firearm anywhere on my property. The point I was trying to make was that the shotgun is a much easier defense tool than a pistol. Not as sexy, but extremely effective. In the case of being behind the door, it's entirely possible that the sound on the other side is a 'friendly' - maybe her son. Warn first, then shoot if necessary. Wounded burglars can sue you. Shotguns make VERY big holes. (12 ga. 00 buck is the equivalent of being shot by 22 pistols at the same time.) You don't have much worry about that basketball-sized spread missing vital organs. Keeping a gun around with a round in the chamber is a very bad idea, unless you really know what you are doing. (In this case, Mom is getting a first gun.) If there are kids or grandkids around, it's even more dangerous. I'm not arguing against you; just illustrating some points to consider in the decision.

Handguns take practice. Lots of it to be any good. Best thing is to buy a PUMP SHOTGUN. I was in a very large gun store one day and a lady came in wanting to buy a pistol. Very similar story to your mom's. The salesman told her what I just told you, and she just couldn't understand the point. So he took a Remington 870 off the rack and told her to watch the people in the store. Then he pumped it one time. EVERYBODY looked at him. He said, "Suppose you're in your bedroom and you hear someone break in. You say, 'I've got a gun!' Maybe he believes you, maybe he doesn't. But, when you pump that first round into the chamber, HE WILL KNOW WHAT HE'S UP AGAINST!" 'Cause, the very best defensive weapon is the one you never actually have to use. And, if you do have to use it, point, click, and it will cut a very wide path in whoever needs to be stopped. The sound of a pump shotgun is well known by every felon. That is why police and prison guards carry them. Still don't believe me? A friend of mine got a job some years ago working as a prison guard. He was up on the wall and was bored. He started playing with his shotgun and accidentally opened the chamber. He had to then pump the round into it. Just after he did that, he noticed that the yard below had become very quiet. He looked down and all the prisoners had stopped whatever they were doing and were looking up at him. The shot also doesn't carry very far - you won't hit a friendly neighbor by mistake. And it makes a big boom if you fire it into the air to scare off trouble. That's my $0.02.

"Never walk when you can ride." Check this out: Kids riding sheep at the rodeo: http://blogs.chron.com/rodeoblog/archives/...horse_ri_1.html

Nice job!!