TexasJack

Most people don't realize this, but aluminum products are all anodized before they leave the factory. That places a thin layer of oxide on the surface that protects the more reactive metal underneath from being attacked. If you're grinding or filing, you'll be exposing metal and you it can react to form that white powder people mention. My suggestion - which was given to me a few years back by a super leatherworker - is to go to your local hardware store and buy some long bolts (carbon steel or stainless). The head of the bolt can be filed into nearly any shape and it makes very cheap stock for producing a custom stamp. If you decide to make fancier stamps - like for sale - you can move up to metal stock, but those cheap bolts will still be the best way to develop each new stamp.

I guess I'm missing something. The safety on the blue gun would have to be down so that you have room to put the gun in the holster should you decide to carry it without being 'cocked and locked'. You should have enough room for either safety position.

Nice job!

Josh, thanks for the great photos! That's given me some good ideas about what I want to do. Pounder, I have to dig through some of my stuff and see if I've got that particular volume of Stohlman's "..Cases". I know I have a couple, but I may not have that one. Thanks for the suggestion.

Just to make sure nobody gets the wrong idea, I'm not advocating the use of HS, nor is anyone else as far as I can tell. It has been done; it's probably been considered gruesome for thousands of years.

Thinking about making a rifle scabbard for myself to carry a scoped rifle on a 4 wheeler (ATV). Kolpin and some others make a plastic scabbard, but - no, I don't need to explain to anyone on this forum why I'd rather have leather! A pattern would probably be too much to ask, but a design or pictures would be most appreciated. I want to keep the dust/mud off of the rifle and (hopefully) keep the scope from getting messed up as I ride the ATV.

The credit card thing reminded me of something that happened years ago. I was serving on the credit committee for the company's credit union and we just started issuing credit cards. The credit union staff couldn't reject anyone - only the credit committee could - so we saw all the really bad cases. One guy had a list of debts that went on for pages and pages. When he came in to discuss why he had been rejected, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a stack of about 50 credit cards held together with a rubber band and said, "I don't understand. None of these companies turned me down!" He was basically using each new card to make payments on the old ones. There really are clueless folks out there. As for the human skin, I remember seeing some program about museums and there's some small museum that has a pair of shoes made in the 1800's out of human skin. I googled it and this is what I found: Shoes Made From Big Nose George. It's actually a funny story, even if it's a little morbid.

When you say, "..nothing seems to be working out..", what specifically is going wrong? The right answer may be more about technique than pattern.

Nice looking rig!

You haven't made enough sheaths or holsters until you've made one that came out left-handed when it was supposed to be right-handed (or vice versa). I've got several that were sewn up before I realized I didn't sew on the belt loop. But they are NOT mistakes: They have become "PROTOTYPES".

Chuck, I thought you'd already gone into hibernation for the winter!! Good to see you post! This is not a very elaborate thread, but it's fun to discuss techniques in some detail. I like to know why I might choose a particular method over another one, or when one method might be better for a particular application. Guys like Chuck and Will make this stuff look easy, but they've had some serious depth of experience to get to that point.

Will Ghormley had some good pictures illustrating the way he sews cartridge loops - I believe it's on the post he did for the "Hand of God" holster.

As much as I hate to point this out, I am right. In order to KEEP the loops from slipping, you've gotta add all the steps Dwight listed. I'm not saying you can't do this method, merely that it has it's weakness. Dwight is simply compensating for that.

There are several methods for making cartridge loops. I seem to recall a thread discussing that, but can't find it at the moment. The method illustrated in your photo is fast and very attractive. It does have one serious weakness: once a cartridge is pulled out, it's possible for the adjoining loops to become loose.

Really nice job!

Interesting question! I don't recall seeing anyone posting a baseball glove. I would suspect that there's a lot of technique involved. I'll comment to help keep this thread active and maybe someone who has experience will jump in.

That is a nice slide show. When I started reading this thread, I was picturing more of a regular bandolier (Pancho Villa) that just has a holster attached low on the chest. The ones presented by diamond d are more like modified shoulder holsters. I've never used a shoulder or chest rig, but I suspect I'd like a wide piece of leather on my shoulder or it would begin to dig in after awhile. While searching for pictures, I came across this web site for Australian Stock Saddle. They have some rigs I've never seen for shotguns, mare's legs, etc. Interesting pics.

Nice! Great colors and design.

Chuck Burrows is one of the best and if you can get your hands on his DVD for holsters, it's well worth the cost. There's at least one on Amazon Frontier Holsters by Chuck Burrows, and I'm pretty sure they're still carried by Center Cross (www.centercross.com). On Chuck' web site, he posted this tutorial for a sheath a few years back: Wild Rose Trading Company Mexican Loop Tutorial

I hate to point this out, but this reads like some young kids dating and breaking up. "I told her four times I couldn't stand the way she acts, and then can you believe she had the gall to break up with me?!?" Yeah, it's weird, but it's probably all for the better.

Love Will's patterns! They look great and he did a great job laying them out. He's gone out of his way to help people make the kind of holsters and stuff that he does. Definitely one of the good guys! The Hand Of God tutorial is fund to look through, even if you're not into making holsters. Lots of great pictures of how it's done. I did one of the Weeping Heart holsters and was surprised at what a practical, yet extremely simple holster it really is.

Tough to make a well-fitted holster without the gun or a model. Take a look at Will Ghormley's web site. He has great patterns at very reasonable prices. (Tandy often has them on sale.) http://www.willghormley-maker.com/

Welcome! This is a fun place and there are always cool holsters being posted.

Welcome to the forum!

Tandy stores carry the books and often put them on sale. Still, you may be able to find them cheaper on Amazon or Ebay. For anyone fairly new to leather, the Stohlman book, "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather" is absolutely worth every penny. The three book series, "The Art of Making Leather Cases" is (I think) what's being referred to in this thread. It's good but be warned that Books 2 & 3 refer back to stuff from Book 1 or 2. You're best off to get the series. Some of the stuff is BADLY outdated - camera cases for 110 film cameras, cases for CB radios, etc., but the fundamental information still applies.