Jordan

I have resized the pics to 640x480 and will attempt to put them here in some order that makes sense without alot of text as I have not worked through that yet. I am pretty good verbally with instructions but written down I tend to ramble and generally suck.

Thanks Troy and be my guest, These are my take on a variety of sandals I have seen or owned over the years. I am sure that others have made similar, so I can't really say that they are entirely original in style or construction. But having made them from scratch from my mind to leather I believe I have not stepped on anyones toes. (pun intended) I figure that if I post anything on this site and another leather nut wants to copy or use my ideas more power to them and I am flattered beyond measure. anyway I think thats why I post stuff to begin with, I enjoy the kudo's when something turns out well and need the helpful comments to do it better next time.LOL

I got industrious today and finished the sandals. I took alot of photos that I need to resize and put in some kind of sensible order with a little text but here they are. There are a few errors that I will work on with the next ones, most glaring is I need to wait to cut the sewing channels until everything is glued up and the edges sanded so they will line up. Not a problem with my last ones because I hand sewed them. I experimented a bit by melting beeswax into the bottoms and sides on these to see if the bottoms will wear a little longer, it did harden the bottoms quite a bit.

http://zapatopi.net/afdb/ not quite computer protection but will do in a pinch

Very nice work, just add a few polka dots and it's the itzi-bitzi.

Keep up the good work and the points raised already covers most of it. I found the tips about finishing on this forum very helpful especially leather prep before applying dyes and keeping contaminants off the leather during the whole build. Those imperfections that show up at the end are the bane to my existence.LOL

Skeleton in a Stetson is very cool kinda deadesque. Heard this tune in my head right away "Me and my uncle went ridin down, south colorado west texas bound." LOL. hope they forgive me if I got the words wrong.

Thank you, I will be posting some more photos in a day or two of the rest of the steps I took to finish them.

The rubber is soft and is utilized to form the leather around an object I think. About an inch or so thick from what I have read about using press for moulding rather than clicking. If clicking a steel plate and some type of cutting board material would be used. Jordan

I just finished Bianchi's book Blue Steel and Gun Leather, it is a very good book and reads well, I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more in the research, development and build processes that go into making a salable holster, but still worth the time to read and digest the information that is there. Thanks Billyjoe. Jordan

Laffo I just saw one listed on craigs list in Redding Calif. for $95 might be worth a look if you are still in need it came up in a search making a western style holster and belt.

To start with I would suggest Tandy leather for basic tools and leather, price is such that you would not need to spend a fortune to get the feel for liking or not liking working with leather. As for leather you will want a piece that has minimal stretch in all directions, and of uniform thickness, so bellies would not fit the bill. What they call shoulder or a bend that they make belts from should work. I use 7/8 or 8/9 weight and they usually have good size pieces in their scrap bin that are decent quality. The wt of leather you use will vary with the size and wt of the pistol, plus if you decide to line it that will increase the thickness. 10/11 is very thick and more difficult to mold. Burnishing is kind of like buffing the damp edge of two pieces of leather to generate enough heat and friction to compress, smooth and darken the leather pieces to appear to be one piece. There are alot of methods available, I usually start by sanding the edge smooth then use an edger to trim and round the edge off then use water and a nylon slicker mounted in a drill press. Most time I will then dye the edge a color such as black. As far as the rubber pads I haven't gotten that far yet, I form by hand or use a foodsaver vac. There is no secret formulas for how much leather you might need, I usually measure the thickness of the gun, add the leather thickness and divide that equally to each side of my paper pattern. Mostly just experiment and take notes. Also the notes come in handy if your memory is like mine, I lose my coffee cup 2-3 time a day.LOL and if someone ever suggests that you infringed on their ideas you have your notes. How's that for a ramble? Hope that helps, but take what I say with a grain of salt as I am no expert just an avid leather nut. Oh yes, I forgot, welcome and good luck with your holster making, post pictures and above all have fun with it.

There is a mother daughter team that perform at a real good Greek place in downtown Ogden once or twice a week, it's a real treat when we can afford a meal out.

Thanks for the information, I have Gimp on my computer so I will take some pics of my tools and give it a try.

So far I found this on the web somewhere now I need some more variety

I got one the other day. It is pretty nice but does need some tweaking. The brass pin holding the blade and handle needs some filing as it is not flush and is a little jagged and of course I will need to learn how to sharpen it real good. Kinda wicked scary to wield, as I have not used one before it brings to mind lots of blood and pain if not used right.

You got me, KAK, other than that ? You can always make it into an ashtray or a key fob.

Does anyone have any line drawings or clipart of leatherworking handtools? I am trying to design my business cards and would like to include a mallet, swivel knife, head knife or something like that. I don't have anything concrete idea wise, just general concepts at this point. Thanks, Jordan

I still need to go to the class to get a cc permit, just have not felt up to it the last few months have been kinda rough disability wise. But when I do I have 3 styles to choose from unless I sell them. Then I will have to make me another one. How sweet it is! (to be able to construct one and not be at the mercy of the big commercial makers that stock the stores around here.) In no way does this mean they don't put out a decent product. I just prefer custom DIY.

I suppose in a fire situation the objective would to present the smallest target available to an adversary, so I think ankle would be best, because you would most likely crouch to withdraw it, but I'm not an expert in any way, shape or form. I have a pistol for personal protection and fun, but I posted the photo as an example of a concealed waistband holster that allows your shirt to be tucked in for general private citizen wear about town I thought that the original post was for some ideas for this type of holster, so a picture is worth a thousand words so to speak. Law enforcement (in my opinion) has very specialized needs and I don't think I would even try to make duty holsters. I shudder at the liability issues if something I designed failed and got an officer injured or worse.

Tuckable for my bersa380

ROCK ON

Spacers for beading necklaces etc. Unless the dogs get to them first.

Switch to diet coke w/splenda almost as good as dp without the wt. Also does'nt raise the glucose as bad.

I really like the fancy one. How many hours in stitching? What weight is the leathers you used? Nice work keep it up.