Russ

I have a whetstone that I use for all my knives (kitchen, etc) that I bought at Lowe's or somewhere. But, you don't have to sharpen the swivel knife very often. Rather, you need to strop it often. I use the flesh side of some leather with a lot of jeweler's rouge on it. Stropping needs to be done A LOT.

Hi Dan; Nothing wrong with starting with a packaged leathercraft kit from Tandy. $30 - $60 will get you a kit that will get you started well into the basics. Even better if you can visit a local store and sign up for some lessons. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/home.aspx

As a wise person once said, the search function is your friend. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=20414&st=0&p=178263&hl=biker'&fromsearch=1entry178263

I have an Artisan Toro 3000, and I'm very happy with it. It is very forgiving and does all that is asked of it. Artisan's service has been good for me too. All that said, when I called them, I also got the full court press running down their competitors. If I hadn't already tried out a Toro and had my mind set on it, that probably would have killed the sale. In my opinion, if you have to resort to running down your competitors, you must not have enough good to say about your own product. And Art, I completely understand and respect your desire to answer the charges in this thread, but further discussion would be beneath you. Your honesty and integrity in this forum is beyond question. Russ

When you are gluing the lining in, fold the holster over a bit, and use a small rubbing stick to rub out any creases in the lining. If you don't have a small rubbing stick, use the handle of one of your tools, such as an edger or overstitch wheel. Your lining will be a bit smaller than your main holster leather, so you'll trim off the excess once it's installed. But the trick is to fold the main holster leather over a bit, don't glue in the lining with the holster flat.

LL; Did that foot come with the Cowboy or did you grind the toe off? Here is a picture of the foot that came with my Toro. I use one that I modified when sewing close to buckles, but I think the OP's issue is the toe on his foot is long, and he can't sew that close to the buckle along the long edge. Thanks for the vid.

Best help would be the Stohlman book on How to Make Belts. When you say they are too short, how much too short? How many times did they come up too long? Your length is the tip of the tongue in the buckle to the middle hole. Think of that of the length of the belt. That's the tough measurement if you aren't taking the measurements yourself, and relying on the customer. Then add in whatever billet length you want, plus the overlap for the buckle. After a few successful belts you can make some patterns for this. In my experience, adding 2" for jeans works but is too much for dress pants. If you get one of those 6 foot metal rulers that seamstresses use, you can lay your belt out, mark it with pencil, and be correct every time.

Are there some sort of limits to this? I use Visa for all my online orders, and almost never have to sign for the package...thank goodness.

Despite the "how to" videos I've seen, I've never had success with F's dyes using anything but a spray gun. With a gun it's easier to control the amount of dye you are putting on the leather. It is kind of a pain to regulate, clean up, etc, but it's consistent and will be a lot more pleasing if you want a lighter color.

In Ohio you get a vendor's license and tax ID number at the county courthouse. Tandy Leather gives a break when you are licensed, plus then a break when you become a re-seller or something or other, I don't remember the terms. If you want to buy from Weaver Leather, you need an account with a tax ID. Other vendors will have different terms. When Siegel of Calif was open, they didn't care if I was buying with or without a tax ID, the price was the same except for volume orders.

haha!

I carry an HK compact .45 off duty. It's very heavy. I built it with 11/12 oz leather, and tried to use the thickest part. I'm on my third year of carry with it, built in the style that Particle shows in his You-Tube video, and no problems. I'd probably not use 8/9 oz, if it's not going to be lined. You can hand stitch leather, or buy a leather stitcher. Do you have a Tandy store near you? To hand stitch, you'll need an awl, thread, and a couple of needles. A stitching pony would be handy but not an absolute requirement. I would suggest taking a trip to Tandy and getting some hands on advice to get you started. Leather sewing machines are very expensive. There's a whole sub-forum on them and several people here who can give you excellent advice. But you'll only want to buy one if you're going to be selling items. Too expensive otherwise. Again, I'd go to Tandy and talk to them and eyeball the things you need. Once you make your first holster, your buddies will love it and want one for themselves. You'll easily pay for the hand tools you bought.

Highland; The Oz can be converted to 1/64 of an inch. So 8oz leather is 8/64 of an inch, or 1/8". As for the weight of the leather for an OWB, it depends on the size of the gun, if you are going to line the holster, and type of holster (such as Avenger vs. Pancake). You'll also want to get the right part of the hide (such as the back or shoulder, vs. the belly). In general (a very dangerous statement), I'd say 8/9oz is a good place to start. Veg tanning vs. chrome tanning is just how the leather is tanned. For molded holsters, you need to use veg tanned leather. I use contact cement that I buy from Tandy. There's other brands available. Slicking the edges lays the fibers down on the edge of the leather where it's been cut, by you, for the correct sized piece of leather. It may also be where two pieces are joined together. Some water and elbow grease, with a coarse material, are the main ingredients. I use glycerin soap also to assist. Search out Hidepounder's thread here on LW.net on finishing edges, it will give you the step-by-step. To mold the leather you have to get it wet. Experimentation will tell you the technique you like best. I dunk mine in hot water. I've found that my holsters get "harder" if I bake them. Some folks do this, some folks disagree with it. Your leather will get stiffer as it dries. Boning is rubbing in the impressions as you are molding. I start boning almost immediately after taking the leather from the water dunk (after shaking the excess water off and giving it a few seconds to dry). In addition to the tutorial you've mentioned, search out threads by Particle here on LW.net. Also, within those threads you'll find a link to a video he's done, that will also help answer some of your questions. Russ

How about this, found after a Google search....... http://www.amazon.com/Impact-Styrene-Sheet-White-Length/dp/B0013HKYQ4

So is the second foot at the end just another example of achieving the same thing? I didn't really see the point in changing out the hardware. I think they should drop the bad music and put some commentary in....even if it's just a few words here or there.

Adam; I have a couple thoughts: What thickness leather are you using for the chinks themselves? I make some work chaps out of 7/8 heavy oil tanned leather, and they hang better standing than sitting until they break in. They kink when sitting on the horse with legs spread for awhile. Although the measurements from the yoke to the plaquard look right, I think the design themselves may be lending toward your kinking problem. On heavier chinks or chaps I use rounded yokes and plaquards (side panels). I've found a rounded design on heavy stock works better. For sure, the belt line riding up over your jeans' belt line and hitting your ribs is a big problem, and sounds like a fitting problem. Are the back belt and front belt below your belt when you are wearing them? Western chinks are worn pretty low. Perhaps, since your aren't used to wearing western chinks, you aren't wearing them tight enough? Chinks and chaps of such heavy stock are for protection, not for closely laying against the body for "show," like leggings or other english wear. Aside from them rising up on you, maybe you are being too unhappy about with the way they fit since you aren't used to them. How about posting a picture of you wearing your chinks so we can see the problems you are talking about? Hard to imagine with them just hanging as you have them. But, those chinks look great for a first effort.

Of all the things written on the entire Leatherworker.net website, Ronnie has hit the two truths when it comes to sewing machines. (1) The support is more important than the exact model and (2) listen to Art and Wiz.

Of course, this potential is there at all times. Even a holster made like Lobo and Dick describe, if the owner is involved in a shooting, the lawyers will be studying any holster involved, especially a holster that's not made by a large manufacturer.

It's possible he doesn't have a choice. I know of a couple of agencies around me that require all off duty holsters to have a thumb-break design.

Depends on what you want to make In all seriousness, I have all three. Volume 1 has a majority of smaller items, sheaths, small cases such as eye glass cases or ammo carriers, etc. It also has a lot of basic info that you would use in other projects, such as installing dees, burnishing edges, and some basics of hand sewing. Vol 2 has medium sized cases and an extensive section on handles, zippers, and locks, and some info on making patters, making and installing welts, and several types of zipper cases. Vol 3 goes to bigger cases, a guitar case, brief case, several rifle scabbards, and a golf club bag! I've found that most of these items would not pay well because of the cost of materials, and the amount that the custom made item would cost. That is just my experience though, others may have a different customer base. I found Vol 1 to be best when I was getting started...gave basic info and plans. Vol 2 helped me with toiletry bags, portfolios, and basic boxes. The books are freestanding if you have basic knowledge of leathercraft; just look at the cover and see what you'd like to make. Otherwise, I'd start with the small, easy projects in Vol 1 and work your way up. Most of the Stohlman books are like that...they repeat sections of other material, and refer to other sections for you to go look at. I'm sure some of it was marketing, and some of it was "filler" material.

Same here. In fact, I ordered the same thing, same way, and was also happy with the transactions.

Moa; I make concealed carry holsters, mostly for police officers, and I use 5/6oz for IWB bodies, 6/7 or 7/8oz for OWB with a throat reinforcement, and 7/8oz or (occasionally) 8/9oz for OWB pancake holsters. I found that I can use thinner leather when I bake the holster, to stiffen it up and keep it open when the gun isn't in it. When I wasn't baking the leather, I was using leather that was a couple ounces heavier. I use 12/14oz Herman Oak leather for my CMSA gunleather, but that's a different animal. I've also experimented with Herman Oak leather vs. Tandy's leather. I didn't find much difference. The flesh side of the HO leather was better...smoother, looked better. The grain side can be better, but with small things like holsters you can find decent areas in almost any hide to cut out the holster. I end up using HO leather for a holster that's tooled, as I can justify a slightly higher price. If it's not tooled, or it's dyed black, as most of my CCW holster are, then regular Tandy leather works fine. I generally have a side to cut my holsters out of, but if you can get some scraps to get started, that's a great way to practice and experiment. If you end up with scraps that are a bit heavier than you need, then you can thin them out. The saddlemaker can give you some tips on that, we saddlemakers spend a LOT of time thinning leather down to what we need. I suggest you search for Particle's posts, and read up on his learning experiences. Then go to his website, and watch the video of him making a holster (Adams' Leather). I know I picked up a lot of tips and owe him a debt of gratitude for posting what he's learned. Russ

The selection and quality of hides at the Cincinnati Tandy store has always been terrible, even under Michael's management. I used to bypass the Tandy store and drive to Columbus for my hides. Now I just order them from a couple other companies. I asked Michael once if his store got poor quality hides because it doesn't sell well in Cincinnati. That store is more of a craft store. If you are truly not bashing Tandy, you should give them a call and tell them about your experience. Posting it here probably won't help the company improve anything. Unlike Michael, the girls there don't lurk this forum.

There are a lot of PITA's here, but I'm not sure they are all members of PETA

Steve has been very kind and helped me although he isn't with Artisan. Dave has also called me during his off-work hours to help me when we couldn't hook up. If he knows you need his help and are only available later on, I'm sure he'll give you a call.