TwinOaks

Nice work, it looks as practical as a belt slide, but a good bit sturdier because of the height. I really like the inlay too.

Hi and Welcome to Leatherworker.net, best site on the entire web. Also, Thank You for your service. Now to your question....stitch lines on holsters. They should be as close as you can get them while still allowing for a smooth draw. This will depend a lot on the thickness and temper (stiffness) of your leather. Most holster makers have little formulas they use such as 5/6 oz leather gets +3/8ths inch, 6/7 gets +1/2 inch, etc. What this means is when you trace the profile of the weapon, you need to add a certain amount of linear clearance from the tracing to allow the leather to bend. Interesting thing is that most holstermakers have their own 'formula' and it's a little different from others- to each his/her own. You'll develop your own as you develop your technique. When in doubt, mock up with card board first, it's cheaper than leather! Looking forward to seeing your work.

I'd guess the hair is doubled over and held with a tie (maybe rubber band). That would help make the 'ball' on the end.

Welcome to Leatherworker.net, Jack. As you've seen it's a great site where you can feed your new addiction hobby. You happen to be in luck for finding leather, because Tandy is offering single shoulders for ~$15 right now. Give 'em a call, and you'll be on your way.

The darkening of the tooling is called the burnishing effect. To achieve it, the leather must be properly cased- consistent moisture content throughout the leather. Search "Casing Leather", for lots of topics on it. Once the leather is cased, it's carved (cut, usually with a swivel knife) and then tooled. The compression of the leather causes it darken. If your beveling doesn't get the burnishing effect, the leather is either [1] the wrong type of leather- veg tan leather is best for carving, [2] too dry - the leather is difficult to tool, or [3] too wet - this is most likely, as the leather will tool, but won't keep the burnishing. Properly cased leather will look dry, but will feel cool to the touch. There's a lot more to it than just spraying or sponging some water on it, too. You have to wait a while for the water to penetrate into the leather's center. Some folks wet the leather, then let it sit overnight in the fridge before starting the carving/tooling on it.

Click on my name to view my profile then select 'send message'- called a private message, or PM- and send me your mailing address. Ray sent me more than I needed at the time so I'll pay it forward, and send you some.

How many are you looking for?

A rein rounder is a device, usually a plate with consecutively smaller holes, through which a strap is drawn to make it round. Since you're gonna use them for cores, you might try using a board with some holes bored in it. Smooth it with sand paper, add saddle soap, and start rounding.

You can use whatever you want for the spacer- I cut washers the same diameter as my loops, but for the single wide loop, you may find that a strip the width of the loop would look and perform better. Also, if you have a place to source them, use DOT snaps (aka 'pull the dot' snaps) as they only unsnap in one direction and are MUCH more secure than regular snaps.

Something else to consider is the backing to the loop. Most of the holsters I've seen and all of the ones I've built have a spacer behind the loop. Even if the loop is stitched in place, the addition of the spacer will help the loop fit over the pants better. I also have to agree with the use of a snap attachment. The back of the loop (against the holster body) can be attached in a non-rotating method and still use a snap or two on the front of the loop to facilitate wearing or removal of the holster. The addition of a spacer also gives you a little more leather with which to hide the prongs of a t-nut if you decide to use them.

Another possibility I haven't seen mentioned- When you molded the holster, did you by chance use a heat gun to set the leather? I've done this trying to 'speed things up' and ended up scorching the leather on the corners. The result was nearly identical to yours at the trigger guard. If this happened (could also happen in an oven if the temp is too high) you can either decide it's okay for personal use, or rebuild it. There's no fixing scorches. IIRC, not even vinegaroon turned the scorches black.

Welcome to Leatherworker.net, goot. The collective knowledge base here can either answer or direct you to the answer to just about any leather related questions you may have. P.S. Hope you get the hill fixed.

Go to the "how do I do that" section and look for the pinned topic on finishing edges by Bob Park. Read it and take notes. Next, follow Dwight's recommendations. Glue all the way to the edge. For my casing, I use a spray bottle (cheap model) to apply apply water to the areas that will be molded without soaking the whole piece. It's very important to let the leather sit a bit before molding. It needs the time for the moisture to penetrate into the leather instead of just getting wet on the surface- called casing.

??? Slide stop? I have to agree with BOOMstick on reasons for boning and molding. My EDC for my 1911 will hold upside down, sideways, jumping, etc., ad infinitum. It's because of the close stitch lines and detail molding to get the leather to grab the steel. Even as secure as it is, a quick tug in the right direction and it draws like silk.

P.S. And I'm gonna spend the extra money up front this time to get "more machine" so that 2 months after getting a 9 inch arm machine I don't have to drop another $2000 to get more machine. It's easier to spend it once and be done- practice sewing machines at ebay values eventually add up to more than the cost of the right one.

Wizcrafts, I didn't know you were watching and taking notes of my first sewing machine experience!!! I tried the "buy cheap and make it work for you" route. A singer 66 just doesn't have enough ass to stitch together holsters, and hand wheeling it through two layers of pig lining leather just takes the fun right out of making wallet guts. I think Doug has a great perspective- if someone wants to learn to work on sewing machines. The very simple fact is it takes a particular set up for a machine to stitch leather. I have personally typed this several times in numerous topics: A heavy duty leather stitcher is a commercial machine that is modified (usually through speed reducer and motor changes) to sew leather. Yes, there are exceptions like The Boss- it was never designed as a high speed commercial stitcher. Now, on to the premise that it's better to start small.. I have to agree to a point. Buying the 66 has made me realize something about sewing machines- you get what you pay for. My proof? I have a $51 sewing machine that's holding down a patch of carpet under my table that is just about useless for my hobby. And since I'm just a hobbiest at this point, I work with leather because I enjoy it. What I don't enjoy is working up a design, cutting out the pieces from my rapidly dwindling supply of leather, and getting madder than hell because the cheap tool I thought would work just chewed a long strip from the grain side because I had to adjust the presser foot tension too high so I could get a decent stitch. Lesson: Draw on the collective experience HERE, and buy a sewing machine that will do what I want and a little more, if I ever need it. Some mistakes need to be made to learn from them, and not getting enough machine was one I made. I won't make the mistake again. Hopefully, this topic (and others like it) will prevent new members from getting a piece of junk that falls short of their expectations and ruins an otherwise pleasant experience. What did I learn about the machine.......hmmmm, well, since I spent half my allotted 'leather time' trying to get the dang machine to work, and the other half clearing jams, I didn't have time to take it apart to see how it works. And I really don't care to. I'e already learned it won't do the job, so why would I want to spend more time on it? If it's something that works...that's reason enough to learn to maintain it. A long time ago, in a thread that's far, far away, Art made a comment that I'll have to paraphrase :"Save up for a decent [stitching] machine. Hand sewing will help you save faster" ...and he's RIGHT! If the portent of this topic was to extol the virtues of hand powered machines because they're simpler and less expensive than their cousins...well, pardon the rant. But the same lesson applies. Utilize the collective experience available here. The "I wanna try it" attitude may be an acceptable reason to buy less machine, but when several decades of experience says "get more machine to start with", at some point the perspective should be clear. There is a place for machines like the Boss, no doubt. There is nothing wrong with them, provided they do what the user wants. I don't see a Toro3K/Cobra class 3 machine as being particularly portable for use at the hunting lodge or for use in a wagon or calvacade. Similarly, I don't see a Boss being particularly useful for someone wanting to make a lot of lined belts in a relatively short amount of time. Personally, I've all but quit making holsters because of the time it takes to stitch them by hand. The last one I made (tuckable IWB) I sold for a flat $50.....it's all the market would bear. I figure for just labor (including design and layout) I made about $9.50/hr, but that doesn't include the cost of materials - so much for profit margin. I'm saving up for one of the 16 inch arm machines because it will be much more pleasant to me to sit down and stitch a holster in minutes instead of hours. That time I save is infinitely more valuable than a bit of money spent on a machine that doesn't do what I want.... .but: "Knowing I blew $75 bucks (singer 66 +shipping) for a POS ebay machine instead of just saving up and getting something good to start with: Priceless!!!"

Welcome to Leatherworker.net!

Or you can take a couple of scraps of leather, load them with your 'rouge' (polishing compound) and give your hands something to do while watching T.V.

If you have continuing problems with wallowed or stripped holes, you might try installing a heli-coil. I have used them in other applications (typically auto-repair) to repair stripped holes. It looks like a coil spring, but is designed to thread into a hole and have a bolt/screw threaded into it.

If you would, post a pic of your work. That way we can 'point' to specific areas and make suggestions. It is a little difficult to read print and say "Do this here, do that over there..." Also, there's more to 3D carving than 'slice, smack, smack, smack.....' There's also quite a bit of work that occurs with other tools. Then there's embossing- Some of that 3D work you see is actually 3D, where the leather is pushed from the flesh side and stands out from the surface. That effect, combined with proper carving and tooling can yield results which are, in a word ......*spectacular*.

I made a little sheath knife out of a cir. saw blade styled after a Mora knife. Using a torch I took it to the transitional state and quenched in water. (oil might have been better) Tempered it to "straw" w. the torch and parkerized it. No issues with edge holding that I can see. Of course, it doesn't get hard use like a field knife should, but for the little bit of testing I did, it held up. I guess a lot will depend on the blade steel itself, too. Electrathon, are you using new saws or finding old ones and cleaning them up?

Ken, I assure you that the surprise of getting a custom belt will be that much better knowing that it'll fit correctly.

My wife is irrationally afraid of snakes......I can't wait to start braiding up one that she can't hurt with the broom.

Make sure you retemper the edge after any grinding, and take your time so you don't have any soft spots. A lot of circular saw blades are made from L6 steel which while durable, can rust pretty quickly. For your primary taper, try 22 degrees.