TwinOaks

If you don't have the steel cut to where it should be, then stropping won't help you. You have to make sure you have the correct angle and a good edge before stropping. The stropping polishes the blade (that's the black stuff you see- minute metal particles) but in very tiny amounts. You could eventually get a sharp blade with it, but you'd probably prefer to have it done sooner than later. If you put the rouge on leather, use the flesh side. Better yet, use cardboard from the back of a notebook, or cereal box, (or Fedex envelope) and put it on a counter top, then put the rouge on that. Since it's flatter and harder, you're less likely to press too hard and round the edge of the blade. Instead of adding more rouge when the strop is completely loaded, just get a new piece of cardboard.

Take a magnified look at the edge of the blade. You may need to put them on a stone to remove a burr at the edge. The burr is caused by sharpening away from the edge (pulling the blade) and leaving a VERY thin edge that rolls or curls over. To cure it, you just need to follow the bevel and sharpen INTO the edge.....lightly. This will remove the burr and leave you with a 'solid' edge. Then re-strop. You may also have some micro-serrations/ gaps on the cutting edge. Do the same thing to repair it. Use the finest stone you have- I use a diamond sharpener that feels absolutely smooth, and only a few strokes to wear off the burr (when I find one).

Really an excellent job all around. A little more detail on the finished edge, but I can't see anywhere else to make improvements.

try plastic shipping bands from home depot or lowes ....the ones that they wrap up and throw in the trash. Glue it down then stitch it. ...and for future reference, this is an international community.

Here ya go. Myriam is a member here and was kind enough to give us this tute: http://myriam.dakotabraiding.com/Tutorials/Leash/Leash.html

The only way to prevent the sound transmission through the floor is to stamp/set/pound/hammer somewhere there won't BE any transmission to the floor. My suggestions would be do as much of your 'regular' work at the table as far as carving, drawing, tracing, etc., and when you need to use the maul/hammer set the slab in your lap or on your bed. The slab has enough mass to absorb the impact of the tool/punch, but if it's on a surface that doesn't transmit vibration, then she won't hear it as well, or at all. .....or you could sneak into her place and 'misplace' the hearing aids..... ...but really, if it's that big of an issue, you might consider sitting outside (weather permitting) to do the 'loud' work. It might even garner you some interest by some customers if they see you working.

In the spirit of the other Mike's post, one of the reasons for NOT molding inside the trigger guard is that it subjects that bit of leather to additional wear. If you're lining the holsters, that's one thing, but if it's just flesh side, then regardless of how well you smoothed/slicked it, it will eventually get fuzzy. And just my opinion, but the fire control portion of any gun is the wrong place to be gaining fuzzies. There's also the small point that if that is part of the tension of the holster, then as it wears, and the leather gets 'flexible' where the trigger guard slides past it, your holster will lose tension/retention. If you look at the pinned holster tutorial in the beginning of this sub-forum (the one by Jim Simmons), he teaches how to measure the gun and build the holster to that measurement. The holster is sized to be slightly spread laterally by the width of the cylinder, and axially by the height of the frame from trigger guard to top strap, but never to the point that the leather is 'rubbed raw'. The result is that the whole holster grips the gun, along more of the gun, not one or two specific areas that may be prone to breakdown from repeated use.

I've started using the home-brew that Katsass mentioned on here, and have good results. (Mop-n-glo) I've only had wrinkling/cracking w/ neatlac when it was put on too heavy. A light coat, rubbed in, hasn't peeled/cracked/wrinkled anymore than plain leather. The EDC pouch I made for my leatherman was finished with resolene and after drying and wearing off the 'tacky' feel to it, it has remained almost like the day I built it. There's some wear from rubbing on the fiberglass bucket on my work truck, but the leather is in excellent condition. CTS: If you're using the ECO colors, about the ONLY way you're gonna get a good even coating on your work, without rubbing it off, is to spray it on. Also, pretty much any of the water based ECO dyes are gonna run with exposure to water. The only ways to waterproof leather are: Wax finish, lacquer finish, plastic finish, or use chrome tanned leather that's color fast. Before you give up on the acrylic finishes, try spraying (with an airbrush) at least two coats, with appropriate drying time between them.

If you'll check the 'dyes, adhesives.....' forum, you'll find several discussions and tutorials on vinegaroon, including at least one really long one where we've delved into the chemistry behind it. As for a using on a belt? Oh, most certainly! I don't have a big tub to dunk it in, so I use a gallon ziploc. Roll belt, drop in bag, pour in 'enough' 'roon to coat everything and start shaking it around. I'm not so sure about 'roon in a spray bottle- the overspray is the issue. Vinegaroon is ferric acetate and WILL stain things it gets on....probably permanently. I use a cheap 1 inch brush to apply it, and don't worry about 'over applying' it. It just soaks in looks that much better. If you have some spotting issues with it, just soak through from the other side. Some folks use a baking soda bath to neutralize it, I just use a cold water rinse. The longer you wear the 'roon, the better it looks.

Hi there and welcome to Leatherworker.net! You say you're on the MS coast? And a SeaBee? You must be down at Gulfport CBC. I'm on base about once a month! I live over in Mobile, but work the Gulfport area as part of my route, so we might be able to meet up sometime. Drop a PM (private message) if you're interested. Mike

oops!!!! Yeah, dura edge. Although, I bet duraCOAT on leather would be pretty resistant to damage!`

Welcome to Leatherworker.net!! I hate to be the first to say this, and possibly discourage your interest in leather work, but $100 is not going to get you much in the way of tools and leather. I suggest spending what you need to for the leather, and use whatever tools you have instead of buying a bunch. There are many, many, many people who have turned out fantastic pieces of leather work that didn't have "leather" tools. I'll dig around in a bit to see if I can find it, but we had a member from somewhere over in Scandanavia 'show off' an absolutely beautiful artistic piece that she made with ....a manicure set. The only tool I can think of that you'd need that is commonly only found in leather work (besides stamps) is a diamond awl. That refers to the blade shape, not any particular material. One of our members reports making diamond awls out of bicycle spokes, so if you're handy with tools, you can make a lot of your own. I have made several stamps from SS bolts. So....local sources you can find things- Hobby Lobby- they have several items you can use, including stamp sets, needles, thread (I use the waxed linen sold as "On A String" brand) Hardware store, grocery store, and wallyworld- Mop-n-glo is a reasonable substitute for Resolene. Dap Weldwood is an excellent leather adhesive, Olive Oil can be used to condition leather, Deft lacquer makes a nice finish, bolts make nice stamps after a little work...so do nails. Forget the 'leather sewing needle' with the large eye because it breaks easily. Just get a pack of needles from wally world's craft dept., I think it's a little under $2 for 8 needles in different sizes. You need an overstitch wheel? No, you don't. Use a fork to lay out your stitches, and start saddle stitching (two needles)- it'll pull down nice and tight to the leather. Edger- use sand paper to shape the edges. A good knife- you can use pretty much any knife to cut leather. It needs to be scary sharp and you need to be careful, even if it means more than one pass to cut the leather. You can also use scissors. Need a tool to make a line a consistent distance from the edge? Get a $2 compass from the school supply section. If you absolutely HAVE to get a stitch groover, get the free hand one and put it in the compass, replacing the little pencil. Now you can make lines a LONG way from the edge, or right next to it as you want......and a freehand groover in a compass will do circles. Swivel knife? If you have to make do, use the square 'chisel' blade in an exacto knife. Heck, Al Stohlman (IIRC) started out with a sharpened screwdriver. In short, the tools we use in leather working were developed to make jobs a little easier, but are in no way the only tools you can -or should- use. Need little bitty circles as part of a background? Take the ink ball out of pen, and start tooling. Need an interesting background for foliage (trees and bushes)- put a torx bit on a handle and start stamping. Get creative! ......and hey, if you start using some of your wife's make up accessories for working on leather, I bet you she'll find a way to get you some leather tools.

Take a look at Fiebing's Duracoat.

Airbrushes work really well for even distribution. A couple of overlapping passes and it's done. Don't forget to 1. Either clean the AB immediately, or 2. Keep cleaning supplies on hand and get good at disassembling your AB for cleaning. I've found I get better coverage and a uniform THIN layer that loses the tacky feeling quicker. I did this to a leatherman pouch that is on my hip every day. Three years and counting, the leather still looks good.

Determine the width you want for the tapered section, subtract from the base width. Divide that number by two and that's the amount you cut off each side. For the transition, mark a point from one end of the strap as the beginning of the transition, and use a repeatable pattern- diameter of a punch, section of a French curve, stencil, etc. Once you've marked it, cut it out. If you have access to to a clicker, it's even easier to do ....once you've designed your die. The clicker is the way to go if you will be producing a large number of the same pattern, and you can make a hammer die (cutter) if you can't afford a press set up.

deglazer or denatured alcohol, possibly acetone.

If you have been making any leather products, you probably have scraps laying around. Take those scraps and sand, scrap, chop, grind, etc. to make your own dust. If you skive any projects, all those little peelings can be used.

This thread should answer your questions: http://leatherworker...showtopic=25239 If you have questions about a specific machine, post it in the 'sewing machine' forum for faster response.

We have a thread that specifically addresses this that is quite long. Several of our more prominent holster makers had some VERY good insight to this. Short version- You do face liability issues with anything you produce or provide. If you're going to be selling to the public, you should consider carrying insurance. And even though you may NOT be at fault, it doesn't mean that you won't go broke proving it. If you're going to provide holsters as a regular item....form an LLC, and get some insurance.

The stitched in sight channel is nothing more than a thin strip of leather, much like you'd use for a welt in a knife sheath, but sewn in a straight line. One on each side of the slide provides a bearing surface for the slide to ride against without snagging the front sight.