TwinOaks

I gotta agree, because I don't see the economical logic in trying to sell overpriced, probably damaged leather to a niche customer base. The leather is marketed as a side, but it's stated that it's going to have some damage because it was dragged ( Wait....what do you mean the poor cow's corpse was desecrated?!?!) I also don't understand why anyone would think you could get 3-10 times the price....especially in the current market. The folks who are so anti-leather certainly aren't going to dump more money on an animal product that died of "natural causes" than they would any of the regular leather. The notion that you could sell damaged hides, which means less usable leather, for MORE money on the premise that the cow died of natural causes.....sheesh. Sounds like you need to verify that your marketing people got good grades in MK301. I don't mean to say that there's no use for grain damaged leather. I bought some from Kevin for the purpose of rough out items and test patterns. Of course, I bought it because it was a significantly reduced price because it was damaged, and I didn't need to spend $150 for an experiment. Sounds like you might recoup a little of the investment with the EOY sale, but you might also consider going ahead and splitting the really ugly pieces that would likely just tick off the customers receiving them and selling it as splits. As far as selling to a customer base that would only buy 'natural death' hides, are you offering some sort certification that the animal was dragged from a field? The reason I ask is that with a bit of PhotoShop, a word processor program, and a lack of ethics, anybody could easily print up a "It died in a field" piece of paper and tack it on anything they made with imported low grade leather.

Due to the type of feeding that machine has (feed dogs only, right?), I don't think you have enough machine. I tried it with an old singer 66, and the results were frustrating and worse. The old (and new) sewing machines just don't have enough ooomph to handle much of the type sewing you want to do. I was recently using a Viking 6440 with the built in low gear to sew two layers of soft chap, and ran into stitch length problems, skipping, bird nests, etc. It's just the wrong machine for the job. Go to the Sewing Machine subforum and read the very first 'pinned' thread. That should give you some ideas of what you need. Since you'll likely keep using the old singer anyway, you can look at Hobby Lobby, Jo Anne's, Michael's, and Hancock Fabrics for suitable needles.

First thing to do is order a manual for it. While that's in shipping, dig out all your scraps and start sewing them together. When the manual arrives, you can look up all the little hiccups you ran into on the practice pieces and know how to fix them.

Concealed as in IWB, or just a high riding belt hoslter? A widebody auto like the HK PLUS a light/laser is going to be very uncomfortable for IWB unless the customer has some pants two sizes too big. As far as making the holster, it will end up being almost a pouch ( with some molding around the trigger guard) due to the large blocky modified shape of the muzzle. For this style, I think a closed bottom is more of a benefit than an open bottom, and a retention device (strap or pinch) is a must.

5-6oz vegtan tooled with something meaningful to the both of you. Simple sleeve design, stitched or laced up the sides with a short flap to a latch of some sort. Perhaps a strap attached to d rings on the back?

Yes, that leather would work fine for making wallets. Take note that it is listed as 'soft'. That doesn't mean the texture; it's referring to the temper or stiffness of the leather. You may need to stiffen it up a bit for the outer shell, but it should work just fine for the wallet 'guts'.

Yes, there are a number of natural materials that have been used over the years. Coffee, tea, nuts, berries, flowers, and metals have all been used to stain or dye leather. I haven't tried many of them. We had a pretty comprehensive list, including directions for making them, somewhere on here.

You can make a case for an 8 track?!?!?!?? I'm in!!! These days, I'm making more sheathes, holsters, and belts. There's a limited market for purses, and the key to that market is to get one lady with the last name 'Jones', and make something nice for them to show off to their friends. Then the friends keep up with the Jones'es and pay good money. The trick is to make something "pretty dang good" for the Jones customer, and then just a tiny bit nicer for the friends so that the original customer comes back. Pretty soon, you're turning out leather with gold leaf inlays, pearl accents, and real diamond spots. Then you wake up.

Thanks for the bit of information. I'm aware of the restrictions caused by the throat depth, but that's okay. I'm currently using a Boss for most projects, and have been holding off on belt orders because of it. My use of the Champ will be primarily for belts and strap goods, with the occasional edge stitched sheath or something else where I can keep the body to the left of the needle. For parts, I may have a streak of luck....the friend who got this old behemoth for me is a machinist. Yesterday, as we cleaned it, we were both just giddy at the amount of engineering displayed in it. He made the request that if parts are needed, to let him try to make it. He doesn't have a full shop, but does have access to one at the school where he learned his trade.

After doing research right here on LW, I've determined that it's a version of the Champion 30/ Peerless machine. Campbell has the manual, but no listing for the needles. The search continues.

When I hand stitch, it's with an awl, two needles, and a lot of time. I also overstitch the lines to mark the stitch locations. I was able to get a Boss, and I STILL hand stitch the ends to lock the thread in place (I think it was Dwight that mentioned that once- great idea). If you can't afford a stitching machine, keep hand sewing. As Art once said, "Hand stitching will help you save up your money faster".

Thanks for the lead, I'll give them a call on Monday sometime. Spent a while cleaning it up this afternoon, and the biggest issue with it is that it was completely dry. We got oil in all the right places and after a little soak time, it all moves freely. The motor is burnt out, so I'll be replacing it with a DC servo and having a direct drive instead of using the clutch. All I need now is a needle or 10, the correct thread, and directions to thread the dang thing! So far, I've sent message off to Campbell-Bosworth, and Bob Kovar. Any other suggestions?

More specifically: can anyone point me towards a manual and perhaps a parts list? I've contacted Campbell to see if they have needles....any other suggestions?

If the kit is on sale for $400 off, making it $599......and they're still making money on it.....that means the value of the set is about $599. Ditto all the comments about quality vs. quantity. I fell into the "tool collector" category for a while and have a rather varied selection of tools I thought would be nice to use. Result? I have a box of mis-formed, badly chromed, unevenly shaped new Tandy tools sitting unused, and a smaller collection of the old Tandy tools (30+ years old) and a few I made myself. Spend less money and get a smaller set of quality stamps, maybe a head knife. Rulers, scissors, cutting boards, etc. are easier to find locally and one at a time. For my cutting board, I went to a kitchen supply store- 1/2" thick 12x18 was something like $8. Granite block was picked up from a counter top store for $5 for a piece of their scrap. So....200 for Hackbarth, ~50 for stamping block, cutting board, utility knife, ruler. 30-50 for a good set of scissors, or pick up the "medic's" scissors from somewhere for about $2. A few modeling tools, maybe spoon and stylus...$25, and you've got lots more money to spend on leather. Maybe even one of the SK3 swivel knives....:D

I don't have any patterns per se, but you could look at the Chaylor-Fenneli interiors that Springfield Leather has. You can see how to make the pockets, etc., in the thread "making wallet guts" by Kevin King (pinned in 'How do I'). The easiest thing to do, and one that will produce fantastic results, is to order one of the liners from them and add your own tooled back. http://springfieldleather.com/store/department/125/Chaylor-Fenneli-Interiors/

Skald, thanks for the clarification, it's always good to get more info. (well, most of the time, anyway). I guess I should revise that statement to say I like the Scandinavian style knives - simple but very effective; all that is needed and little that isn't.

How do I put this......hmmm. Ah, like this: My friend and business partner just got me a Champion. Now that I've joined the "my sewing machine is older than me" club, I'm gonna need some help with it. It's one of the Champion shoe machines, model CS11464, and while it's not a basket case, it needs some TLC. So, anyone with some info, please chime in. Right now, the motor is kinda flopping around on it's make-do bracket, the belts are missing, and the pressor foot is operated by a piece of baling wire. She's in a little bit of rough shape, but that'll only be temporary I've got my rebuild project, for sure, and I'm looking forward to it.

Home Depot for "Prep-n-etch" driveway/concrete cleaner. It's phosphoric acid, and when mixed in a 1:3 ratio with water creates a nice home brew phosphating solution. It needs to be pretty warm, and it stinks, so do it outside if you can. But....here's the important thing: A Parkerized finish is not a finish. It's incomplete. Parkerizing parts is essentially just one step in the process, and should be viewed as more of a surface preparation than the finished product. "Okay, wise guy, so why did the military have so many Parkerized guns, huh?" Because most of the weapons being parkerized were expected to spend at least a few weeks covered in cosmoline, in a crate, in the hold of some ship sailing off to a war theater......and it's significantly quicker than blueing, since the 'cold blue' formulas weren't available back then. Parkerizing creates a nice surface for cosmoline to stick to. If you want Parkerized, go ahead, but it still needs some other form of treatment to be "finished". Something like CeraKote, Duracote, etc. If you want a really good finish, look at rust bluing and carding. Besides....Brass just looks better with leather.

Golly.....where to start.....? Wet forming is somewhat of a misnomer, in most cases, and for our uses should probably be called 'damp' forming. If the edges are curling, it's too wet. Do a search for "Casing Leather" by Hidepounder. All you need to do is rehydrate the fibers in the leather, and it takes a lot less water than you might think. Eco-dyes are water based. If you get eco-dyed leather wet...the colors WILL run. No matter what, that collar will have be sealed really well to keep from coloring the neck of the wearer. IMO, it'd work better with spirit dyes, and yes, you should put a light coat of oil OR some other conditioner on the pieces. The leather needs to be conditioned to remain a little flexible and not make creaking noises when the wearer moves. Have you considered Vinegaroon? Do a search on it, it's a great process if you're using BLACK. For the assembly stage...I'd suggest spraying the dyes (if you're going to use them) or dip dyeing, then fit the pieces together and allow to dry. Once dry, disassemble, and seal with a spray....several light coats so you don't get any runs. Also, have you considered lining that collar? I get the feeling that somewhat stiff veg-tan AND pieces of rivets could get rather uncomfortable, which I didn't pick up as the intent since you stated Goth, not BDSM. Consider lacing or buck stitching the pieces together, maybe with some color matching "satin" cord? (personally, I love the red 'satin' cord against black leather) You'd get a great contrast and it'd be a lot more comfortable, and more adjustable.

It's really going to depend on the quality of the sheath. If it's a flea market special, the chance are that it isn't even leather, or that it's chrome tanned and about as thick as a paper match. On the other hand, if it's a good sheath, made out of good leather, then your options open up considerably. If it's the first.....just make a new sheath for it, and include the name. If it's the second, you might be able to carve in the letters, provided you can guess at the finish and remove it with a q-tip and deglazer...and then tool, color, and refinish it. With all the things that could go bad while trying to customize an existing sheath......why not use the opportunity to build a truly custom sheath for it, and just make one?

Thanks for posting the pic, Skald. I'm a fan of the puukko (though the handle indicates more of a Leuku) knives and that is one beautiful example. I also like the attachment method of the leather collar to the wooden sheath bottom....that's rather ingenious as well as artistic.

I think the general consensus is that CT should NOT be used on the interior of the holster....for the reasons you read. You can certainly try sealing it, and I can't think of a reason you can't, but you also need to be aware that it will not carve or mold like veg-tan. That means that decorative carving or stamping will not look as good, and unless you're going after a simple "bikini" holster that has no molding or retention, it won't be very useful.