stu925

Nice work on the chairs, they're very nice. Nice to see I'm not the only one with too many hobbies. Stu

I'm sure the original maker of that holster would be very flattered by your reproduction. Your stamps are definitely crisper but other than that I'd say spot on recreation, nice work. Stu

The tooling around here amazes me, some truly talent people here. Nice work. Stu

Beautiful work as usual Rohn. I find myself drawn to that style of holster more and more, may have to make one for a Model 10 I picked up last month. First I need to find some time to work on my own projects. There's worse problems to have I suppose than not having time for your own stuff. Stu

I've always kind of considered pocket guns to be mouse guns. I know that's not always the case but it's kind of the way I've always seen them. Not so anymore, a buddy of mine asked about a pocket holster for a Kimber Solo. I didn't know much about the Solo other than it was a 9mm which I wrongly assumed would make it a little big for a pocket gun. I ordered up a bluegun and when it got here I was amazed by how small the thing is. It's actually smaller than my wife's Sig Sauer P232 in .380. So anyway I set about making a pocket holster for it. The pictures are a little deceiving because looking at them your brain says it's a lefty holster but in reality the back piece goes to the outside in your right pocket to break up the outline of the gun. It came out pretty nice, I really like the color (Saddle Tan). The holster fits the gun very nicely without being tight which would hinder your draw. It also stays put in your pocket when you draw. The only issue I have with the whole thing is the fact that with the back piece there you can't get a full firing grip on the gun before drawing. You will have to readjust your grip after drawing the gun. This really is a trade-off concealability for rapid deployment. The gun just about disappears when the holster is dropped in the pocket and really looks like an over sized wallet or cell phone. A really savvy gun guy (or gal) might spot it but 99.9% of the general population will never notice it. Here's the pics: The holster will stay open in your pocket so reholstering is a snap although you may want to remove the holster first so that the trigger is covered when you stick it in your pocket. Not too shabby for a first attempt, too bad the burnishing on the toe gets all roughed up in the pocket. Need to find a better way to protect that, any ideas? Stu

Thanks Rohn, I appreciate it. Stu

Must be the fact that deer season is just around the corner but I've been very busy lately. Had a guy ask about making a new sheath for his old hunting knife (an old Schrade). Apparently he had someone make him a sheath a few years ago and it just didn't hold up, the retaining strap loosened up to the point that the knife can be partially drawn without popping the snap and the edge started to de-laminate from the welt. He didn't much care what color I used so I went with Fiebing's dark brown. I'm especially proud of this one and think it's probably my best sheath to date. The edges burnished up nice and with the gluing and stitching it will never come apart. Here's the old sheath: Here's the new one:

Thank you. That's a good point, I was concerned about the muzzles going in the dirt also but since their rifles are true carbines, the barrels are 2" shorter than mine. That combined with the fact that their rifles should sit a full 2"-2.5" higher than mine should keep the muzzles out of the dirt. Muzzle up would definitely be a better way to carry but since the Marlins are muzzle heavy and the saddle ring is at the rear of the receiver I have no idea how you'd accomplish that. Generally I think the idea is to carry the rifle in your hands and only let it hang when you need your hands for other things, these slings would excel for that since it would be very natural to drop your hand and bring the rifle to your shoulder and get on target. I'm not too crazy about having my foot/leg covered by the muzzle either. Stu

Had a request to build a couple of single point slings for a father & son who hunt with Marlin Saddle Ring Carbines. I was concerned about using swivel snaps on them because I figured even brass would mar the bluing on the receiver. He opted for nylon (plastic) swivel snaps from strapworks.com which really are the weak point of the whole system but are cheap enough at $1 each that they can be considered consumables and easily replaced. He wanted them in Fiebings light brown with aged brass hardware to cut down on glare. So after looking around and realizing no one makes aged brass chicago screws I set about trying a couple of different methods of aging them. I settled on a recipe using vinegar and salt and then heated the screws in a 400 degree oven and dropped them in the solution. About a week later I had 4 Chicago screws with a nice greenish patina (the patina doesn't show up too well in the pictures though). I don't own a saddle ring carbine so I had to use a couple of zip ties on my rifle to mimic the SR carbine, it works but mine sits a bit lower than theirs will. I used a double keeper system on the strap to keep it from flopping around, one is attached at the buckle and one slides on the strap and just slides down over the loose end. The system is comfortable, the rifle is easily accessible and quick to shoulder. I was skeptical of the whole idea at first but after building it I would definitely consider one if I owned a saddle ring carbine. I won't bore you guys with pics of both slings since they're identical, I'll just give you the best pictures I have, it'll be a mixture of pics from both slings. I could have spent a little more time burnishing but honestly it felt like my hands were going to fall off about 1/2 way through the burnishing. I really need to make that clamp with the bed rails if I'm going to be doing any more of these. Stu

Off to a good start with those holsters, keep at it. Stu

I was not at all pleased with the USMC black when I tried it. As I recall I was using twice as much dye using that stuff to get the coverage I get using the Pro oil dye. I go through a lot of black dye compared to everything else I use so I went back to the black Pro Oil dye. Glad you had better luck with it. Stu

Love those friction style sheaths, I have to try one for my old Schrade LB7. Nice work. Stu

Those Redhawks are built light tanks, my buddy's got one chambered in .454 Casull and it's a ton of fun to shoot. That .44 Mag must be a pussycat with the weight of that piece. The steel rod is genious and looks great, did you do anything to rust proof the steel first or is it stainless? I'd be concerned about moisture getting to it if it's just mild steel, a good goat of clear coat would certainly be cheap insurance if you make another one. Again the holster looks great, nice work. Stu Edited to add: Just spent a few minutes looking over your web site, beautiful work. Bookmarked the page in case I need some inspiration.

It's an interesting design, do you like having the spare magazine on the same side as the firearm? I keep my spares on the off side which for me would be my left, that may magazine changes are all done without having to change my grip on the gun. The advantag to your design is it's all in one neat package but I'm wondering about those reloads and how inconvenient it might be. Stu

Nicely done, looks great. Is there a piece of spring steel under that piece of leather that runs next to the scope slot? That would certainly give it a lot more rigidity and keep that slot from closing up which would make reholstering awful difficult. I might have to consider something similar if I decide to scope my blackhawk. Stu

Yours is very similar to the design I used for mine, yours is much nicer though. I built mine out of scrap pine that came from a shipping crate from a very large machine. Nice work and cherry happens to be one of my favorite woods. Stu

I think Dwight said everything that needs to be said on this one. I like the brown with the natural give a nice contrast. Nice work. Stu

The Han Solo (my favorite of all the Star Wars characters) rig looks pretty cool. I'm sure your boy will be thrilled with it. I built an Indiana Jone holster for my oldest boy last year, that turned out pretty well too. Hey my kids will be carrying a flame thrower and a bazooka this halloween. They both decided to go as soldiers so I got to build the weapons, I have to say the flame thrower came out pretty cool. Stu

Tooling looks good, a very nice belt. Stu

Ah that explains it, there were some very small snaps in the boxes too so that fits the wallet making theme. Thanks for the info. Stu

A while back I got a couple boxes of miscllaneous leatherworking hardware from a buddy. He came by the boxes somewhere along the line and had no idea what to make of the stuff so he's of no help here. In one of the boxes is a huge pile of these things and I have no idea what they are or what their purpose may be. I scrolled through Tandy's web site looking for something similar but struck out. I presume they're for handbags/pocketbooks since there was a ton of other bag hardware in the boxes. Any help on what these and how they're used would be great. Stu

Nice work all around. I might suggest some sort of stiffener on thos IWB holsters, helps keep the mouth of the holster open when you draw. It can be a bit frustrating to try and reholster without one. Otherwise excellent work, keep at it. Stu

I hadn't though of chicago screws, that's a good idea. Just be aware the stitching each of those loops can be a bit tedious and would be the perfect application for a sewing machine. Especially on a belt like that where you cot so many to do. Stu

They look great, nice work. I just took a sling order the other day myself, guy wants 2 single point slings for Marlin saddle ring carbines, have to use a plastic connector which I'm not crazy about but we'll see how it goes. Stu

I like it, looks great. I think he meant he'd like it better if it was lined with another piece of leather. Lining it would indeed make it a beautiful rig but might be overkill for what you were intending. I do my cartridge loops the same way pulling each loop through a slot in the belt. I think that looks nicer than to have it on the outside. I've always stitched inbetween the loops though, I presume yours are glued and then stitched every few loops or just at the ends? Do you find that the loops ever separate from the belt? That would be my only concern with not stitching every loop. Great job on the rig, I'm sure your son will be thrilled. Stu