John D Dennehy

Welcome to the forum. Check with Tandy/Leather Factory. Years ago they sold a pancake holster pattern set. Numerous sizes and variations were in there. All adaptable for other pistols.

Cool idea Brent, I can't remember seeing Egyptian stuff on leather before. I'm sure it's done but new to me.

Good job, Carry on. Semper Fi!

Once again Shirley, Outstanding! Semper Fi

Very nice, very period, very practical and very cool!

KYDEX, even though it is a dirty word for leather sheath makers, would work as well. It's available through knife makers supply outfits and not very expensive. Cut your strip and heat it with a heat gun, wrap it around your mold to form it. When it cools it will act like a spring. If you don't like the way it turns out just re do it. For some it might be easier than trying to temper spring steel. John D

Butch, I have a box full of sheath patterns but find it is usually quicker for me to start from scratch. This is because I am working on custom stuff and not producing the same sheath for the same knife over and over. There are numerous articles, books and DVD's on sheath making basics. There has been numerous articles in The Leather Crafters and Saddlers Journal over the years and I think there was one or two on horizontal designs. Check their website for back issues on sheaths. They have a special catagory for them so it's easy to find. Here is a horizontal sheath I recently made. As you can see from this and the others posted, everyone has their own idea. I don't like keeper straps that blades can cut so I used a pin lock system on this one. The knife is similar to the first one Dave shows. The pin goes in right behind the blade and the snap keeps it in place. Let me know if I can be of any help with working out your pattern. John D

Vergez Blanchard VB3.646 Enchancree Knife with finger hold and Bubinga handle click to enlarge Scouter - Thanks for the heads up on this. Here is a very similar knife from Siegal Leather. I think Weaver Leather sells the Don Carlos version as well. For the price you paying it's worth the gamble. You will get very frustrated if it does not hold an edge for long. Like some of the others asked; let us know how it holds up. CLICK HERE TO ORDER https://www.siegelofca.com/view_cat_product...&curpage=3#

Very nice looking Buscadero Rig! Did you machine or hand stitch the bullet loops? John D

Very nice!

Warren, I found the article in the Jan-Feb 95 issue of LCSJ. A holster for the buckarooin all of us. What I remember being so cool is just a bit of wire. It is holding the leather strap to the belt wnd looks set up to position the piece at the correct distance. Nothing special. I am sure there are tricks to learn about it. I think the biggest thing is patterns and templates to mark all the holes in the bullet loop strap and the belt. This would take time to work out but if doing lots of gunbelts the it would save hours down the road. .22 loops are not as bad as you might think. You don't have to take to many stitches for each one. Let us know if you discover any secrets.

Ah yes my Son, you ask the question of the eternal mystery. When you can snatch the pebble from my hand, then you will have the answer. Just kidding. It seems to be simple but it is really a tough question. You could easily be up to $90.00 with the time and materials spent on that project. If you paid your self $12/hr x 1.7 to cover SS, taxes, etc... Add in about $6 for materials X 1.3. Seriously now, if you think about that $12.00 an hour is a pretty low wage and even charging the full $20.40/hr is way cheaper than any other service offered. I just paid $90/hr to have my computer fixed. That is just one way to figure things up. With all of that being said, the stumbling block seems to be convincing the public (customers) that leather craftspersons should be fairly compensated. Even a hobbiest that is doing this for pure enjoyment should get compensated fairly when asked to do a project. Can you get $90 for a sheath like the one you just made? (Very nice by the way) Realistically the $37.00 is more like it. With the tooling I would add more. I read an interesting comment in Shop Talk (Jan 08) issue. The Editor mentioned that we should all update and modernize the financial end of our business. His final comment was " We should stop subsidizing our customers' recreational activties because they certainly don't subsidize ours. By that I mean many shops continue to underprice their work which undermines everyone else" I think he hit it right on the head. Just my $.02 x 1.7 plus inflation......

Nice piece LJ. I would be interested in seeing the belt loop and how you did it. Here is just an observation for what it's worth. The knife looks to be loose in the sheath. There is no hilt to really strap in. You might think of a pouch style for this type of knife. Another way to use the keeper is with a pin lock. Kenny Rowe started doing this log ago so it's not something I thought up. My customer asked for a horizontal sheath for his favorite knife. The knife has no hilt or anything else to mold around. He wanted something unique. This is what I came up with for him. The pin goes into the hole directly behind the choil of the knife. The snap keeps it there. Not that I have all the answers but you want the sheath and knife to become a unit. That's my two cents worth. I'm not knocking your work just offering a different approach.

Hello John, Beautiful work. I looked at your site and saw the name of an old friend of the family. If I can find them I wil dig out a couple of pics of Chas and send them to you. When I showed him one of them he damn near fell off the chair and begged for a copy. I hope to see more of your work.

Very cool John, Looks like maybe some Daniel Winkler influence in your work?

SWEEEEEET!

Warren, I will write a note to myself to find that article. The problem I had with it is that he didn't explain how to use the thing. It's just the picture. I find that lot's of instructional articles are that way. I have to go over mine time and again because I know what's going on and it's easy to assume that everyone else does. The other version might be that the article is more for "here I am, ain't I great" than a real how to build it. I am not saying that anyone of ever been guilty of that but sometimes I wonder. Dusty has a book and DVD on holsters but I havn't looked at either to see if it's in there. I don't think you can go wrong by refering to Packing Iron for references. That's an outstanding book. Anyway, I will find it and figure out some way to get the information to you.

Very nice! Who is the group? What is the Gaelic translation? I love this stuff.

Tempus, What kind of holsters are you interested in making? Are you interested in carving to start with as well? Tandy/Leather factory sell starter kits for tools. Before you go off half cocked decide on a place to begin. Scouter recommends DVD's and the Stohlman books. I couldn't agree more. I wish there were DVD's when I started. Is there a saddle shop or leather worker near you? Most are happy to give advice if not more. Most Tandy stores have classes available. Your budget and desire are the only things you have to consider. Some of the folks in here have thousands invested in tools. You can accomplish a lot with some simple tools and there are lots of tools that can be home made. Look at the books and watch the Videos. You can get a lot of ideas for which tools you might need most to get started.

From the way the knife business has turned in the last 15 years most of those knives will never even be in a sheath. They have come a long way since Scagle and Morseth. I never had time to get into the artistic knives and have not had the time to make many for a couple of years now. It is funny to cruise or work a knife show and try to talk quality leather with people that don't care about it. I always start one of my seminars by asking how many makers are in the room. Now how many of you enjoy making knives. The answer to the first question is usually most of them. The second is almost none of them. So I try to show them some things to make sheaths better, faster and more enjoyable. Are you showing or purchasing?

Thanks again for all the welcomes and compliments.

I think you did a fine job. I dread cartridge loops myself. I think it was an old issue of the LCSJ that Dusty Johnson was showing how to build gunbelts. In one picture he was working on the cartridge loops. He had a wire jig made up to position each one and hold it to start the stitches. It looked like it would speed things up a lot. The way he does things enabled him to establish patterns to mark each hole if needed. I keep telling myself to get better organized and do this as I make each item. On half the stuff I do I would spend more time at this than if I jump in and make the project. At least you didn't punch a bunch of slots and weave the strap in and out to make the loops.

Jim is an amazing artist and Stolhman Award winner. He disigns and carves many of the covers for Tandy/Leather Factory cataloges. I met him and sat at the banquet table with him in Sheridan a few years back. This lead to Tandy Leather having a booth at the Spirit of Steel Show in Dallas that year. I did the Saturday version of the sheath making seminar and asked Jim to join me and explain the usage of finishes and dyes. Great talent and a great guy. It was a fun time. Maybe he should have paid a bit more attention when I explained how to fit the sheath to the knife. (I couldn't help that) When making pouch sheaths it is hard to match the artistic aspect with the functional aspect. I'm sure that particular sheath is now on display at the Stohlman Museum in Ft. Worth. Just for the record, as of the last time we spoke Jim does not lay claim to being a knifemaker.

Steveb, Interesting thought on the breakaway idea. It's different to me as I have never been taught to install a belt loop like that. I will have ponder on that for a while. I am always open to new ideas. Thanks, John D

Now it's my turn to say "Thank You"! When I do one of these vertical carry rigs it's usally for those that just find it unique. The ones I have taken to Knife Shows have no keeper strap of any kind. I designed this sheath in the early nineties just to have something to attract attention at shows. It worked. Is it practical for anything? I guess that's up to the owner. Would I have carried one into the bush? I probably would have gone through the same experiance that you did. I can tell you this; the design allows the normal guy to carry the knife under a sweater or jacket. He can reach up and give a slight tug and it's in his hand and ready for use. That's the selling point. I have done knife and gun shows with my father since the 60's. They can be long and tiring days if your nt selling. I decided when I got out there on my own to always have something to attract attention. Since I can't get my wife to run around in a bikini and high heels I have come up with other ideas. Take care, John D