MADMAX22

Very nice looking. Interesting take on inlay for the knife sheath, by the way which color did you use to dye the first holster. I really like that finish.

Just like your other holster this one rocks as well. I really like. That knife sheath is nice as well. Ive got a freind that I am doing a trade with and he wants a small of the back sheath for a larger knife. Any pointers on making these guys. Do you use two belt loops or just one?

Its actually one from joanns. Not the best but it was redilly available. Im researching on finding some better quality stuff, Thanks Bob, the patterns were actually some Dover designs (I think Ive got the whole series) and the girlfriend helped pick them out and helped with the placement, she's got a good eye for stuff like that she just doesnt have much confidence but Im working on changing that.

Nice job on the letters, I like it.

Nope sorry this was carved before I got the knife. Must say that knife is really nice though, definatly going to get used on my next project for sure. Very smooth when making turns and corners and such.

Thanks Brad, appreciate the compliments.

True true

Hey guys just finally finished with this downtowner purse. This first attempt is for the girlfriend and thankfully she likes it. This is the largest project Ive attempted so far and was rather different then the smaller things I have been working on. Alot of lacing that I over all didnt do very well on. Anyways the outside leather gusset/body/strap is about 4oz (tandy leather) dyed with feibings british tan, then antiqued with feibings anitque, some neats foot thrown in here and there, finished off with tan kote, and a dash of snow seal. The inside is lined with pigskin naturel lining stuff and the inside pocket (oops sorry no pics) is some 2oz calf. The lace is dark brown 1/8 superior tajes. This is where most of my issues came from on this project, first off I punched the holes which I havent done before but I did not like the look compared to using a stabbing awl or the slat punche things. Anyways I just felt the holes looked not as good (IMHO). Also I kept running into issues with the lacing breaking on me. It seemed the superior lace I had had some weak (rot) spots in it probably from sitting on the shelf too long. Anyways so lots of times I would get about 2" and it would break. I could tell the weak spot becuase you could pull it apart really easy. So I had to take to testing the lace as I waxed it before lacing searching for weak spots. Found it was mostly in the outer portions of lace and as I got toward the center of the roll it was all pretty sturdy. Well enjoy and critics allways welcome.

I like that new design much better. It is very nice IMO. Also Im no leo or anything but I do carry on a pretty regular basis and I like having a little cant like that because for me it makes it more comfy, I have had one straight up before and I found myself allways trying to lean it forward a bit. But thats just me.

Well I know vegtan wont hurt your stuff. Chrome tan leather from what I understand can be detrimental to metal if left in the holster for long periods of time however Im not a pro on this. The latigo is leather that has been really infused with oils and dyed and is pretty tough stuff hence why youll find straps and such made from it. Its a little pricey Also you have to remember that vegtan is the one that you can get wet and mold to the shape of the gun and is how you get the nice boning and such. Then again Im not much of a experienced leather worker and have only made one holster I just search the web alot.

That looks really good. And its so tiny lol. So do you have any pointers for making the little guys as I assume its a little more difficult since your making tighter bends and such.

Another thing you may consider, I dont know if you saw them at tandy but they have the tooling sides of 3/4oz for $50 right now. They are more on the 3oz side, not the best stuff but they have enough clean areas to get some checkbooks and such out of. Another thing is the tooling calf. I got some of that and it comes in about a 2oz thickness and it tools pretty good just gotta be careful.

Nice work on that celtic dragon. I did that one a while back and lets just say it didnt turn out as good as yours.

You know I still wonder why they have the heart,club,diamond but not the spade stamp.

Hey guys while searching around for purse hardware that may be a little bit better quality for anything that I may end up eventually selling my girlfriend stumbled across these guys http://www.umx.info/ and I was wondering if anyone here uses them and if so what your experiences with them are. As allways any info is much appreciated. THanks

Ahh good call man, I was thinking the same thing, that they would come up where the tacks were. Box looks great though, good job and cool setup. Way to go.

I would try it out on a few pieces of scrap from the leather that your using. Every one will act slightly different but I am thinking most will darken slightly. Not only that but if you oil it first that will also darken it a shade. And if all else fails the first time it is out in the sun for a good bit it will darken up a bit.

Great work on all of them, I agree I like the stained glass look also.

Ive only used exotics on inlays my self. That is a little different because you are putting the groove in the over lay of leather. As far as stitching groove you dont really need one ecspecially if its not in a wear area. Say ontop of the sheath thats not agains the body. What you could try is using your compass if you have one and set that to the proper depth then basically very lightly run a line along the edge to give you your distance mark. Then use your pricker or whatever you want to try and get your spacing. If you cant use your pricker then take a tape measure and just mark off every 1/8 or whatever you want the spacing to be, then go along and punch your holes and your all set. Atleast this is what I would try first but Im not the most experienced person around so I could be starting at the beginning,

Its funny that you posted this today because I just got some leather that I purchased off ebay. It was upholstery leather brown looks similer to yours and was pretty cheap about $50 for 50sqft or something like that. It has a nice color I thought though. ANyways I took some deglazer and managed to rub off some of the covering/coating. It wouldnt come off like yours dows but it is definatly coated on the outside. Now the question is what does a crafter use this stuff for? Is it a good lining leather even though its chrome tanned? I mean could I line things like bags and such with it. Anyways what would you guys use it for by chance if you had some? For the price I cant complain, now I just need to figure out what I can use it on.

You may wanna look into more of a case type setup. If you havnt allready I would check out al stohlmans three volumes on case making. Im thinking of making one of these for my jym beam bottles but with a little hook eyelet so I can hang it under the counter

True Hilly but remember that some awl blades are made to punch for lace also. The chissle is just a hammer chisel method of doing it and the awl is a hand push method or whatever you wanna say. Thing with the chisel for lacing is that you can do sometimes 4 to 6 holes I think.

I think it looks really good. Nice edge too. This is gonna be my next style of holster.

Bring them back to be enjoyed again. That is indeed a lovely looking rig. How did you get that belt to look like that with the ridges and such? That looks really cool.

That did turn out very nice. That basket weave is great, I wish I could get mine to look that neat and orderly when i do it.