MADMAX22

Well I must honestly say I dont know a thing about the scabbards and such but the first thing that came to mind was this thread http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=6375&st=0&p=72916&fromsearch=1entry72916 Remember also that part of the boiling thing is its gotta be pretty exact on the temps and such. Another method may be baking the leather (forgot the temp around 170F I think) but that is suppose to make it pretty hard. Not sure of the entire process though. You could possibly wet form it then bake it and give it a nice shine afterwards. Another thought that comes to mind is the same method for doing the inside of mugs, water bags, canteens and such where they used the pitch and wax melted then coated the inside of the things. I think this lends a certain amount of rigidity to the leather as well but I am not certain as I have not played with this. Could also be just the tannage they use to use. I mean there is a huge difference in stiffness from say herman oak compared to some of the tandy leather or the vegtan from say waterhouse leather. Sorry if you have already thought of these or tried them, just my rambling thoughts.

Looking great man, yeah I hadnt scene your helmet avatar in a while. Bet it feels good to be back into the swing of things.

Couple more belts that I finished. One is another vinegaroon using HO. Turned out a little better. The other is one using crazy horse leather. I like the colors.

I think the handle is wide enough so that you can make the knife stop just short of the point actually touching the leather. Make sure to use a good welt. Its hard to tell exactly from the pictures I saw though.

Hey everyone wanted to share a special buckle I put a belt to today. I made a couple of sheaths that I gave away and Terryhyd (aka Doc) jumped on it so I sent them his way. He got one and his grandson Stacy got the other. Well to show there appreciation his grandson put together this belt buckle for me. I figured a good belt would be a all black one so I broke out the vinegaroon and did up a straight black plain style belt. Something thinner so when I am not carrying my gun I can have something lighter and more comfy to wear. I did not do a very good job on the finish on it like I usually do with my vinegaroon but it looks better in person. Plus once I wear it for a while it will look better. The shining star is Stacy's belt buckle, very nicely done for a rather young leather worker starting out. I think with some more practice and oversite by Doc this little guy will be a regular poster in this section. Sorry about the photo quality, I really need to setup another light box.

I picked up some saddle lac last week or so and when compared to neat lac it is different. It smells different and has a silghtly different texture. I have heard that neat lac and clear lac are the same thing and saddle lac is suppose to be similer but I have not had much time to play with the saddle lac yet. More experienced guys should chime in about the saddle lac. I will have to experiment with it some more before I can really determine if I like it. It may be that it doesnt hold as well as the other stuff does.

In my limited experience I have found the trick for neat lac is nice thin coats. If its something that is flexed around alot I will rub the neat lac into the leather in two thin coats. I do the first and let it dry then buff it a little then come back with a second thin coat. I usually use a white tshirt. If the item is persay a holster or hard knife sheath or something with alot of tooling that requires the neat lac to get into depressions in the leather I will use some sheep scraps but still try to keep it somewhat thin. I dont have much experience with resolene so I cant help ya there but both of these sealers are usually the last thing to go on and is all that is required to seal up the leather. On the neat lac items I will usually throw a thin coat of nuetral shoe polish on once it is fully dry and buff that out to a nice shine.

As far as I have scene Seigel is the only one that really carries them on a regular basis (that I have scene) but that doesnt mean other places dont. I think the best way to check would be call around and see if the suppliers can direct you. May try Brettons Village Leathers also. Horween Leather is who makes most of them nowadays I think and could maybe give you a supplier contact number but not sure if they will bother. Thats about as far as my experience goes with this stuff which is close to none lol. Good luck with your search.

Looks great man, nice tight lacing, good color tone, cool art.

Your work looks good. Very good start to inlaying. I would recommend trying out hand stitching your sheaths. They will look a little better and construction wise will be very strong. It takes a little practice but is well worth it for this kind of item if you can. Al Stohlmans book "the art of hand stitching" is pretty cheap but well worth it, that and a couple of relatively inexpensive tools and your well on your way.

I think its a good idea if you want to go the extra step. Maybe not necessary but adds a level of durability and rigidity to it. If you think about it the grain layer is where the most strength is so you are basically making a piece of leather with two grain layers. My CCW holster is a bianchi that I have had for years (yeah I need to make myself one) and it still looks mostly brand new besides the scuffs and wear points. His design uses a doubled up outside like yours and the back is smooth side in toward the gun with a suede on the back of it since that rides agains the person. Its a nice little holster.

saddle lac, neat lac if you can find it. Resolene gives a nice shine if I remember right and alot of the holster guys use that. Atom wax will give a medium mellow shine once buffed out as will bag kote and tan kote. A good neutral show polish gives a nice shine once buffed out you just gotta do it once in a while.

That I learned very quickly, I use basically outstretched arms length is the longest I will use. It gets easier though as you do more. Ive gotten down to around 2.5hrs or so to do one belt. It only took about 4 or 5 to get to that but oh well. Thats when it pays to have a movie or something to watch lol.

That did turn out very nice. Really good deep black and best of all it wont end up on the pants lol.

Looks great, really like the colors. That two tone effect really gives it something even if it is a utilitarian holster. Should last a very good long time. Looks like you doubled up leather on front and back, did you use something like 5oz or similar.

Great job on the carving and coloring of this project. Question, why did you go thru all the trouble to use that leather though, was it because you happened to get it and needed to do something with it. Seems like the process would be alot easier with just using some skirting or thick tooling side.

Looks great all of it. Cool to have a client like that, good luck with it.

Welcome to the forums and I must say your stuff looks fantastic. You take very good photos as well or your photographer does.

Amazing stuff, I would be half worried about messing up the inside of that belt. Always love looking at his work. Those boot tops tooling is just pristine. Thanks for sharing Marlon and good luck with the business.

Turned out great. Kind of a odd combination of styles but it all works out very well at least IMHO. Wanted to add I really like the first pair, that natural leather with the red and black really sets each other off nicely.

Thanks guys, appreciate the comments.