Shorts

Excellent work! I wear mine everyday. What kind of dye and finish did you use on it? You aren't kidding about the humongous length of thread while sitting there hand stitching. I'm kind of getting that doing a belt by hand gets one a badge of honor...or merit badge....something! lol Like a Frat or Sorority to go through 'the pain' Anyway, nice job.

That came out pretty swanky. The dark stain and the stamp 'pattern' makes a neat sheath. Well done!

Helps immensely! Thank you

Steve, glad you brought that up. I hadn't even considered the open/closed situation. I'll certainly have to work very carefully. I think the zipper open stiching might be what I do so I'll be pretty careful about the spacing. Sam, you're crazy Ryan, thanks for the thread and needle size. Which needle would be the way to go, fabric or leather? How do I determine which is the best to go with? Thanks guys!

I've pressed my mark after molding before dye. I love the sharp cut imprint of a dead blown mark but unfortunately mine bounces quite a bit even with a deadblown mallet. Lack of a hand sorta complicates technique Anyhow, I press for neatness. If I came up with some kinda of notched punch being held in a slot catch that locks to the notch on a blow, that'd be great.

Interesting. I think Bree nailed it on the 'how'. I too tried the overstitch wheel but its a wash. I've since learn to just leave it. Fortunately, dye hides a lot of sins, oddly enough. I have noticed that when I wet mold my holster after stitching the leather does give a bit and sort of 'puckers up' the stitch. Certainly not a nice look like the front, but it doesn't look like a shark took a bite out of it. Wetting the leather sounds interesting and should allow the stitch to set. I think my concern would be getting the imprint of the dealy-ma-bob there underneath. Certainly worth trying out. Good luck getting it where you want it.

My husband's boss has a leather bag he'd like me to take a look at. The zipper needs to be resewn (and or replaced. I won't know until I see it) I've got my Cobra Class 3 here and I'm completely new to zippers + leather. Soooo...what do I need to do? My first thoughts are getting the proper needle and thread. I figure I'll match the thread with what's on there as far as color goes. Can I find a needle at a local fabric store that will work properly? Steve, might need a needle! What size needle and thread are generally used on leather bags with zippers? (again, I'll get leather weight once I get the bag in hand). Are there any tricks or a how-to on stitching zippers? And I guess last of all, what do folks generally charge to reattach a zipper? $10? 6 pack?

I took the mock rig to my buddy today. Let him tinker with it, try it on, adjust it and overall give me input. We did talk about the shoulder straps. I think we decided to try a tapered over the shoulder width where its wider there then narrows to the straps. He initially asked if some kind of padding could be done but moved to the wider straps instead. The mag pouch would be single instead of double and a slightly different design (the bottom would be folded over not stitched closed. I also mentioned about a slight angle for the draw, he said he understood it but he preferred a straight horizontal. Oddly enough the down-on-paper-er-leather idea is close. Got some adjustments but headed the right direction. I also took along some other holsters and belts so the gang to touch and feel for themselves. Good responses. I think I have some belt orders on the way as well as a bandoleer type crossdraw holster for a buddy's scoped hog revolver. I know there are some beautiful rigs that folks here have built that are going to give me great ideas and guidance when it comes time to do that one. All in all, good day. I am curious though about the wider straps. Would it be better to cut them curved for the comfort of the shoulder or to cut them straight? Thanks folks for all the help. I'm eager to get to a solid finished design. Bad lighting pic of shoulder rig: You know what I find interesting is how simple shoulder rigs are in regards to how they are put together. Looking at that pic, if I removed the mag pouch and holster, there's just a couple of dangly straps. But put them on and it almost looks like a real piece of gear.

Kevin. I'm going to have to take a pass this time. I'm really pinching my belt this month and this wouldn't be a "necessary" item Maybe another time Thanks!

Thanks Lobo, I think the tie downs are a good idea. I'm also considering a rear horizontal strap to connect the rear straps across the back.

Possible. I've toyed with the idea myself but haven't got around to building anything.

I'm all ears. I'll bring this point up to my customer and see what he thinks about it. Thanks guys!

Very, thank you. My customer is a larger gentleman. He'll be carrying a 3.5" semiauto S&W and a snub .44spl revolver. For conceal purposes, he'll have them well hidden front to back For retention I'm planning on a thumb break and a retention screw on the holster. I normally mold my belt holsters pretty tight. But you are certainly correct, the draw pull cannot be as tight on the shoulder rig as the belt. Thanks!

Thanks troop. You have what I don't but wish I did - perspective and experience wearing a shoulder rig. I've not the first clue what I'd do or change to make mine acceptable lol I do have 6/7oz available. It probably be a little more comfortable than the 7/8oz under there. Yeah, glad you caught the explanation on the segma snaps. While I'd wear them on my belt, I won't put them in such a critical CCW area. I guess the last thing you'd need is the thing unsnapping and dropping to the floor in the middle of the grocery store. That would be awkward Good input about the dye. While its a common knowledge thing about holsters and jeans and dye rub off, staining a good dress shirt will be a bit more annoying.

A friend asked me to build him a conceal carry shoulder rig. He says he doesn't mind being a guinea pig. He needs it to carry 2 separate guns, semi & revolver (read: holster must be modular). Works for me. I'm going to have this thread as a running build because I have tons of questions about each portion of this rig. Right now I'm building a mock-up with scraps so I can get a feel for the process. I want to take it with me on Sunday to the range to give him an idea of how his will be fashioned. First part, central back 'X' and shoulder straps: ^^ like how I bounce my maker's stamp for a nice blurred effect? ^^ This X has what I imagine are plenty of priorities. Strength, flexibility and comfort. Strength - needs to be durable not to fall apart Flexibility - each strap joint needs to pivot to move with the wearer Comfort - comfort, not pokey or itchy or sharp or annoying or....just comfortable This X and 4 straps are from 4/5oz scraps. I thought that they'll be flexible enough and strong enough without being too heavy. Is that going to help? Hurt? Comments? You'll see I used Segma Snaps to joint the X and straps. I'm not intending this as the final hardware. Why I used them is because I want the joint to be able to pivot and the Segma snaps allow that (and that's what I have that works right now). Since it is mock-up, I need the function first. So my next question, what hardware should I be using here? I don't need the straps to be removable from the X. A more permanent joint seems acceptable. The hardware must be low profile for comfort and concealment. Ideas? As for the rest of the strap, they are made to length, plus a plethora of holes for adjustable length, secured with a chicago screw. Straps are 1" width of 4/5oz. Next plan of action is stitching the holster and mag pouch pieces. Holster will sit horizontally, mag pouch vertically (opening down) What weight of leather should I use? Do I go with the regular 7/8oz? It is a holster afterall. On each part I'm planning to utilize ears on top and bottom of the holster. The top ears will attach to the straps via Dring, and the bottom ear with attach to the stabilizer strap that goes to the belt. I have not worked out details yet on how I want that. But I am thinking of putting DOT snaps on these ears and use that as the method of attachment through the Dring. Remember, the holster must be modular so that it can be worn with either gun. I will be making a specific holster for each gun. Well that's it for now I guess. I'm off to the store to find some mockup Drings and elastic webbing. My OTB and Weaver catalogs are en route and I want to order good hardware from one of those places for all rigs here after. Thanks yall!

Just saw this, that belt is awesome! Love the colors. Makes you say 'gimme!'

Great support - I love this forum

Beautiful holster

Excellent Art. It did run through my head, "What clips and will they work anyway?". But that's probably the best approach to take there, liability. Especially in regard to holsters. Thanks guys for the suggestions. Hill, straight forward. Kustom, hilarious but I don't have the brass to say that

Thanks Sam. You hit the nail on the head describing what it is I'm working on. I'll dig around online and see if I can find that strap. I may have to prep those and maybe an extra set to go with the finished rig so if they do need replacing, they're already on hand. The customer wants the rig styled in the Galco Miami Classic design and it'll be used for conceal carry.

I have a customer interested in a holster that uses several belt clips. He stated he already has the same clips and is asking if he could get a credit since I wouldn't have to utilize a set on the holster. I'm torn between being flexible and 'pleasant to work with' and not giving my stuff away. I already have material in my inventory, my money's already spent. What would you do?

I was thinking the same about adding some kind of form. I was thinking putty of some type. Doesn't have to be permanent to the trigger guard. The little piece of wood suggested would probably work much easier.

Thank you gentlemen Stitched with my Cobra Class 3

Butch, absolutely stunning! Thank you for posting that. That does give me ideas

I think you've figured out a niche - supplying us new timers. I'm interested for sure. Let me think about it. When do you need to know?