Shorts

When I have wiped it on, I used a dauber and cut 50/50 with water. I only do that on leather I need to stay clean, especially if I'm doing edging and working with it a while after some portions have been dyed. It helps resist dust staining. I have not used Bag Kote. I was told the Angelus brand acrylics are thinner than Resolene but I haven't confirmed it myself. I understand what you mean about the plastic look. That's why I airbrush. Let's the item retain the grain of the leather but it still protected. It's a detail I like. I've heard my gear isn't "smooth". And it isn't. My carry looks just like real leather!

I airbrush layers of fine mist.

Probably depends on the dye. Wet leather and Angelus dyes hate each other, especially the black. I always applied EcoFlo to dry leather.

NEVER NEVER NEVER store a gun in a holster, any holster. Material traps moisture which then corrodes the finish. That's where you get oxidation and pitting. How thick is the leather you're planning to use for this holster? For an owb rig a 7/8oz veg tan is as light as I'd go, especially drop leg out on land.

Yes, glue. If you don't glue the leather can squeak. Also glue adds another layer to the structure. It'll keep the edges down and takes strain off the stitching.

Overstitch and awl My first year I hand stitched. I'm on a Cobra machine now.

Interesting design - you're on a good track. Tuckable? I'm going to be critical here so consider the suggestions for next time. On the size of the belt loop, try to keep them as close to the size of the belt as you can. You want the fit to be snug so there is little to no up and down movement of the holster when the gun is drawn. Also, the tops of the belt loops, make that area round. Corners on holsters end up getting mashed and bumped, plus they can be uncomfortable if they're in contact with the body. They start poking the user. I do see that you've clip the corners to a 45*, but a good way you can finish that off is to use a dremel and sanding drum and just round up the top. On the main portion of the holster did you go smooth in?

You need to use veg tan leather to wet mold. It is the only leather that will hold form.

BRL, I really really feel for you there. I would kill my husband if he volunteered me to make things, many things for other people. Best phrase I taught him, "Let me check with my wife and I'll get back to you"

PM me your address

How many do you need?

Not sure of anyone supplies them but if you've got steel hardware on hand I'd say try making your own batches. I've done some home parkerizing on my pistols and some scrap hardware from my truck using homebrew kits and it was a fun weekend project. If you purchase a complete parkerizing kit you'll probably have better results from the beginning, but they can be expensive depending on your budget and the size of kit you get. Homebrews work well but take a little more trial and error and can be more finicky about temps and portions. Not impossible, just needs to be detailed.

I will laugh at you....because I'm hauling buns to be done for Christmas as well. Go get 'em!

Well, since you'll be using your boning tool to define the letter you probably don't need much. But for reference look at pistols and how detailed their holsters can be based on small edges. Many times the boning is very detailed simply based on the skill of the maker to know where the lines should go. The other factor includes the thickness of the top leather. I would suggest 7/8oz if you want to be nice and detailed. I think 8/9oz is pushing it. The other factor is the size of the letters. Bigger and more straight letters will be easier to define and bone easier than smaller, curvy letters. Another factor is the size of your boning tool. If you need super crisp in tight areas consider using a stylus (I have no idea what you use now) so that you can draw the outline around the letter to define the shape. For practice tape your letters to your table and lay over a scrap piece of leather the same weight you're using on the holster. Wet it and practice boning the letters. Will give you a general feel before you do it on the real thing. I would venture to guess the letters underneath will compress a bit when wet molded so I don't think 8/9oz is overkill.

How about trying all the "what abouts"? Aluminum will react and discolor leather. As will most (all?) metals if it gets wet at the contact point with leather. The chemicals in the veg tan and the metal react. If no one else ponies up the experiment, let me know and I'll do it. I've got all kinds of scrap around here from projects, including aluminum. I don't use vinegaroon - tried it but never felt comfortable with it in my holsters. I've tried the tea and coffee stains but they were pretty weak.

I think this comes up now and again, making your own dummy guns. It would probably be worth it for guns that are rare or not currently produced on the market. But for a regular production it might be a wash. Just as an aside, any dummies produced from this can only be for personal use and not sold for profit. There is a patent that prevents anyone from profiting off resin casts. You either have to pay royalties or use a different molding material. This topic usually ends up in catfight. To mold you will need to plug the barrel and cylinders. Stick the mag in too. There's a good chance you'll get the stuff in the nooks and crannies if it's in liquid form. If you use the clay there probably won't be too much clean up inside the gun. I think if the gun is oiled up nice it should be no problem doing a detailed strip and cleaning it up. Cleaners, brushes, toothpicks, Qtips should be able to take care of any residue. An idea that might prevent runoff through nooks and crannies is to use some wax (if the wax isnt melted off into the chemical). Or you could always vacuum seal the gun before molding it. I think one of the dummy gun manf does this. I can see the stretch marks on their casts. But be aware, while a small measure, the plastic does add width to the gun which changes the dimensions. Hundredths and thousandths of an inch might matter. Just some things to bear in mind if you do this. I still want to see someone put up some results. I keep telling myself I'm gonna try it on a full gun but haven't. I've done a couple barrel extensions but not a full gun.

One thing you may try is cutting the black dye with denatured alcohol. I've toyed back and forth with my Angelus black dye for the same reason you've got pictured (and I've seen photos of other well known makers with the same exact problem, so its not just you). I think the mixture I'm working with now is 75% dye, 25% denatured alcohol. The DA gives the pigment a better chance at penetrating the leather. You will have to use more applications until you've got the leather nice and full. You do want to fully dry each coat and then buff well each before applying the next. That way you can see just how well the mixture does for you. You can force dry between coats, use warm moving air, not hot. You don't wanna burn the leather. Think hair dryer on the low warm setting. I've tried the black at full strength and its just too thick. Now your build process may come into play here. You do stand a better chance with the dye penetrating if you dye the leather before you wet mold. The redye again after. The hitch here is that your leather will become sticky and grab your boning tool when you try to detail bone the leather. I don't like the way it does that so I don't dye until near the end. Ok, just thought I'd throw that out there for you. Worth a shot and see if you can find the sweet spot that works for you.

savage, how are you applying the finish?

That's pretty interesting. Would love to see some pics of this when you're done.

haha Actually you're correct. I did start out hand stitching. Did that the first year then moved up to a machine. What I did feel like was a newb in that I had no idea what I was doing on the boot and zipper even though I feel I can hold my own with holsters

Also the area you cut from will matter, even on 'good' leather. Back & butt first, then shoulders, then neck and belly. The reason I believe that is is for the tanning process and how thick the piece of leather is intended to be. Think about when a piece of wood is planed. To get it level, you have to take it down to the thinnest area of the board. Leather is the same way. When a side is "planed", for example 7/8oz, the areas of the side that are naturally thinner than 7/8oz that won't be brought down to tight fibers.

Ok, I got some comic relief from fixin' my boot zipper this morning. I thought I'd share with folks who'd understand. The story is (bear with me), a couple months ago I took my work boots to the been-there-forever-on-Main-St.-boot shop and had them install side zippers. I asked them to do it because I figured I'd screw it up if I tried. Besides, being a shoe/boot shop I thought they'd have fancy shoe/boot stitching machines. When I picked up my boots I immediately saw a problem. The knot of the thread was on top of the leather on most the stitch line, indicating the machine wasn't tensioned right. I didn't like it but I decided to let it be and wear the boots. The boots were great, for about a day. Just as I figured the stitching broke, unraveled and now I had a boot zipper with a blowout. I figured I'd take the boot in and ask them to repair it. I procrastinated. As I did, my boot got more loose and the hole got bigger to the point that the zipper was only held on by the top couple of stitches and the remaining line of stitching on the bottom half. This morning I got mad and said I'd fix it myself. I grabbed my needle and thread and proceeded to handstitch the gap. I had to laugh at myself. I felt like a total newb who googled "leather stitching" for the first time. The repair isn't pretty but I think it'll hold. I glued the zipper edge on to the boot, then ran a single needle up and back. I made certain to backstitch "so it don't come undone. Don't want to skimp on the repair."

Both. What is your question/concern with backs?

Backs definitely have less waste for what I build. I've gone to backs for my belt supply because I wasn't using the belly of a side when I'd slice straps. I also end up cutting around bellies on sides I use for holsters. Next order up with be backs only so long as I can get them.

It wasn't you I replied to - no worries!