Dwight

The ONE tried, . . . true, . . non guessing way to do it , . . cut out the rough holster,. . . wet the leather, . . Mold the holster, . . . let it fully dry, . . glue the edges together, . . . mark and sew. Never fails, . . . period! And you ca forget worrying about leather thickness, . . . etc. May God bless Dwight

"Beautiful" does not do the work justice, . . . I think "Stunning", . . . kinda like Cinderella stepping out of the pumpkin coach that very first time, . . . describes it for me. Keep up the good work. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks for the good words, guys, . . . been putting it off, . . . finally just DID it. Be wearing them in the parade this weekend probably, . . . Always wanted a pair, . . . finally got em. . . . now to make another pair for weed eating, . . . but out of vinyl. May God bless, Dwight

First off, . . . my dying is limited to holsters, belts, mag pouches, an occasional purse. All kinda flat stuff, . . . all small, . . . and all easily handled. I have two 2 inch deep by 9 by 14 (more or less) cake pans. One is for black, . . . the other is for other than black. I pour a 50/50 mixture of my desired dye into the pan (50 dye/50 reducer), . . . . usually a good pint plus, . . . then begin inundating the item. I dip it straight into the liquid, . . . it get "baptized" so to speak, . . . but not left to soak. Its 4 to 5 seconds at the most. Pull out, . . . belts or long items get laid on their edge, . . . curled, . . . bottom edge down, . . . on a piece of cardboard. Holsters go on their back, as well as purses and knife sheaths, and mag carriers. Let em dry for 24 hours, . . . if they are brittle dry, . . . add a coat of neatsfoot oil to the hair side (thank you Lobo) and let that dry for 24 hours. Burnish as necessary, . . . finish 90+% of the time with 50/50 Resolene/water. The dye is for the most part very predictable, . . . and very uniform. Occasionally a piece will be darker or lighter, . . . but we are playing with leather from different cows, . . . different tanneries sometimes, . . . whatcha expect???? I'm happy as a fat rat in a cheeze factory with my process. May God bless, Dwight

Probably if it were my project, . . . a set of plastic (clear) French curves, . . . and a hand stitch gouger would by my approach. Figure out which part of the curve to use for which lines, . . . lay out the start and end points for each line beforehand with a pair of dull dividers, . . . use a piece of masking tape at the beginning and the ending of each curve to mark where you start and where you end. Depending on the size, . . . that shouldn't take too long that way, . . . and following the French curve, . . . it's hard to mess that up if you take your time and really, really pay attention. Painting in the stitch gouges is kinda tricky, . . . but it would look really nice when it was done. I'd probably use a hypodermic needle and some really thinned down paint, . . . maybe have to do a couple of coats, . . . but just track through the gouge line, . . . emitting a bit of paint as you go. May God bless, Dwight

If you want to make it an easy process, . . . go to a local Tandy store, . . . they have large spools of thread from 346 down to I think 207. Or call Kevin up at Springfield Leather, . . . he'll help you in a heartbeat. May God bless, Dwight

C'mon, Red Cent, . . . you still can't out draw Matt................... And if you did, . . . Festus would get ya......... Not meaning any disrespect or add adverse feelings to anyone, . . . and I do know that sometimes they are probably necessary, . . . but the screw in the bowl washer, . . . with the rubber rings below it, . . . for tension, . . . it just throws the whole picture off for me. Kinda like watching some cowpoke riding along in his Hoss hat, . . . on a purty lookin' bay, . . . got his vest and his chaps on, . . . six gun at his side, . . . rifle in the scabbard, . . . rope hanging off the saddle, . . . saddlebags in the back, . . . and totin' a turquoise transistor radio with the antenna extended up 48 inches, . . . blaring out some old rock N roll Beachboy's tune. But that's just me, . . . probably don't have that effect on everyone. May God bless, Dwight

Been a while in the doing, . . . finally got my chaps ready for the parade this Saturday. 4/5 oz legs, . . . 2/3 oz accents, . . . 6/7 veg tan for all the other pieces. Cabbaged the pattern off a pair sold on Ebay some time back. Now if I can just get to the parade, . . . and back home, . . . without someone trying to buy them off me May God bless, Dwight

Actually a much different construction technique, . . . mine is wrapped around the trigger guard, . . . the other one is open. Mine is basically one piece of leather for the holster body, . . . theirs is multiple, . . . plus welts, . . . Mine is also TIGHT, . . . does not need a phillips head screw to keep the gun in. But from 30 feet, . . . they probably do look alike. May God bless, Dwight

1. I hate to hedge on the answer, . . . but the weight is dependant on the person, . . . use, . . . weapon, . . . suffice to say that most are in the 6/7 or 7/8 weights. If it is going to be worn outside the belt, . . . I go thicker, . . . an IWB gets thinner leather. 2. I use the Rhodesian style of holster mostly for small automatics, . . . (see pictures), . . . which seldom have belt loops, relying on a metal clip to hold them onto the wearer's clothing or belt. 3. A long time ago in my holster working, . . . I found that reversing the molding / sewing process, . . . would give me a better fit to the weapon. I know there will be those who argue, . . . but it works for me, . . . I know ABSOLUTELY, . . . EXACTLY, . . . where to put the stitch line, . . . and am confident that it will not come loose some day in the forseeable future. Folks who make the same holster day in and day out have the luxury of a proven, guaranteed pattern, . . . whereas a lot of my work is custom, . . . 1 of 1. That makes the process have to be different. I hope this helps. May God bless, Dwight

The only thing I would put in a welt for (only along the sight track) woudl be for a handgun that had a sharp & wide or tall front sight, . . . just go give it clearance. With the automatics, . . . the sewing creates a little valley for the sight, . . . no problem for it. May God bless, Dwight

When I do a Rhodesian, . . . I do not use welts. I lay out the pattern, . . . put on the clip, . . . stiffener (if needed), . . . decorative pieces, . . . etc, . . . then I get the whole thing real good and wet, . . . and fold and mold the holster to the weapon. The only sewing left to be done is the main seam that goes down the sight channel, . . . along the bottom, . . . and up to meet the trigger guard. I then hang it up to dry, . . . usually on a string through the channel that is the trigger guard. When it is dry (minimum 24 hours), . . . I remove the string, . . . insert the weapon, . . . close it back up tight, . . . check for fit, . . . glue the edges, . . . sand, bevel, and burnish, . . . sew, . . . finish, . . . done. May God bless, Dwight

I've heard it called both a bleed knot and a blood knot, . . . and I have no idea which if either is correct. It is very simply done by making a slit in the bottom piece, . . . parallel to the edges, . . . just slightly longer than the width of the strap, . . . pull the top piece down through, . . . make the same type cut at about the same distance as the first cut, . . . but again in what is now the bottom piece, . . . pull the new top piece through it, . . . and you have the knot. Take a key ring, . . . put a strap of leather around the ring, . . . follow the above directions, . . . the first one will take you 20 minutes, . . . the second should take you 2 minutes. It's really that simple. May God bless, Dwight

I like to make sure I give my customer's their money's worth, . . . and sometimes it is just a little thing. On my belts, . . . I use one inch spacing, . . . and I give them 7 holes. Doesn't sound like much, . . . but a 5 hole belt at 3/4 spacing only gives that customer a 1 1/2 inch movement either way, . . . mine gives them 3 inches, . . . fully double. Just my way of doing things, . . . and not everyone will agree, . . . and that's OK, . . . May God bless, Dwight

If you have to do it, . . . end one thread and start the other between the layers. That is the only way of making it truly invisible that I know of. Sometimes a thread will break or I run out of thread in the bobbin, . . . and if it happens at the tongue end, . . . I'll camouflage it in the "going around the corner" of the belt. Otherwise I just pull it all out and start over. May God bless, Dwight

Camano Ridge has the way I do it, . . . and if they don't goof up the measurement, . . . it ALWAYS works. I knew a guy once who wore "36" trousers. When we measured HIM for the belt, . . . turned out to be a 41. He had worn those jeans enough to stretch them all the way out to where the 36 was just numbers, . . . nothing near a size. I just sent off a $200 belt rig, . . . measured Camano's way, . . . note came back with big thank you, . . . "It fit perfect". Try using some "formula", . . . make a couple of those $200 rigs that don't fit and you'll see that there really is a good way, . . . and it all has to do with measurement. May God bless, Dwight

Yessir, . . . I like those. That will probably be awful close to my pair when I get around to making them. Just finished these up for a cousin, . . . they'll be going home next week. I just wish the next two pair I have to do were as easy as this pair. These are just work chaps for around the old Ky hacienda. May God bless, Dwight

Personally, . . . I prefer to use the "extra" pieces from the exact same hide that I did the project with. That way, the dye is predictable (if you are dying it), . . . the color matches, . . . and overall I think it lends a bit of authenticity to the creation. I have cut fringe from 5/6 oz suede, . . . on down to verrrrrrrrrrry thin stuff. Just depends on the look you want, . . . the product you are making, . . . and the service required. Obviously, sleeve fringe on a Harley jacket is going to be more demanding that fringe on a white, lambskin clutch purse. These chaps went from leg leather to fringe, . . . with the cut of the knife,. . . 4/5 oz suede. May God bless, Dwight

Just a quick suggestion, . . . as I do this quite a bit. Get a 40 or 50% off coupon off the internet for Joann's Fabric. Go to the rear of the store where they have their canvas and vinyl, . . . some of their vinyl runs just shy of 20 bucks a yard, . . . you get a piece 36 inches wide and 45 inches long for 10 or 12 bucks. You can pattern a whole bunch of stuff, . . . and see how it works out, . . . without cutting leather, . . . and not having to put up with paper or manila folders. I did that especially for a couple sets of chaps, . . . paid off just the other day, . . . lady wanted to see a couple samples of my work, . . . I showed her my vinyl samples, . . . she came within an inch of wanting vinyl chaps, . . . but her buddy talked her out of it. I was hoping she would. Anyway, . . . that's how I would start out. May God bless, Dwight

Good looking first attempt, Tony, . . . Like you, . . . i'd be interested to know too, as the ones I build are pretty much only for show, . . . personal wear, . . . etc. They don't get much bush time. I also really like that old saddle picture you have on there, . . . is that an old Jumbo? My Jumbo looks a lot like it. May God bless, Dwight

Jimbob, . . . how about buying a really good, professionally made, commercial case, . . . then covering the outside with your hand done carvings and stampings? It would save you a lot of time, . . . it would give him a seriously sturdy case (i play music, . . . this IS important), . . . and would allow you to concentrate on the designs, . . . scenes, . . . etc that would bring a real smile to his face. Just a suggestion, . . . but it is what I would do, . . . and in fact, will probably do next winter for my guitar. My 30+ year old case is really good on the inside, . . . but a few too many nicks and dings in the outside, . . . therefore it gets a new skin. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, guys, for the kudos, . . . as for the belt loop, . . . I do it John Bianchi's way, . . . would probably quit rivets altogether if I could find something that would fully take their place in the stuff I do. May God bless, Dwight

Harley45, . . . that rig is finished, . . . off the table, . . . I started a new thread with it. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks for the good words, guys, . . . in answer to your question, Red, . . . the thumb break just simply was easier to do by hand than to try to crank it around on my Boss's table. Also, . . . when I start out my Western belts, . . . i have the underside keeper in place, . . . but no thread in the machine, . . . I make the holes with the machine, so that they are perpendicular, evenly spaced, etc. About the 3rd hole after the keeper, . . . I put thread in it, . . . and start "Bossing" my way around the belt, . . . in this case it was about a total of about 500 stitches on the belt itself. When I get back to the bottom side of the keeper, . . . I pull out about 16 inches of thread, . . . then hand sew that bottom side of the keeper, . . . and end my sewing on that lower corner of the belt. About 24 stitches in the thumb break and another dozen in the keeper, . . . ala teaching of Mr. John Bianchi, . . . for which I am seriously grateful. May God bless, Dwight

I just finished this one for a customer who is going to wear it horseback riding in Oklahoma. I don't often get to do "fun" ones, . . . this was definitely one of those. I put it on after I got it done, . . . fit like it should have been mine. This is a double layer, . . . glued together, . . . Katsass/Dwight type holster, . . . belt is the same. Have to admit that I did cheat a little bit though, . . . there were only 36 or so hand stitches in the whole rig, . . . rest were done on the old machine. May God bless, Dwight