Dwight

Actually, when I am making a pattern that needs a certain degree cant, . . . I do the exact same thing as TwinOaks, . . . AND, . . . I slip it just a little bit off to the right hand side of middle on my paper, . . . it becomes the sewing line for the top (sight tunnel) of the weapon. Those three lines: the horizontal, the perpendicular, and the cant line, . . . are always my first three lines, . . . and when the cant line is established, . . . that is the first line on my new holster pattern. Every thing is measured and/or drawn from that cant line. That will always properly orient the weapon to the desired cant. Works every time. May God bless, Dwight

I've never done embroidery thread, . . . but waxing thread for hand sewing is fairly easy, . . . just set your block of beeswax in your stitching pony, . . . pull the thread through the wax, . . . VOILA, . . . waxed thread. I would pull it through twice, . . . left to right, . . . then right to left. May God bless, Dwight

My double layer, . . . 3 inch wide, . . . with buckle, . . . Western gun belts, . . . with 20 loops: $125, . . . holsters are $80 each. These are all plain jane, . . . black or brown, . . . nothing fancy. We're probably comparing apples to oranges here, . . . but I thought you might be interested as a frame of reference. Personally, . . . dude goin' off to Africa, . . . he's gonna be huntin' stuff that may decide to hunt him, . . . I would not have wanted to take on the responsibility of making something that critical to keeping all of ones' parts and pieces where and how they belong. May God bless, Dwight

In John Bianchi's videos for making cowboy gunleather, . . . he never advocated a stitch groover, . . . dividers was his schtick, . . . works for me. I do use a groover only because it puts them down deeper than the dividers, . . . but sometimes I do use the dividers, . . . but I would never use a swivel knife. The swivel knife actually cuts a slice into the leather, . . . repeated pulling on the stitches will pull them right on through if the leather is not quite thick. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, Treed, . . . I guess from what you posted, . . . that is why I have seen so many different looking "examples". Do you have any pictures you can share of actual boots used, . . . say in the 1860's thru 1880's? Would appreciate it if you did, . . . am curious about mainly the shape of the toes and height of the heels. Anyway, thanks, . . . may God bless, Dwight

Mop & Glo = final finish. Everything else is done, . . . After the M&G, . . . you can add shoe polish, neutral or colored, . . . but the M&G, . . . IS the finish, . . . the polish just makes it slick and purty. May God bless, Dwight

If you get any real good answers, Gunter, . . .I'd be interested too. I would like to actually see a picture of an "old" pair, . . . if you try to Google it, . . . you get so many different versions, . . . opinions, . . . you don't know what to believe. May God bless, Dwight

UberSquid, . . . Eco-Flo probably makes Al Gore smile, . . . it does nothing for me. It is, IMHO, a trash product. If you use it, . . . be assured that if you do not fully, completely, and permanently seal that leather that has it in it, . . . the first or second or third time you customer gets into a big sweat, . . . his pants, shirt, underclothes, and everything else that comes into contact with that sweaty piece of Eco-Flo'ed leather, . . . will also become dyed. Ironically, it will be a lighter shade of the Eco-Flo you used. I threw away the shirt and undershirt from my first project with it, . . . a shoulder holster, . . . but I kept the holster as a reminder. Do your customers a favor, . . . give them a good product, . . . use quality leather, . . . use quality finishing techniques and products, . . . or you will be selling Yugo's. May God bless, Dwight

Another thing you might do, Ray, . . . go to a local Tandy shop, . . . see if there is a leather guild in the area. If there is, . . . there are people there that would be more than happy to teach you. Another source for instruction, . . . you might go to a SASS or CASS shoot, . . . often times there are dealers there, . . . they have machines. You may be able to hire one of them as an instructor. Lots of people out there mess around with leather, . . . put a posting on Craig's list. Anyway, . . . good luck, . . . may God bless, Dwight

One of the folks who works for Tippmann is named Ben, . . . call em up, . . . get him on the phone, . . . he'll help you. May God bless, Dwight

As was uttered by a favorite old cowboy of mine, . . . "There you go again,.............." You sure make it look easy, my friend. Good job ! May God bless, Dwight

As an electrician, . . . as a carpenter, . . . or doing leatherwork, . . . I've always tried to keep it pretty simple. What are other people paying for this product or service? What would I pay for this product or service? Trying to gauge it by hours spent can be anti-productive. Remember, . . . YOUR CUSTOMER is your most valuable resource. Better to give him a bargain 10 times over, . . . than to gyp him once. My last thought before I price an item to a customer: "Am I happy pricing it here?" If the answer is yes, . . . do it. If not, . . . don't. May God bless, Dwight

I would make the belt part out of 3 pieces of 9/10: the left side (w/buckle), the right side (w/tongue), and the back (w/zippered money belt pouch). The pouches and bags I would pre form from probably 6/7 shoulder leather, as well as the outside of the zippered money belt pouch. If you look especially at the top of the belt along the back side on the right hand side, . . . that leather is a lot thicker than 4/5. That front pocket on the right hand side, . . . it also looks plenty big enough for a Ruger LCP, . . . could be a double duty piece. Anyway, . . . thanks for the pic, . . . good luck in what ever you do with it. May God bless, Dwight

For a first holster, . . . good job, . . . far above my "first" one. Look at some different patterns, . . . you'll see that putting a patch on the back for a belt loop is not the best way, . . . but that is the worst critic I have. Otherwise, good work. Welcome to leather working, . . . May God bless, Dwight

See above answers, may God bless, Dwight

Hey, Russ, . . . thanks much and a big hat tip to you, sir. I looked at the bag, . . . just kinda figured it was one of those one of a kind thingys folks made, . . . never even thought of goin' googlin'. it actually is a better bag than I would have imagined, . . . I especially liked the pouch pocket on the back. Anyway, . . . may God bless, Dwight

Personally, . . . I'd love to see the back side of that rucksack. I can imagine what I think it should be, . . . but I'd still like to see it. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, Sylvia, . . . I don't play a guitar, . . . in the words of a former pastor, . . . I beat it into submission. Anyway, . . . it was really neat to hear a real pro hit those licks. May God bless, Dwight

The first thing on the agenda, Karen, would be several close up pictures. Someone here may be able to discern from them, . . . but without them, . . .???? Take a look at this Gunbroker link, . . . is this the proper holster? If so, . . . the pictures look like there are no hidden stitches, . . . everything goes through to the inside. http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=287627402 May God bless, Dwight

Well, Bill, . . . first off, . . . I don't do a lot of fringe. IWB holsters for 1911's and their associated belts and mag carriers are my stock and trade for the most part, . . . and they are kina "fringe less" so to speak. If you look on my website, www.dwightsgunleather.com there are a couple of fringed pieces I did. Both were done with a stainless steel ruler that has a cork back, . . . and a drywall (razor) knife that had been worked over on my razor knife strop. Again, . . . I don't do much, . . . that gets me by, . . . As I said earlier, . . . I like your idea, . . . but I've owned my rotary cutter for about 5 years now, . . . never needed to change the blade, . . . just don't use it much, . . . and yeah, . . . I am actually scared of the thing. Same way with my round knife, . . . Anyway, . . . may God bless, Dwight

I couldn't tell, . . . did he order pepperoni or anchovies? Thanks, . . . but no thanks, . . . I did one of those for a friend with his Colt full size 100th anniversary edition, . . . rail, . . . lazerlyte, . . . We never could get the lazerlyte to "zero". He traded it off, . . . then I made him a pancake for his Colt, . . . he loves it. May God bless, Dwight

Dave, . . . Weldwood contact cement does not work as well on the harness leather as it does on veggie tanned leather. Graduate over to veggie tanned, . . . most everyone finds it a better raw material because you can do so much more with it. One thing you CAN DO WITH IT is use rubber cement, . . . the stuff kids in school use for glue. It is not permanent, . . . but it will hold two pieces together long enough to stitch them. Oh, . . . and if you are using contact cement, . . . let me suggest you do not try to put them together until both sides are dry to the touch. I often use my 1100 watt heat gun to assist the cement to dry. And as mentioned earlier, . . . you DO WANT to see a bit of a shine where the glue is, . . . paraphrasing Charlie Chan, . . . "No shiney, . . . no stickeee". May God bless, Dwight

I like that trick, . . . but I really don't like those rotary cutters. Just one of those personal things, . . . have visions of fingers falling to the floor every time I use mine. May God bless, Dwight

An alternative option for you: re-design the shape on the trigger guard side of the holster. Move the stitch line in to where it is really close and follows the contours of the gun. You will probably have to make at least one that you put up on a shelf, . . . just to get the EXACT measurement needed. When you get that pattern perfected, . . . cut the stitches, . . . roll it back out flat, . . . and use it for the pattern to cut your new "pretty" one. Tool it to your hearts content. Let it dry, . . . absolutely, completely, 100% DRY. Glue, edge, burnish, and sew it together. Then, . . . being very careful, . . . spray the INSIDE ONLY of the holster with water that is hot enough that you don't keep your hands in it long, . . . but not hot enough to actually burn you. Use an old Windex spray bottle or something like that. Then be careful, . . . and with a pair of brown jersey gloves on your hands, . . . form and mold the holster around the gun. The forming and molding won't be perfect, . . . but it wil be much better than the loose bag holster you have now. And do not put the gun in Saran Wrap, a plastic bag, or anything like that. It only makes the holster bigger. You can wipe that little bit of water off the weapon later on. After you have molded it (should not take over about 5 - 7 minutes, . . . slip the weapon out, . . . gently squeeze the holster back so it is just a tad tighter than the width of the weapon, . . . hang it up in front of a fan to dry. If you have access to a heat box that you can predictably make at 130 deg F, . . . dry it in there. This process is about the best of both worlds, . . . having a holster that is both formed and tooled. And it is only a good compromise to both. May God bless, Dwight

I'm with Luke, . . . I'd like to know too, . . . May God bless, Dwight