Dwight

I like 4/5 for my shoulder straps. If you are going to do many belts, . . . straps, . . . etc. might want to think about a leather splitter. Sides, shoulders, all of em run differently, . . . sometimes one end of the hide or side will be thicker than the other end. I got sick of messing with it, . . . got a splitter, . . . now I don't have to try to keep so many different weights of leather. Don't have a 54 inch piece of 4/5 but do have a piece in 8/9, . . . ??? The splitter will handle that right quickly. AND, . . . if you do much in knife sheaths, . . . the cast off can be used as a welt. Milled vegetable tan makes really soft and "easy on the body" shoulder straps, . . . make em a bit wider to spread the weight on the shoulders. All of mine are kinda "long pear" shaped, . . . and are comfortable. Sold two in the last couple months, . . . both customers super happy so far. May God bless, Dwight

Hey, Seabee, . . . the loops on the holster are actually all one piece of leather. The two loops make it so it will not rock back and forth seriously on you while you wear it, . . . and if somehow one does become unsnapped, . . . there is no probability that you will lose holster and gun. Again it is a cabbage from Sparks gun leather, . . . first place I saw that arrangement, . . . liked it. Tell me more about the type holster you want to make, . . . maybe some kind of sketch, . . . I just may have your pattern here, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Hmmm, . . . weldwood contact cement has never let me down. I even used it to make my vacuum bag. May God bless, Dwight

Don't let your wife shoot it, . . . ha-ha, . . . cause if you like it yourself, . . . you'll have to buy you a new one, . . . lol. Seriously, . . . it is the 3rd one I've owned, . . . the first one I could not get to shoot straight, . . . shot 3 inches to the left and 1 inch high at 20 feet, . . . Nobody, including the LGS could move the front sight, . . . so I traded it, . . . Later tried a Shield .45, . . . a buddy of mine talked me out of it. I don't like the .40, . . . and really do need something smaller than a 1911 at times, . . . so I tried one more time (they were on sale for $279, including 4 magazines) and am happy to report this one is good. What pattern IWB are you going to make? These are my favorites for the shield. May God bless, Dwight

Yep, . . . I'm about to lose it though, . . . I'm thinking just as soon as the weather breaks, . . . my wife gets another chance at it, . . . I'll be gun shopping again. I made a kinda-sorta copy of a Sparks Executive for it, . . . with some changes to make it fit me better. May God bless, Dwight

Thanks, everyone for the good words, . . . and yes Jake, and JD62 that is a cross draw chest rig. I "created" it from several others I'd looked at, . . . and from the shoulder holster I made mimiking Doc Holiday's rig from the movie, Tombstone. That is a GP100, 6 inch in the holster. I basically just made the holster, . . . a pancake style with almost a completely flat back, . . . left ears on the sides to attach the straps, . . . it has a strap around the back and one to go up and over the right shoulder. I fastened the whole thing together with a couple of brass stud fasteners, . . . makes it quick and easy to change the dimensions. Take a look at the pics, . . . the straps are 1 inch wide 4/5 oz, . . . holster is 8/9 oz. I tried my best to get a fellow I know to let me build him one like this for the same model gun. Nothing would have him but a regular shoulder holster, so that is what he got. I would really rather have this for a cannon this big. Its the one being hand delivered, . . . my son doesn't know it yet though, . . . it is his reward for allowing me to use the pistol to mold the shoulder holster. May God bless, Dwight

Finished these three up today, . . . one to be mailed out, one to be delivered, one to be picked up. For a change, I really had fun doing these three. Each was a change in the way I normally do things, . . . kinda liked the change in pace. May God bless, Dwight

That is pretty much the look I want. Mind sharing the brand name and the "where I got it"? The Roman Centurion belt I need for a costume is $200 from India and really doesn't have the images I want. This opens the door to a really good looking belt. Thanks, Jeff, . . . may God bless, Dwight

I've got a special project I need to do, . . . make several 2 1/2 inch square pieces of carved leather look like brass. The pieces will have ancient Roman symbols, . . . nothing really intricate. It doesn't have to pass a tight inspection, . . . just have a brass appearance from out at about 5 feet or more. Anybody got a real good suggestion? Thanks, may God bless, Dwight

I have a box for "bad cuts" and they go in there when I make a "wrong" cut. Some day, . . . I'll use them, . . . or when I'm worm food, . . . my son will wonder why I cut out all those pieces ahead of time and didn't use them. May God bless, Dwight

You are a credit to the leather industry, . . . thank you. I do basically the same, . . . keeps my customers happy, . . . makes for a good reputation, which cannot be bought, . . . only earned. May God bless, Dwight (not a seabee, . . . shipboard EM2)

When you go out to get your glue, . . . make two stops. First one is at a lumber store or hardware store, . . . buy a pint of Weldwood contact cement. https://www.lowes.com/pd/DAP-Weldwood-Off-White-Interior-Exterior-Contact-Cement-Construction-Adhesive-Actual-Net-Contents-32-fl-oz/3819177 Second stop is at Harbor Freight, . . . you want a package of acid brushes, . . . https://www.harborfreight.com/36-pc-12-in-horsehair-bristle-acid-shop-brushes-61880.html Put a light coat of the contact cement on each piece, . . . fully coat the points where they come together, . . . take a hair dryer or heat gun and lightly go over it (need a well ventilated area to do this) to dry out the contact cement. When it is dry to the touch of your fingers, . . . carefully put the two pieces together, . . . and apply pressure. I like to use a wall paper seam roller. Finish off the edge with a sander of some sort. I have two of these, . . . they work great. https://www.harborfreight.com/1-in-x-30-in-belt-sander-61728.html I usually groove the edge for my stitch line. https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/craftool-adjustable-groover Then finish off by rounding the edge. https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/craftool-pro-classic-fine-edger Oh, . . . and welcome to the wonderful, . . . enjoyable, . . . sometimes expensive, . . . and addictive, . . . world of leather working. May God bless, Dwight

That's a good lookin, practical holster. That a top break .22 inside it? May God bless, Dwight

Welcome from another Buckeye, . . . May God bless, Dwight

Good job my friend, . . . Funny though, . . . every time I make a holster for a Shield, . . . I always say to myself, . . . "Sure used an awful lot of leather for such a scrawny little gun", . . . and I've got one. May God bless, Dwight

I won't put staples or rivets in any knife sheath I make. All you have to do is be stupid one time, . . . try to stick the knife in the end of a post while still in the sheath, . . . and you just ruined the knife blade. An old boy scout leader (long since gone) taught me that back around 1958 , . . . never forgot it. Same goes for ax sheaths. The rivets / staples actually do nothing for the sheath if the sheath is made properly. I realize the "real" ones had them, . . . but that doesn't mean I have to do it. May God bless, Dwight

I always like a puzzle, . . . and this one had me puzzled. But when I saw Josh's holster, . . . the light came on. I could not figure why I was not having any trouble with my safety, . . . but other's were. I did not "design it", . . . it is one of those things that falls in place, . . . sometimes by good fortune more than by critical engineering. My snap is placed a little more forward on the weapon and a little lower. What happens there, . . . when the thumb is attempting to put the snap together, . . . it is actually pushing up on the bottom side of the safety, . . . attempting to push the safety further "on". In Josh's, . . . I'm thinking that a hard push on making the snap come together, . . . just might dislodge the safety. Not sure that is the case, . . . but it seemed reasonable. I did a little picture of what I think "might be" happening, . . . if the snap is put at the red position, . . . it might cause a problem, . . . but it should not in the green position. What do you think? May God bless, Dwight

I no longer make horizontal shoulder holsters, . . . but the pictures show how I did the thumb snap on them. This was one I did just messing around, . . . but it suffices to show how I did it. For vertical shoulder holsters, . . . I make a strap with two snaps, one on each end, . . . so it can be snapped across the trigger guard. The piece of Kydex on the end of it gives either the forefinger on the shooting hand the ability to unsnap it rather quickly, . . . or if it is on the other side of the holster, . . . the thumb, . . . or the fingertips of the off hand can undo the strap. All of these retention means work well for me without the problem you seemed to have. May God bless, Dwight

It doesn't do that. I mix virgin beeswax from my own hive, . . . and an equal weight of neetsfoot oil (NOT neetsfoot oil compound, . . . there is a difference), . . . put em in a jar in a crock pot, . . . it all melts together making a somewhat greasy and slippery paste, . . . I pour it out into cupcake papers in a muffin pan. Rub it on the project, . . . and don't be especially sparing, . . . run a heat gun over it to melt it into the pores, . . . get a rag and when it cools a bit, . . . begin to buff. Use your strong hand, . . . just because you gotta put some "work" into buffing it out real even. It makes a beautiful finish in my opinion, . . . and I have never had any bad experience with it at all, . . . ever. It is THE old fashioned recipe used by the frontiersmen of days past. There were others, . . . but this was one of the most common, . . . so I am told. May God bless, Dwight

robs456, . . . just one of those "things" we as people prefer. Unless the customer nixes the idea, . . . all of my sheaths have the retaining strap at the bottom, . . . and the snap flap points forward. That way as you reach for the knife, . . . the palm touches and starts to wrap around the hilt, . . . while the index finger unsnaps the retaining strap. Learned to do it that way some 50 years or so ago, . . . never found a compelling reason to do it otherwise, . . . except a paying customer wants it "his way", . . . then it is his knife, his sheath, and his problem. May God bless, Dwight

Quick, . . . tell me what state that is, . . . wanna make sure I paint them out of my travels. May God bless, Dwight

I've always liked K-bar knives, . . . they are a stand-out piece of equipment. Your sheath adds to that stand-out, . . . great job. May God bless, Dwight

Josh, . . . beautiful job. Now, . . . can you bottle up some of that patience you obviously have an abundance of, . . . I could use a bottle if not a box. You do work worthy of the word "heirloom". May God bless, Dwight

No, . . . I've got a Skippy Crunchy peanut butter jar that has a line on it at about 2 inches from the bottom, . . . another at 3 and another at 4. When I get down to the 2 inch line, . . . I add water to the 3 inch, . . . the Resolene to the 4 inch, . . . shake, . . . and I'm ready to go. Put the lid on tight after every use. Have to change the bottles out every year or so, . . . they get cruddy and nasty up around the top. But it ain't no big deal, . . . cause I like my peanut butter. I have one bottle made up for black, . . . another made up for browns. Sometimes, the black will tend to pick up some of the dye as you brush it on, and I do a lot of black holsters here. Keeping two bottles also makes sure I've always got some, . . . especially if it is a black project. What is not mixed stays in the bottle up on the shelf. May God bless, Dwight

I don't want to sound mean spirited, . . . but quite frankly I've been using Resolene for well over 10 years now, . . . NEVER have I had a serious "brush stroke" or "streak" problem. I use cheap bristle brushes bought at Harbor Freight . . . rinse it out after each use, . . . usually it lasts a month or so and then the bristles start falling out so I pitch it and get a new one, . . . they're about 50 cents each. I use 1/2 resolene and 1/2 water mixture, . . . brush it on fairly thick to start, . . . brush quickly to get a "lather" of bubbles all over the area I'm working, . . . then very lightly brush left / right / up / down / oblique left / oblique right, etc., . . . until there are no more bubbles. It is a satin finish, . . . if I want more shine, . . . add another coat. THIS has always worked for me, . . .i have the compressor and air brush, . . . just too much aggravation and trouble to use it when I can get great results with a brush. Especially with it being 8 degrees outside, . . . and I'm just not uncorking a spray gun inside without a spray booth, . . . which I don't presently have. Practice it a bit on some scrap, . . . May God bless, Dwight