Dwight

Thanks, Johanna............. May God bless, Dwight

Quite honestly, . . . don't know about anyone else, . . . I've become a bit tired of this site having become a dumping ground for every oddball leather jockey who has to present 20, 30, 40, or however many pictures, . . . hog up the whole top of the display, . . . and load the activity with (as of today) someone's idea of making this a catalog shopping experience for cheap motorcycle garb. If someone does a "Mona Lisa" in leather, . . . present it, . . . share it, . . . show it off, . . . but it does not have to knock off every thing else for 3, 4, 5 days, . . . with 15 different views or lighting options on the same flower. Yeah, . . . grumpy today. May God bless, Dwight

I'd be awful tempted to come up with a couple of 1 inch wide straps at the bottom, . . . going up to maybe 1 1/2 right at arm pit level, . . . and have someone sew up an artificial cinch to go up and over your shoulder. It would be wonderfully comfortable, . . . and unique, . . . but not overpower the beautiful purse you made. May God bless, Dwight

The only final finish product I know of that will stop that process is Resolene. It has a UV blocker built in, . . . I have never had a dye job go south that was protected by Resolene, . . . and have had others that were not. THAT is the reason I use Resolene on virtually all my projects. May God bless, Dwight

I would probably first try using a thicker leather, . . . maybe 8/9 oz, . . . get it good and sloppy wet, . . . and do my berserker mad man attitude to imbed the chain mail into the leather with a small mallet, . . . rolling pin, . . . tin bender, . . . or a press if you have one. Once you get what you wanted imbedded in that area, . . . if the leather is too thick, . . . shave some off the back side with a skiver or a round knife. The key I have found to getting "new" projects completed, . . . is simply the old saying: "Where there is a will, . . . there is a way". It ain't perfect, . . . but it has worked for me for 72 years. May God bless, Dwight

OK, . . . we have two pieces of leather cut, . . . ready to turn into a holster. I lay my template down on my little cutting board, . . . lay the weapon on the template (picture 15), . . . then take the front of the holster, . . . that has been thoroughly dampened for this part of the process (picture 16) and position it above the weapon and template so it will wind up in the right position. In picture 17, it goes into the vacuum bag, . . . suction turned on, . . . left on for something near 15 or 20 seconds, . . . released, . . . then re-done after positioning the bag so it pulls it in a bit tighter. As you can see in pictures 18 and 19, . . . the front of the holster has all the dimensions and contours, . . . while the back is seriously flat. Let the front dry, . . . dress some of the hard to get to edges, . . . glue it all together, . . . sand the edges smooth, . . . sew, . . . punch the slots, . . . bevel and burnish the rest of the edges, . . . dye, . . . dry, . . . finish, . . . and VOILA, . . . holster. Oh, . . . and that is a pine derby version of the Shield. It works. May God bless, Dwight

I got asked how I make a flat back pancake holster, . . . and so I thought I'd just drop it in here. This is for the "first one", . . . somebody wants a holster done that I don't have a pattern made for that one. To start with, I have a couple of different "templates" that get me started on this pancake holster. One is for 1911 size or bigger, . . . and the other is for small auto's and 5 shot revolvers, etc. Picture 1 should show the two of them, the little one stacked upon the big one. This holster is for a S&W Shield, so it will be the smaller template that I start out with. In picture 3, I lay the weapon down on the template, . . . get it where it looks like it will work the best, . . . In picture 4, another piece of manila folder is placed behind the template and the weapon to lay out the sweat shield. That is depicted in picture 5. The sweat shield attachment is then cut out and taped into position on the template as in picture 6. In picture 8, we see another piece of manila folder, . . . cut so that the front two pieces are the same contour, . . . but with some extra length in the back (see picture 9). That second piece of manila folder is then molded down around the weapon to get a semblance of the size I will need to complete the holster (picture 10). Hold on tight to the back end of those two pieces of paper, . . . remove the gun, . . . turn it over, . . . and mark the cut line for the back edge in picture 11. You'll notice in picture 12, I cut it a bit bigger than the line, . . . I'll be throwing away a couple square inches of leather, . . . but it will NOT be too short, . . . Pictures 13 and 14 show the two pieces cut out, . . . and getting ready to become a holster. (continued on the next post)

Your question makes a lot of sense, . . . unfortunately like the one "When will the sun burn out?", . . . neither has a perfect answer. Each holster will be just enough different from it's predecessor, . . . that the dimension used on the first, . . . "may" not work on the next. As previously mentioned, . . . dampen the flap, . . . start the holster through it, . . . put the gun in the holster, . . . then pull her up good and tight. Most of the time, you will be able to get away with using the same dimension, . . . but if you are very careful with the leather thickness, . . . cutting the blank out, . . . and your sew line, . . . it'll work good. The key is getting the first one done so you have a solid pattern. Take your time on it, . . . it's worth every extra moment you spend on it. May God bless, Dwight

I think you will be pleasantly surprised when you see the results, . . . May God bless, Dwight

The last time I ran across the exact same problem, . . . I found out it was my dye. Earlier when I didn't have any Feibings reducer, . . . used something else, . . . and threw out a quart of Saddle Tan dye because of it. I won't make that mistake again. Now when I buy dye, . . . I buy reducer, . . . still mix em all at 50 / 50, . . . and don't have that problem. I also found that if I form first, . . . and dye later, . . . the dye is ALWAYS more uniform. May God bless, Dwight

First things, . . . first, . . . the only item every protected by leather as a "water proof" covering was the original cow, sheep, goat, lamb, deer, or other animal that wore the skin. Veggie tanned leather is not, . . . and for all tense and purposes, . . . cannot be made to be WATER PROOF. Anyone attempting to make it such is fooling themselves and their customers. Four coats of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly on your hunting boots before a big hunt in the swamps will do for the first time out, . . . but later, it will have to be done again. That is about the nearest you can get to water proof. Water resistant, . . . that you can do. I do it all the time with veggie tanned leather belts, holsters, knife sheaths, cell phone cases, . . . etc. I use oil dyes almost 100% of the time, . . . and I let them dry for a minimum of 24 hours, . . . and then the resolene is applied, . . . thinned 1 to 1 with water, . . . and is applied very lovingly and carefully with a bristle brush. Apply a liberal coat, . . . brush it left, then right, then up, then down, . . . making sure it fills every little void. Brush lightly until there are no more bubbles. Add a second coat within about 2 hours, . . . then let that dry for 24 hours or more. Do this both inside and outside. May God bless, Dwight

Sorry, . . . just now saw the question, . . . answer is like stated above, . . . I don't thin unless somehow the can leaked enough air to become thick. I keep this from happening by buying a quart can, . . . then putting some in a pint can that I work from. Usually, it never thickens because I use it up, . . . but when it does thicken up, . . . a "very little" acetone will do it well. Like I said earlier, . . . it works, . . . but Slipangle is definitely right, . . . you can come up with some kind of a buzz if you are in an enclosed area with the stuff for long. May God bless, Dwight

I made my own from a piece of electrical conduit, . . . but if you got the 20 bucks, . . . this is what I would do. May God bless, Dwight

Here ya go: ebay......... (little pricey, . . . but might be justifiable in that it really looks like a good one). May God bless, Dwight http://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-Heavy-Duty-Steel-Hammer-Holder-Patent-US-D581-6575-/180733691752

This is the one I've got, . . . and it is fully every bit the pump one needs to use a bag. It "might be" a bit short for use on a big vacuum table, . . . but in my 24 inch square bag, . . . it'll pull it right down, . . . right quick. AND, . . . there are always 20% off coupons for Harbor Freight. My whole system came in at about $80, . . . bag, pump, hose, valve, . . . the whole magillicuddy, . . . May God bless, Dwight http://www.harborfreight.com/25-cfm-vacuum-pump-98076.html

Just some info from an old hillbilly that's been making belts now for over 10 years: yes, . . . stamp it first, . . . then glue it. If nothing else, . . . with a bad mistake you only have to toss one piece of otherwise good leather, . . . if it's glued together, . . . you lose two pieces. And as for stiffeners, . . . I personally think they are a waste of time. I've made 1 1/4 inch up to 3 inch wide belts, . . . and never felt the need for a stiffener. My present belt I've worn for 10 years carries a cell phone, . . . a 1911 pistol, . . . holster, . . . up to 3 magazines, . . . flashlight, . . . and a cell phone, . . . and still holds up my britches, . . . and carries the weight. My belts when they are finished, . . . measure out (with calipers) in the .180 to .220 range of thicknesses. May God bless, Dwight

I don't have any experience with nubuck as I always use suede for my "lining" projects. Nubuck is comparably priced from what I've seen, . . . so like MADMAX22 said, . . . kind of up to you. Either way, . . . I would contact cement it to the exterior leather, . . . and may not even bother stitching the sides, . . . unless you are putting in a zipper, . . . in which case the zipper flange goes between the two leathers, . . . and it makes a really nice looking package. I suppose if I were going to do it, . . . I would opt for the thicker of the two, . . . because you ARE MAKING a drop basket for a lap top computer, . . . and that drop basket needs to be able to take what ever punishment the basket gets when it is dropped. And if you have ever owned a laptop for any time, . . . you know they get dropped. Good luck, . . . be sure to post a picture or 10 when you get done, . . . I may have to do one of these for my son's laptop. May God bless, Dwight

Pardon the scruffy drawing, . . . but this is very similar to the two I used for 20 years, . . . still got em, . . . they still carry a 16 oz Estwing, . . . and a 28 oz Estwing, . . . with no complaints. 30 seconds with a ball peen hammer on an anvil making the flats for the ends, . . . 1 minute rounding out the ends, . . . 2 minutes drilling the holes for two copper rivets, . . . 4 easy 90 degree bends, . . . This is how I would do it, . . . May God bless, Dwight

You can buy a small metal bending tool from Harbor freight, . . . about $50, . . . buy your own 1/4 inch steel rod, . . . make em yourself. May God bless, Dwight

One thing I have found that helps, . . . "Made in America, by Americans". While I do not post that phrase on my website, . . . the ol' Red, White, and Blue is prominently displayed on each page, . . . implying it without saying it. I do my best to buy American when I can, . . . and there are a lot of others who do the same. But again . . . it is marketing, . . . and you just have to learn how to market your product. After a while, . . . if you are doing it right, . . . it'll work. May God bless, Dwight

Just from an engineering standpoint, . . . I'm going to say the wet formed will hold up longer. The reason?? There is more surface area closer to and touching the gun, . . . thereby reducing the friction coefficient of any one point in the holster, . . . and spreading the friction necessary for a certain amount of retention over a larger surface. By not forming the holster, . . . only certain areas will be doing the retaining, . . . and should wear down much quicker, . . . doing away with any retention that they provided. Actually, . . . some of the sloppiest holsters I've ever seen were pancakes, . . . that long long ago probably had a good retention factor, . . . but through use and maybe abuse, . . . they are now more of a carrying bag than they are a holster. May God bless, Dwight

Try here, . . . I've used them several times, . . . great people to deal with. I don't know about international shipping, etc, . . . but you will most likely be able to get just about anything you want from them. https://ohiotravelbag.com/ May God bless, Dwight

If you want to make water proof purses, . . . try vinyl, . . . PVC, . . . or other plastics. Leather can be made water resistant, . . . but you will be fooling yourself and your customers if you advertise "water proof" purses. Resolene is a very good product for that, . . . as well as a combination of beeswax and neatsfoot oil. May God bless, Dwight

The outside would be done first, . . . using an arbor press, . . . maybe 4 at a time, . . . at least two. The inside hole, . . . lay em all out flat, . . . touching each other, . . . hair side up, . . . mallet and small hand punch, . . . done in short order. Anyway, . . . that's how I'd do it. May God bless, Dwight

It cannot fall out of the holster when I hold it upside down and wiggle it a bit. May God bless, Dwight