bob21804

Very nice design, I really like that. Is that a winning lottery ticket I see in there?

Wow, that looks great.

Very nice. Sleek and clean. I'm personally not much for yellow, (I guess I'm not quite that stylish. lol) but I love the idea of using vintage material for the lining. Great touch. Thumbs up!

Thanks, BrownDog. That method is pretty much what I imagined would work well. I have a small double boiler around here somewhere. I still haven't had the chance to try it, but maybe this weekend. I also imagine the beeswax sort of filling in, building up a bit, and smoothing over any less-than-perfect edges - such as small/minor gaps between layers of leather, that may still be visible even after a good amount of sanding. Do you find this to be the case? I've only been doing leatherwork on a hobby/part-time basis for about 5 months and haven't yet been able to achieve the beautiful, near perfect edges I've seen some more experienced people do. Bob

Very nice work, and definitely inspirational. I haven't made any knife sheaths recently and wouldn't mind giving something like that a try. That really stands out.

I had a couple rough days feeling achey and warn out after a camping and music festival trip with 3 grandkids, mostly in the rain, yea, I know, I'm a glutton for punishment ) but I'm feeling better now and about ready to get to work. Michelle, I do appreciate your advice, but I'm going to be using the vegtan I've been normally using, if for no other reason, because I have it on hand. I don't think it makes sense for me to buy belly leather, when I have everything I need here already. Besides, I would think, the difference in price and the relatively small amount of leather needed, wouldn't be much of a savings, and even though I know my first holster won't likely be wonderful, I'll proceed with the intent of giving it my bet try. Also, I'll definitely watch the video series you posted. Thanks for posting it.

Thanks. Its really nothing fancy, but I think appropriate for the look I wanted. I ordered the antique brass hardware from Springfield Leather. I especially like the flat dee-rings.

Wow, very nice. And great job documenting your process. I'm not sure I'd trust my friends to wrap me in duct tape. Lol. Congrats on completing such a nice project.

I'm typing this a little after 3 am laying in a bunk in the cabin at my campsite. Just want to make a couple comments as its been fun reading the little back-and-forth between you guys. But Alex, if I read this right aren't you calling Jeff's technique for making sure things are line up "hookey". And also wondering if "scootch" is a machinist or other technical term. (Gotta try to start a little trouble if I can. ) OK, back to sleep. Camp coffee in a couple hours.

Yes, that makes perfect sense! Why didn't I think of that? Thanks for the reply, Klaykrusher.

Thanks for posting, Jeff. I figured I'd see you here sooner or later and of course I really appreciate your advice. I read your post first last night, but I was so tired, I could barely keep my eyes open or think straight. But I did realize I think I'm confused on something. I know I need to read through your PDF instructions again (and again, and gain, slowly) but I'm also not sure if this is covered, and I'm leaving for a weekend music festival and camping trip in a couple hours, so I'll ask for clarification on this now, and poke my head in as much as I can over the weekend... Jeff and/or Alex - If I sandwich together 4/5 oz. and 3/4 oz. to make up each of the two pieces (front and back - to end up with a holster that is finished/smooth inside and out), and stitch each of these sandwiches together all the way around before final assembly, won't I then have a double stitching line after stitching the front TO the back. Am I making sense? Trying to get this straight in my mind. I'll also take the instructions and pattern with me this weekend, so I can refer to them. Thanks!

I have some of these - made of fairly dense felt, but I think they would still need to be sandwiched between a couple washers. They are about 1 1/8" x 1 1/8". I haven't had a chance yet, but I'll put a hole through one somehow and fix it up as an edge burnisher. Of course I could even double them up (or more) if the need arises. I also have some smaller ones that I've used for applying dye and trag to edges but they really work no better or worse that any other applicators that could be used.

Thanks Klaykrusher. I did read that thread this morning, but didn't comment. Your holster looked great to me, and I also noticed how Jeff was able to pick out such a minor difference that I would never have noticed in a million years. But I'm sure that helps to explain his beautiful holsters. It almost makes me afraid for him to see my first attempt. lol. And thanks for the suggestion on taking my time and being focused on precision when cutting the pattern. I will do that. I always try to remember, rushing might save a little time today, but the compromised results will last much, much longer. I never promise (or accomplish) perfection, but I try to do my best.

Perfect! Thank you again, so much! I won't pick your brain anymore (today), lol. Promise.

Matt, very interesting thread. Thanks for starting it. Of course, being a newbie myself, I probably shouldn't even chime in here, but I want to say I almost like the idea of our current civilization falling apart. Sometimes I wish I was born 150 years ago when skills like the people here have were more highly valued. (but I'd be dead now. lol) I'm in my mid 50's and currently look at leatherwork as being a rewarding hobby that can pay for itself with a few extra dollars left over for a lot of time invested. When I make things for friends, and charge them a reasonable price, I tell them honestly I'm not even making 1/2 of minimum wage. Even with improved skills, being able to produce items faster and the following an artisan can develop, a person would likely do this more for the love of the craft than the money. But that's not such a bad thing. And yes, those are some beautiful items above.

I'll soon be starting my very first holster - a pancake holster for a Glock 19 9mm. I'm making this for a buddy, with the understand that it probably won't be perfect, though I'll give it my best attempt. I'm especially apprehensive about this project, because (unfortunately) I'm not a gun guy. I'm absolutely NOT anti-gun, and really believe that the more guns in the hands of responsible citizens, the better off we all are. I just didn't grow up with guns, and unfortunately that's one of the hobbies I never got around to. Even asking for advice here, I'm bound to be unfamiliar with gun terms you may use, so please bear with me. I've even thought, with my lack of gun familiarity, holster-making might be a poor choice for me. BUT, there are a LOT of gun people living in my area, so if I can pull it off well, I'm sure I can have plenty of future orders. (and I think it would be really cool to make nice holsters!) With all that said, I'm anxious to do this, but at the same time, somewhat apprehensive. (I'm typing this at least partly to organize my own thoughts on this totally new-to-me project.) Here's what I'm thinking so far... I'll be using a JLS pattern (Thanks, Jeff!) My buddy is left-handed, so I avoided that mistake! Planning to use 8-9 oz. vegtan Not sure of the color - seems many are black. Might use an antique black that I bought recently. I also want it lined. I have some thin pigskin for that purpose. I'm not sure where I want to go as far as possible tooling. Should I keep it un-tooled, or look around for examples of tooled pancake holsters? Also planning to make the optional reinforcement, considering some sort of scrap exotic leather - possibly elephant. I've been reading through forum posts, and I'll keep referring to the JLS PDF instructions throughout the build. I've also watched a couple YouTube tutorials. From what I've seen so far, it seems that the basic construction shouldn't be too difficult, but there's a big difference between an "okay" holster and a NICE holster, and what might appear to be minor details can make a big difference in the end - such as precision in cutting and stitching, as well as design and tooling details. Sooo, at this point, I don't have any specific questions, but I'm sure I will as I get into it. No doubt, there are things I haven't even considered yet. I may cut the main leather tonight, but likely won't really get into it for a few days. At this point, ANY helpful hints, you can pass on to a holster-making-newbie will be appreciated. Any unexpected issues you may have seen other newbie holster-makers run into... Any online holster-making tutorials you think would be especially helpful... Thanks!

Wow, thank you for the great compliment! The thread is a 1 mm waxed nylon, sold by several sellers from China, on eBay. Others have said it's almost as good as Tiger Thread, at a fraction of the cost. I've never used Tiger Thread, so I can't vouch for the comparison, but I like it a lot.

Ahh, Red Cent, that's right... that is your burnisher. I recently printed that picture to show a buddy who was making a wooden burnishing tool for me, in exchange for a leather flashlight case. Here's what we came up with... when I get a chance, I'll probably cut it shorter and fix it to a small bench grinder, similar to your setup. For now, I'll try using it by hand. I also plan to put together a felt disk burnishing tool soon, like mentioned above. I have the material - just need more hours in a day.

Yea, I can see the basic design working for either men or women. I think the determining factors would be in the details - any tooling work, possibly colors, hardware chosen and even variations in the way the leather is cut. It's all good. I'd like to make myself a backpack some day. I was checking out that gorgeous one in your website.

Thanks, Bikermutt and Monica. I appreciate the comments. It was a fun project and nice to create something like this, that I expect to outlive me. I hope it eventually gets passed on to one of my grandkids, and he or she gets to pass it onto his/her grandkid some day. I think I'll be applying some Sno Seal before our blues festival and camping trip, as we're likely to get some rain this weekend. Monica, I hope to soon tackle a more modern and feminine bag, (the first one will probably be a gift to my daughter) which I know you create some beautiful examples, so I hope to pick your brain and experience a bit when that project is ready to start. I may be looking to use a thinner, softer oiled tanned leather, and possibly experiment with some other-than-earth-tone color with that one. Thanks again. Bob

I couldn't agree more! The encouragement and helpful feedback here is invaluable to us newbies. I echo that thank you.

I started this project, for myself a couple months ago, and wanted to finish it up before a camping and music festival, that I'll be attending with 3 of my grandkids this weekend - an annual grandpa and grand-monster thing we've been doing for several years now. The design/style of the bag was created using ideas from various outdoorsy-type bags I've seen online. The figure carvings designs were especially challenging for me, as I'm a novice. I had a few goals in mind when making it. With it being for me, I definitely didn't want a feminine-looking bag, and jokingly referred to it as "my FIELD BAG! - it's not a "man-purse!"", thus the "manly" figure carving subjects. I also wanted a somewhat rugged, bold and rustic styling look and feel, with several latching points and antique dye and flat antique brass dee-rings and hardware. The small side pouch is removable, held on by a couple snaps. I included a finger loop and removable shoulder strap. Let me know what you think. I do appreciate feedback.

I agree with you. The trag will resist the dye. You also might want to consider just using some Bag-kote or Tan-kote to mat down the fibers rather than trag and dye.