Peterk

Hello all, I started making holsters about a month ago and am having a great time with it. I've just sold my 6th holster today to another happy customer... But now I have a problem (sort of)... A member of a gun forum I belong to just saw one of my posts of my holsters, and wanted to know if I can make him a leather tool belt patterned after a canvas one he loves. I wanted to tell him no, but a part of me also wanted to give it a try. So my question is, where do I begin? So far I've only been dealing with 7 - 8oz veg-tanned leather, but somehow I don't believe this will cut it for an electrian's tool belt. I figure this belt will have to withstand extreme temperatures, moisture, and constant prodding and poking by sharp tools... If anyone here has made a tool belt before please share with me, for the very least, the type of leather I really need to work with, and any tips of how to construct this thing. Since this person has a canvas one he would like me to model after, I figure I can just cut the threads so I can get all the pieces to pattern after. Any help would be great! I'd hate to say no to someone in need... Thanks. Peter

Thanks Lobo!

not what I was shooting for but tends to happen every time after I apply the Eco-Flo Satin sheen, Super Sheen products... Thought changing to Angelus dyes would change that but not really. I like the outcome though so I don't mind.

My first left hand holster! I know, nothing to write home about... Anyway, after my first few holsters my "hobby" has really taken off and more orders are coming in. My biggest obstacle right now is I don't have enough time, and enough options (firearm models) for my patrons but I'll make do. Here is the newest order for a left hand P6 belt holster, finished in Angelus Coffee dye, neatsfoot oil, and Satin Sheen. Interior is finished with Bag Kote. Thanks and any comments/suggestions are welcomed: Bit more light on molding detail:

I would love one of these wood burnishers as well... Does anyone know what is the progress with this? Anyone gonna attempt to produce it? thanks.

Thanks guys for all of your comments. I currently have three knifes waiting for sheaths from customers, so I will research a bit more on knife construction and try not to use rivets... Since I'm starting, any money saved on not having to purchase more tools would be good.

Yeah good job on your edges. What was your process to burnish the edges? I typically hand burnish and then apply edge kote, but never seem to be able to get rid of all signs of the seam...

Hello all, Am going to try some rivets to speed construction for a couple of new knife projects, and for reinforcement purposes, but I need some guidance what size to use. The thickest part of the sheath will be no more than 3 pieces of 7 - 8 oz leather. So far I've found rivets with 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" posts. I assume that since 8oz leather is 1/8" thick, then three of them should be 3/8"? Yes? So technically speaking the rivet with the 3/8" post should work?! I appreciate the help! Peter P.S. What are "double cap" rivets?

Hello all, Has anyone ever have a white waxy residue left on your finished leather products after using a finish that contains Carnuba, or bees wax? Specifically, I just bought and used the Angelus Perfect Stain shoe wax #400 in Neutral color on one of my finished holsters, and it gave me the natural shine I was looking for without looking like plastic (Super Sheen effect). But after 30 minutes, I started seeing white waxy residue on the holster that I couldn't really polish off. Just wondering if anyone has experienced this and how you go about getting it off. I would think you may get this from Leather Balm with Carnuba wax as well since the composition is very similar to this shoe wax. Thanks. Peter

The inlays shown through the "windows" are just large enough for the windows. The inside of the sheath is lined with the same faux allegator with the glazed side against the knife and the smaller window pieces are glued flesh to flesh to the liner. The glazed allegator-print side would not stick to anything, including the flesh side of the outer cowhide, using any glue, so I had to glue another larger piece of faux allegator's flesh to the flesh of cowhide, and just use smaller pieces shown through the windows. Don't know if that makes any sense, but no, I did not sew it, and the cement is holding the pieces strong. This won't be for hard use as I will be recommending my Professor to use the nylon sheath that came with the knife during daily chores on his Elk Farm, and use this leather sheath for special BBQ events.

Thanks all! To darken the Bison Brown, or any color for that matter, a light coat of neatsfoot oil does it for me. Just can't put too much otherwise the holster is useless.

Looks clean; I like it. If you don't mind, what did you use to attach the loops to the holster? I've only used snaps before. Thanks. Happy Holidays.

I've been involved in plastic modeling and firearms refinishing for some time now so applying finishes via airbrush onto anything seemed like the natural, and right process to do. I actually tried wool dauber and foam paint brush on test pieces to see how the finish would come out but all that did was reinforce the airbrush choice. If I want a bit of antigued/worn look to the holsters I will use the foam brush to apply, or apply via airbrush and drag the foam brush across the surface while it is drying. The water-based dyes, thinned just a tiny bit with water (or not), would require no more than 25psi of pressure to apply evenly, so a simple tankless compressor could be had for not too much money, like this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=92403 Do not waste your time with canned air like the paasche basic kits, or the preval sprayer. You will spend more money on canned air than a compressor.

the Sig and 1911 holsters were dyed with a 50/50 mix of light mahogany and bison brown (Eco-Flo) on the first airbrush coat, just bison brown on the second coat, one light coat of neatsfoot oil, then finished with a coat of Satin Sheen. The edges were edge koted and waxed. the sheath was done with two coats of bison brown, one coat of neatsfoot oil, then finished with satin sheen. For some reason when airbrushing bison brown on leather, it always comes out with a slight sheen and look more like metallic bronze. I usually wipe the holsters with a microfiber cloth right after airbrushing to take out that metallic look, but this time I left it on. The neatsfoot will take some of the sheen off and it actually turned out pretty good I think. Thanks all.

Hi rdb, I believe you are talking about the Sig holster? There is definitely an opening on the bottom of that holster, since I don't like closed holsters either for functional purposes. What I did was when I drew up the pattern, I left a bit more material on the bottom and just folded it in when molding. The knife sheath also has a drain hole on the bottom; I cut the gusset just short to leave a bit of room.

Hello all, Here are a few new ones I just finished: Sig P225 1911 Belt slide to fit government, commander, and officer sizes First knife sheath for a Gerber knife - This will be my gift to a professor of mine for his 50th anniversary of teaching. Thanks.

Anyone? Is veg-tanned cowhide (shoulder, side, etc.), other than exotics, the only choice for typical leather holster-making?

I believe the name of the oil is on the bucket in one of Brigade's pictures on the website. I found out about Neatsfoot Oil from one of their pictures.

Hello all, Just wondering what other types of leather would be suitable for holster work. There have been a couple of threads mentioning the use of Latigo and skirting leathers to make holsters. I have practically no knowledge of what those leathers are, and have only been using 8oz veg-tanned cowhide to make holsters. I'm just trying to take my holstercraft to a new (professional?) level in terms of fit and finish, and the quality have already improved just by bumping the quality of the leather I use. Just wondering what other differences there are between me and custom makers who have been doing this far longer than I have, and also have sewing and burnishing machines.

the thread right underneath, called "Great Photos" is discussing that mysterious mixture also.

I have experimented and now use Bag Kote to seal the flesh side. When I was using low grade leather from Tandy it "pasted" the loose fibers down pat, and now with the already pasted leather I have, it gives the flesh a very slick and glossy finish, almost like a burnished surface. I posted a while back trying to find out what Brigade is using but couldn't find an answer... I do admire the edges they get on their holsters... I am still searching for a faster and easier way to burnished the edges on my holsters; that is one thing that is holding me back in terms of advancing the quality of my holsters. I would love to get their formula (or maybe just their tools) for burnishing. :-)

Billsotx, if you don't mind, can you post the specific link for these professional dyes? I went onto Turtle Feathers but could not find a link for these professional dyes. Thanks.

Thanks all. Turtle feathers was where I found Angelus dyes before, just wanted to get everyone's opinion before I order a bottle or two to try. Eco-Flo has been okay for me but I'd like to try something else to move my projects to the next level in finished appearance. Thanks.

Hello all, Have read on a custom holster maker's website once that he uses Angelus (sp?) Dyes exclusively to refinish his holster/sheaths. Has anyone here used Angelus dyes before? What did you think of it? I have only used Eco-Flo water-based dyes so far since not too many choices are available to me here in California. As far as I know Angelus dyes are not restricted. Thanks. Peter

Hi guys, Have a problem with sewing faux allegator... I bought some allegator pattern embossed cow hide (2oz) to add as cheap accents to my holsters. Anyway, ran into a bit of difficulty since I could not use a groover on that skin to set a uniform distance from the edge for hand-sewing purposes. Anyway, I would think this would be true with real exotics as well, so how do you guys hand-sew exotics/faux exotics? Thanks. Peter