dbusarow

Just a guess but given the context I bet it is referring to skiving. So it would be thinning down the edges rather than smoothing them. Or both actually. Thin then smooth. Dan

Awful purty for a pocket holster ! Dan

It all depends. 1/2 the thickness of the gun is the rule of thumb. But that depends on how close the profile matches the the gun and how much the gun's true cross section differs from a rectangle. I went back and found the pics of your 2 holsters. Looking at the M&P holster you can tighten the stitching up by the length of 2 stitches pretty safely. So if you used 6SPI you should be able to move the stitch line in about 1/3 of an inch around the dust cover. A little less around the trigger guard. Use the result you get from one attempt to adjust your stitch lines on the pattern. After a couple of tries they should be perfect. Your craftsmanship on that holster is really nice BTW. I know my second wasn't that good. Revolvers are harder to judge when first making the pattern but once the holster is completed you can do the same approach to correct. Look at the result and adjust the stitch line as needed. Dan

RVM45, If you are ordering leather get a side or back and it will be plenty long enough. A double shoulder probably would not be. Dan

I'll post a pic to Critique as soon as it's done. Probably Monday. Dan

Rawhide, I bet you're right. I tightened the existing ones up from the back side and it made them look a lot better on top. Now I need to clean up the excess on the back but at least it's no longer affecting the looks as much. I'm sure if I had just really tightened these up when first stitching like you suggest it would have done the trick. This customer ordered two so I get to find out soon enough Re. tying the loose ends up. I thought that was just to keep them out of the way, I'll make those knots really snug on the next one and see if that helps too. MADMAX22 and Bree, thanks. This was my first two layer belt and I both dreaded it and looked forward to it. I spent a lot of time making sure every stitch was perfect and still had these guys show up. This project has really helped my sewing though. I about doubled my per foot speed in the course of doing this belt. And that's even while double checking every stitch as I went along. Nothing like practice to help you improve. Thanks, Dan

Boomstick, I have to add a ME TOO to ArcherBen's statements. Thanks! Dan

I just finished the sewing on a double layer belt. Just the stitching is done, I haven't touched the edges or applied any finish yet. But I wanted to get some input before throwing additional mistakes into the mix Here's a picture. On the left side roughly a 1/3 of the way toward the center there are three spots where I had to change thread. Just happened to get 3 together. I followed the instructions in Stohlman's Art of Hand Sewing to the best of my understanding but the "splices" stand out a lot more than I think they should. So my question is, how do I do this better so these are not so ugly? Thanks, Dan

Your work looks really good for first attempts. I know mine were no where near as good. Heck mine are not that much better now, 6 months down the road! I use these awl blades. Except the one I use most isn't listed. I use the #42 for almost everything. A #45 for heavy leather. I'm sewing a 2/3 liner to 14/16 harness right now and the 45 makes that possible. But for normal work I like the much smaller 42. The 42 is a 1 1/2", the 43 is 1 3/4. If that is the only difference it probably won't matter and you should get the #43. I don't remember if I bought mine from Tandy or Weaver, pretty sure both companies carry them. On your edging I think your edges look pretty good. Around the muzzle on the M&P could be better. You should also tighten up the stitch lines on the semi-autos, as your holster breaks in it will loosen up and probably lose the grip on the gun. For the SA they're fine. Keep em coming! Dan

Tom, When making holsters I started out gluing all the way to the edge. Then I decided it might be easier to sew if I didn't have to go through the glue as well as the leather. So I tried leaving the edge unglued like yours and my edge burnishing, which had been decent, went to heck. I'm back to gluing all the way to the edge. I still need to improve my edges but they do come out better when glued together. Dan

Very cool. Thanks for posting this Ed. Dan

Josh, Could you take some pictures of the back side and describe the attachement/quick release? I just built a standard tanker holster for myself and it is a great style for a horseback/field holster. Thanks, Dan

Thank you for all the suggestions. I'm going to run into town and buy some split shot sinkers and crimp them onto some thread. That should make it a lot easier to handle than loose shot The woman they are for does do a lot of showing so DAM probably gets the prize for the why question. I didn't ask her why earlier but will the next time I talk to her. Dan

Bruce, After reading your reply I took a closer look and I think you may be right. Looking very closely, and with the sinkers in mind, I can almost see the shape of sinkers under the liner. Thanks, Dan

only someone doing saddles and tack is likely to know. A friend brought over some reins she would like duplicated. They look like normal split reins, but they are weighted on the bit end. The last 18" to 2' on the bit end are lined and the weighting material is under the lining. I'd guess that it is lead wire, roughly 1/8" diameter but it seems too flexible. The reins are no stiffer in tha weighted section than I'd expect plain leather to be. The reins she brought over are in good condition, I don't want to take them apart to learn what was used if I don't have to. Can anyone tell me how they think these may gave been made? Thanks, Dan

Re fading to gray. Let the pieces dry completely, then give them a good coat or two of oil. The oil really brings out the black. And it's not just acceptable, it's a wonderful black. Dan

PM sent Dan

Thanks for the tip Tina. It almost seems easy now that I know how it should be done. The hard part will be, as Schno points out, dreaming up swoops and swirls that actually look good. Dan

That's a lot more ambitious than my first one. I started with a simple western style pouch. It looks like your sweat shield contacts the mag release button, you may want to trim that back a bit. And just my personal taste, I'd want to bring the outside edge in closer to the stitch line. Great start though! Dan

I'm no expert by any means. I use bag-kote straight up. I don't see where cutting it will do anything. It won't save a significant amount and it's not particularly expensive anyway. Dan

Aulus, I'll use my stitching awl for an example. My awl blade is just over 1/10 of an inch wide (0.12"), let's just call it 1/10. There are 8 stitch holes in the belt behind the keeper and it looks like a 1.5 inch belt. So 0.8" or over 1/2 of the leather has been cut, 0.7" are left holding the belt together. And this has been done in 2 places. When you look at the stitch hole towards the top you can really see this. Dan

All I can think of is that you didn't rinse it out well enough after the vinagaroon soak. Holsters I've vinagarooned and followed with a baking soda rinse then clear water rinse lose the smell within a couple of days. Since you've already oiled it you probably just need to wait. Dan

Nice looking bags. Hand stitched? Dan

I'd say that after about my third holster it felt odd NOT having awl and needles all in hand at the same time. Looking at your chisled holes I guess that the extra effort getting the needles through the awl holes will be your biggest change. That shouldn't be very difficult to overcome. Dan

Great job. I really like the low cut in front. Dan