JimTimber

Pancakes have been around a long time, and I've had no love for them for as long as I've been into guns. Has nothing to do with your patterns JLS, it's the "one size fit's nobody" nature of the design that I can't stand. If you're making the holster out of leather, not plastic; take the time to do something nice, something that fits the gun well and is pleasant to use and look at (if it's going to be outside the waistband). That's just my perspective. Same reason I hate kydex - looks like butthole no matter how good you form it, and it doesn't function all that great either. I can tolerate a lot of ugly if something works well.

50/50 pancake is the traditional "stitched right down the middle" holster. It's got mirror image halves that are sewn together and starts life flat as a pancake. It's a crappy design because of all the problems associated with it in use. It doesn't fit the same if you crank your belt down, or loosen your belt up. It's not elegant at all. And they're just easy to make and sell quick to make a buck.

If you have the gun, you can make your own pattern loosely based on the pancake pattern you already have. 50/50's shrink front to back when the gun is inserted. That causes half the width to pull from the fore and half the aft of the two panels. When you make an unequal sided sandwich, you aren't pulling in from the front/back, but rather following around the outside of the gun.

"In order to form the best possible concealment contour and weapon fit, we need to know your waist size and position of carry." After all, you wouldn't buy a custom suit that was sold as S/M/L/XL. The tailor uses the actual dimensions the garment is made to fit. Something people also don't seem to pay much attention to is where on the waist the holster is going. A 4:30 carry is going to have a different radius (a compound radius at that), than someone who wears at 3 O'clock, even if they're the same size/shape otherwise. Carguy, the issue is that a 50/50 pancake holster is a crappy design and you need to allow for the dimensions of the weapon to fill the holster if you don't make the seam cause equal tension inside to outside. With 50/50's, you have the seam that follows the shape of the gun responsible for the tension, and then you crank the ears down to hold your pants up and the outside panel of the holster becomes lashed to the gun and it's too tight, while simultaneously folding the inside panel at the corners causing a pinch. It's super easy to make, and people seem to buy them (why, I don't know), so they remain popular. The unequal sided holster that looks like a pancake is a much better design. You'll need to place your stitches carefully as the belt tension will not impact retention nearly as much. Going back to the very first post; leather holsters need to be broken in. That's how they work. If you have a perfect draw the first time you use it, it's going to loosen up too quickly and will need to be shrunk at a later date (if that's even possible with your finishing techniques).

I really like the style of that. What keeps the knives from hitting each other?

I find it remarkably coincidental that you're posting links to this seller and both your accounts have 10 as part of the user name (here and Ebay). Spammer!

@$80/lb, that better be some good stuff. Ok, so they probably combine shipping, but still, it's $60 for (4) 1/4lb spools. I bought another 10# grab box when I needed heavier thread for the 441 clone, and got some needles from Thread Exchange as well. Once again, they sent me a couple spools of #46 and the rest was 69 and up in a good color spread and weights. I've been using their thread on some projects and am very happy with it.

Find someone with a clutch motor they want to get rid of and you've got an easily adapted power source. I too am curious about edge dressing on oil tanned leather. I just got half a hide to start making some pouches out of and would like options for the raw edges.

Deere There's at least one working team of horse loggers around central MN that I'm aware of. I'm not a logger, I just own a wood lot and have a lot of projects which involve removing trees. Been working towards relocating up there, but it's going to be a bit yet before that happens (unless I win the Powerball).

We'll "never see another one like it!" Good thing we won't need to - that one'll be there waiting for us if we ever want to have another look.

Like I said, no rush! Appreciate it.

12-18x18" would be a good test size.

I went to Tandy today and looked at their sole bends and saddle skirting - of the two, I think the 10-12oz saddle skirting is the better option. I don't even know that it'd need any additional help once formed into shape and hemmed. Of the hides on that table, there sure were a lot of rough ones. I'm not in any real rush. Logging season is over here (was a bad winter for loggers), and I'm not sure what they do on the coasts in the Spring (usually things get shut down when the ground softens up from the rains/thaw). If you find a chunk that's not good for your needs and want to run it past me, I'd consider taking it off your hands. Thanks for all the input!

I personally don't drop trees in bad weather, but if I ended up making any for sale that wouldn't be the case. Set on snow, filled with snow, and melted snow are all very likely around here. Rain is also a high probability in other areas.

Stiffener as in an insert, or some kind of chemical application to make the leather stiff? The leather itself needs to keep the weight of the axe (5#) from flopping out while not impeding it's ability to be drawn and placed back in the sheath (it can't bend and pinch the axe head). Look at the photo linked. It's more of a rigid pouch. I think a heavy moulded form with a welt and sewn bottom should hold it's shape nicely. I just don't know if the stuff Tandy sells as armor is the best option, or if I should be looking somewhere else? We have a Tandy store not far from me. I don't really want half a hide of this stuff if it doesn't work out though. https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/sole-bend

I've got a 441 clone, I just don't know leather by weights and what not. I'm a noob. Is cow the best option, or would something like pig, horse, or something else be better?

I hate kydex. Everyone and their dog makes stuff out of it. Aside from that, I want to be able to drop a 250# guy on this in -20F and not have it crack in half. We have ice up here and gravity always wins.

I want to make an axe scabbard out of leather, but make it modeled after one that's traditionally made out of aluminum and folded like a piece of duct work. These aren't your typical "form fitted" and "like a glove" type of scabbard, they're designed to keep the axe handy and out of the way while falling trees using wedges and a chainsaw. The axe is used to drive the wedges, and occasionally to debark the tree to save the chain's edges. So I'm thinking this will need to be some pretty thick stuff to hold the box shape, and the inside will need to sustain edge contact with an axe. What should I be looking for material wise? I know the lack of love for Tandy around here, but is this a case where they might be a good option with their top discount tier pricing? Thoughts? http://grizzlypeakenterprises.com/products/axe-scabbard-7-34

CFL's have never met their stated lifespans for me, and their driving circuits get really hot in extended use. I used to replace them every 3-5 months in an outdoor motion activated light (rated for 10,000hrs my butt!). 4 years ago I bit the bullet and spend $40 on an LED bulb, then bought another when the second CFL in the same fixture died. I have a new problem with the fixture - it collects cobwebs from the spiders and I have to go clean them out or the sensor thinks it's dark too soon. I'm still on those two LED's and they're on 10 hours a day at times. Same bulb would cost about $25 now - worth it in time saved not climbing the ladder to swap them. I almost don't care they use less electricity, but I'm thrilled I don't have to change them anymore.

That's really nice!

It's getting to where you can find them in high output LED's and not pay more than a few bucks for the option too. No heat, no wasted electrical bill money. I love progress! When I grew up, my dad would always pitch a fit if we left lights on. When I got to pay my own electric bills I soon understood why he was like that and ended up exactly the same. Now that I've converted most of the house from the inefficient CFL's (sure, they're better than a wire burner, but not all that great on power and never lived to their advertised life expectancy making them more expensive yet), I don't care so much if a light is on or not.

Paint.net is also a free photo application that can easily do color correction. The thing you need to watch out for is mixed light sources - sunlight and FL for example. When you have mixed light it doesn't look "off" to your eye, but it really messes with the camera sensors color balance. Setting the white balance first, if that's an option, is the best method. Just put a piece of white paper where you're going to have your items and set it. No need for anything fancy.

That's an interesting adaptation you've come up with. I spent a fair bit on my camera head and tripod legs, but it's holding a full size camera and not a cell phone. Now that you've had them a while, how do you like the functionality?

Yeah, it's got a lovely form to it. The rounded corners are really smooth.

It really was just a cell phone pic done as expediently as possible. The blue does set off the bare 4140 nicely though. If I was going to use the photo for anything but a gun forum or armslist ad, I'd get the lighting better. I'd get rid of the shadows, or at least do something to minimize them. You don't need a professional light kit by any means, but using some lamps with deliberate placement can do wonders. Even your work light on the sewing machine could do a good job giving a highlight with your item placed on a backdrop swatch - no one would ever know you were doing the photo on your machine's table and it'd take less than a minute to set up and take down. If it's too harsh, then put a sheet over the light or use a shopping bag (thin plastic) to act like a diffuser. A lot of lighting for low-budget shoots is improvised and quite effective even if it seems cheesy. I did this on my back stoop. Getting an interesting background that's not distracting is something I've been working on for a while. When you make gun stuff, it limits where you can go publicly to set up a shoot without getting odd looks or negative attention. STI double stack 2011, not 1911. It's still for sale if you want it.