Tac

Thats original and beautiful, please continue to post photos.

Bronson, Your stitching looks fine to me. Nice lines, tight to the gun and even. Your edges look great. Overall, I like the style and look of the holster, as well as the color. Very professional job. -Tac

Cedar Creek... I can't answer all of your question, but I can tell you a little about my experience. I have only had one customer who wanted to complain about my work, and I did make some specific changes to that customer's holster to meet their requests, but this was after the holster was paid for and had left my hands for several weeks when it came back to me. As for the customers guns.... I have used a customers guns on numerous occasions to make holsters that I couldn't have other wise made. When I have to use a customer's gun, that order usually gets priority in my build schedule, so that I can get the holster and gun back to the owner as soon as possible. I have never had a issue with my practice, but I do make a concerted effort to avoid using the customer's gun if I can. I have spent money on Blue Guns that I will likely never use again, just to avoid this issue... Of course, I have passed the cost of the blue gun on to the customer in most cases. I have found when this is the case, and the customer is really looking for a holster for something special, and no one is making a holster for it, they will usually understand the increase in cost for the item that they want. Hope this helps. -Tac

Twin Oaks... If you mold/bone it to fit one gun well, then it won't fit the other one.... If you leave it "loose" in the stitching/molding , it won't likely hold either gun well.... "a jack-of-all-trades is a master of none".... -Tac

Love that deep red color! Nice wet molding too!

Colttrainer, I ordered my blades on line from a company called "Smokey Mountain Knife Works". They sell mostly assembled knives, but they do offer a few various styles of blank blades. As for mounting it in the antler.... This knife blade had a reletively small tang that was drilled with a couple of holes and rectangular in shape. I use a drill bit, slightly smaller in diameter than the tang of the blade is thick and tape it so that it stops at the correct depth, then I drill the hole in the antler from the cut end. On this one, becasue of the shape of the tang, I had to drill two holes, one on top of the other, then cut out the material in between, in order to make the hole the same general shape and size of the tang.. Once that is done, I sand and shape the outside edges of the antler to fit the size and shape of the hilt of the knife blade. Once I have it mocked up to where I want it, I test fit the blade in the antler. This usually requires some tapping with a mallet to get the blade to seat in the antler. Once I am satisfied with the overall fit of everthing, I pull it all apart and use a super strong epoxy to partially fill the hole in the antler. Then I tap the blade tang back into place and clean up any over-flow of epoxy and let it dry. Because this knife is intended to be more "ornimental" than meant for serious hard use, the assembly method I used should work fine. If the knife was meant to be a hard use knife or working blade, I would likely have used a more robust and stronger assembly method. In the past, I have also used brass pins to affix the antler to the blade. Anyway, thanks for all the kind words. I hope to get the sheath finished completely and post some more pictures. I will try and remember to get a pic of the back of the sheath at that time. -Tac

A buddy of mine came back from an Elk hunt in Colorado with a nice set of antlers, but they were not large enough to justify the expense of a trip to the taxidermist, so he asked me to see what I could do with them as far as using them for knife handles.... He asked that I make him a large bowie style knife and sheath out of the last beam from one of the antlers.... So I ordered a blade and set about putting together the knife. It took me quite a while after I got the knife together to make the sheath, as I didn't have much free time on my hands. Well, today I had some free time so I got a start on it. I haven't made a sheath in quite a while and my basket stamping skills are in need of more frequent practice, but I think this one turned out nice. I lined the belt hanger and the pictures are after the first coat of neatsfoot oil has been applied. I plan on letting it get a little sun tomorrow..... http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Tac56/100_0958.jpg http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Tac56/100_0953.jpg -Tac

ebarber... Try http://www.copsplus.com/ringsblueguns.php for a pretty broad selection of RIng's Blue Guns. They have the most extensive list of various different models that I have seen from one dealer. As for gun models that can do double duty.... I have a Ring's gun for a Taurus model 85 5 shot revolver that I use to make holsters for J-frame Smiths, Charter arms 5 shots as well as the Taurus, with no problems. I also have a Ring's Glock 17, Glock 19 and Glock 26 and use them to make holsters for all 3 of those frame sizes, irregardless of caliber (9mm/.357 Sig/.40 S&W/.45 GAP). I also have a Sig P220R Ring's gun and have used it to make holsters for the P220 and the P226. The Beretta 92 series Ring's gun could be used for the Taurus 92/100/101 series as well, as they are basically copies of the Beretta. I hope this helps shed some light on your question. I have 7-8 various Ring's guns for the models of holsters that I am most frequently making, but because of the ability to use one Ring gun for several guns of the same frame size, I could potentially make holsters for about 20 different guns using those 7-8 Ring's guns. Good luck, -Tac

6 spi for my hand sewn items....

K-man, My "source" is a Shooting Industry News article that was written a couple of years ago (prior to Ruger's release of the LCP) advising that Ruger had lisensed a version of the Keltec pistol for their own preduction. It wasn't a long article, just an industry news blurb. I can't remember the date of the article to quote it directly. -Tac

I sand just about every seam I make where two pieces of leather are joined to create an edge... It's the only way that I can get them to turn out even remotely well. I use a sanding drum that chucks into my drill press. Works wonderfully. -Tac

Randy, The Ruger LCP is built under license from Keltec, (with only a few very minor mechanical differences between the two). The LCP and P3AT are dimentionally identical in the slide. The grip frames are slightly different in dimention (thicker on the Ruger version) and the Ruger versions grip profile is slightly different. The critical areas of width, trigger guard dimentions and barrel length and profile (as it relates to making holsters anyway..) are all the same. If you ask Ruger for a holster recommendation for the LCP, they tell you to look for any holster that fits the Keltec P3AT. I don 't know that you'll have any better luck finding a dummy gun for a Keltec, than the RUger, but as was pointed out, the Keltec is a reletively cheap pistol, and finding one used might be an option. I picked up my Keltec new for just over $200. I would expect a used one to be about half that price. Hope this helps. -Tac

I have never used a press for molding, so I can't say from experience. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that the metal forms would perform better under that kind of stress.

I use Rings Blue guns, mostly because of the vast variety of models available and the ease of ordering them on-line. I have had a couple of them in service for a few years now and I haven't worn one out yet, so I am not sure what the benifit of metal would be, unless they are being used in a press. -Tac Forgot to mention where I get some of mine.... http://www.copsplus.com/ringsblueguns.php

This is sort of the style I am talking about. No snaps or loops to scratch the blade. This is a Chuck Burrows sheath.... he is an amazing craftsman and artisan.

Definately include a welt to prevent the blade from cutting the stitching. If you make the pocket of the sheath deep enough that it sits down past the choil (finger guard), you should not have any issues with retention. I will see if I can post a pic of what I am trying to explain. -Tac

Woolfe, The guns you posted links too are the correct guns for the sizes you mentioned. You will be happy with the results you get from the use of blue guns rather than real guns. Good luck. -Tac

RVM45..... I don't think the lack of replies is due to any of the listed reasons, as much as most not being familiar with holster that you are referring to.... If you can find a photo of the style and post it for reference, I am sure you would gather a lot more responses and answere to your questions. -Tac

Different is a good descriptor.... I like the gun's concept. I have a Bond Arm double barrel derringer that does the same thing... .45 Colt/.410. Nice Exicution. Not a big fan of the FMJ brand of guns, but I also understand the thought process of "what the customer wants, the customer gets......" I've built a few holsters for guns that I wouldn't personally bet mine or anyone elses life on, but I still built them. I like the concept of the spare shell built in. -Tac

Two sons... Yes they are built to "spec", meaning that they are the same dimentions and size as a real firearms that they replicate. With the Blackhawk version, they mold their brand name in the side of the weapon, and it would likely transfer to the inside of a tightly molded holster, unlike the Ring's blue gun versions. -Tac

Pics didn't come through....

Dynamik1, I have used the Ring's blue guns for holsters extensively and they work as well as using the real gun. I have handled the Blackhawk versions, and found they are molded to the same detail as the Ring's guns and seem to be well made, but of a lighter material. If you use a press to mold your holsters be warned that either the Ring's or the Blackhawk can break with enough pressure. (Have seen trigger guards and the like snap off). If you do your molding by hand, you will get many years of good service out of the solid plastic Ring's guns. I have an extensive collection of real firearms, but I found that I was putting alot of wear on my own guns by using them for molding other people's holsters, so I switched to the Ring's guns and have not looked back. One thing to keep in mind is that alot of the Ring's gun models can be used to make holsters that fit a variety of handguns. Each model can some times double for another gun in the maker's family of weapons. For example, depending on the type of holster, I can use my Ring's Glock 17 (9mm) to make holsters for the G22 (.40 cal), G23, G 19, G32, G33, etc. because they are all the same frame size, only the barrel length is different. Depending on the cut of the holster, I can make it work for laying out the stiching for the various models, as well as molding the details into the leather. Another example I use is the Sig P220 Ring gun. I have use it to make holsters for the P226 and the P245 with good success. I also use a Ring's S&W J-frame model to make holsters for Taurus model 85 guns in addition to the multitude of various j-frame smiths. Same goes for the Beretta 92 series of guns... they fit the 96 series and the Taurus 92/101 series of guns. With a collection of 4-5 commonly used full size Ring's guns, you can make a plethera of various holsters for different models. I have Ring's guns for the following models of pistols: Glock 26 Glock 17 Sig P220 Sig P229 Springfield 1911 Operator (with rail) S&W J-frame (2 inch) I chose these examples because these are the guns that I get the most requests to build holsters for, with the bulk being for the Glock 26, S&W J-Frame and the Sig P220, because the majority of my customers are cops and thats what they carry around here. I will still use a customer's gun if it is something odd or something that I don't have in my collection. For example, I got an order to make a holster for a Colt Pocketlight .380 tonight and the customer provided me his gun to use, since I do not have one of those in the collection. Since I will likely not see another order for that gun in the foreseable future, it wouldn't help much to have a Ring's gun for that model. Anyway, that is my experience, for what it is worth.... -Tac

Nothing is left "undyed" on my holsters..... Unless the whole holster is just oil tanned and left natural..... I agree with DC on this one for sure... anything else looks "un-finished" to my eye.

WOW... Lenny, that is fantastic! I love the design and everything else about it! Around here, we would call that a Bar-B-Q rig for a Bar-B-Q gun! I am a serious fan of the 1911 and few things stir my soul more than a beautiful 1911 and a beautiful rig to wear it in.... Any Texas or Arizona Ranger would be PROUD to call that rig "his".... The concho realy adds to the basket weave and connects it with the belt set up... If you are interested in doing a second set up in that style in Brown, let me know what you would charge for it.... as I would seriously consider buying a set up like that for my own Bar-B-Q gun! -Tac

Wow! For a "first attempt" you definately have done much better than most. The Pics look good. I have used that weight leather on several occasions for OWB holsters that are for heavy guns, so there's no problem there.... As far as your "specks" that didn't dye... Usually its due to there being wax on the leather. Either from the waxed thread used to sew the holster or from the tannery. Next time, before you dye the leather, use Iso alcohol on a cotton ball or a sponge and wipe down the leather on the smooth side to help remove the contaminants that can cause issues with the dye. You don't have to soak the leather, just wipe it down. The alcohol will evap quick and not effect the finished color of the leather. Keep up the good work! (Not often you see a "first attempt" on such an advanced design) -Tac