VYO

That looks pretty nice!

I like it. Pretty cool!

Well, there is no "slaps head" emoji let alone one for silently so *slaps head silently*. Seriously cool tool though so enjoying that.

Disclaimer: I am a total newbie to carving which will be obvious from the photos below. The items below are examples of the beginnings. I love carving but need much more practice. I hand drew the dog from a photo. While I got the essence of the shape, I didn't capture the depth in most places. I was ok with this one as I did at least capture the shape. The horse hat was based off a photo I saw somewhere on the internet. I couldn't find that photo again when I drew the horses so I did my best to capture the shapes from memory and reference photos of horses. I think this was my second carving and was as a whole a much larger project than I should have attempted at the stage of experience in leather craft I was at the time. There is minimal detail - I was just happy I could get a basic shape right enough a person could tell what the shape is. And I am lucky enough to have someone who wasn't embarrassed to wear the hat in public so it made the effort worthwhile in that way beside the learning experience. To date, I've more been practicing with cutting, beveling, and shading with craftaids for the most part. I'll try another hand sketch once I get a bit more experienced with drawing and the tools. I can do some passable stuff (lots of throw aways) but I really do want to take it to the next level and do some really nice work. There is something peaceful about figure carving. I bet it's an even better feeling when you finally know what your doing and put out work like some of that I've seen here on LW - beautiful work that makes a person want to work harder to learn. Just a matter of time, practice, and experience.

Agree with you there for sure.

You're welcome. Glad I could help.

Thank you. Yes, a total of 6 ounces seemed more reasonable to me to fit in a front pocket comfortably than using a heavier leather with a liner. The customer was accustomed to a nylon holster and I didn't feel that a heavier leather would be very comfortable in a front pocket carry. Also the paddle has a little bit of give when sitting. I wasn't sure a heavier leather would easily give or at least not dig into a leg when sitting. It's the first pocket carry I've made. Also since this is a conceal carry holster worn inside the pants I felt it wouldn't get as much wear and tear as a holster worn outside the belt. I could be totally wrong on that, time will tell. He was very pleased when he tried it on his belt and placed it in his pocket. Time will tell how well it holds up. I'll ask him in six months or so to send a photo to see how it's holding up. I'm sure he'll let me know if something goes wrong with it before then.

Here's the completed pocket/clip on holster for a Ruger 38. I did it with 2-3oz veg tan doubled up for the holster and 8 oz veg tan for the clip holder. Pics came out a little blurry for some reason.

What a haul! Nice find!

I'm not an expert on this topic for sure but one thing I think will make a difference is the firmness of the leather. I personally wouldn't do 4oz for a laptop bag. A very firm 5 - 5.5 ounce I might try. An expert will probably come along soon enough to help more with this question.

I buy the standard ring snaps from Gold Star. I bought some spring snaps from ahkwok but they don't work with the Gold Star dies I got for line 20 snaps. I did use some Tandy snaps at one point with the Gold Star press but Gold Star snap prices are better so I started using them instead of Tandy. The Gold Star standard snaps work fine on 5 oz leather and up for me without backing behind the snap.

I've been using a Gold Star press for almost year now. Bought the dies with it when I bought the press. Works great and I don't get that same indent shown in your photos. I used to get that deformation when I was hand hammering the snaps and the sole reason I bought a press. One caution though, on thinner leathers you need to back the leather behind the snap when using Gold Star snaps. The metal is really weak and on thinner leathers the metal bends when pulling a snap open. The snap in the photo is not a Gold Star but I got in the habit of backing on thin leather no matter what snaps I use. I also didn't get a good centering on my backing in the photo but you'll get the idea from it.

That's a very nice looking case. I like the natural color and the contrasting strap. Someday I'm going to have to try handles like that on your case. It looks so clean and neat.

The Buckle Guy comes to mind: https://www.buckleguy.com/buckles/ I also buy from Ahkwok Buckles too. Long wait for shipping but I've been happy with what I have received. They are alloy buckles. https://www.ahkwokbuckles.com/alpinbu.html Only conchos I have purchased were from Springfield leather and I think their max size is about 1 1/2 inch.

Thank you.

@bikermutt07 and @alpha2 Thank you. @TheCyberwolfe Customer specifically turned down a swivel snap, specifically requested the solid body. I will make sure to mention to him about the car upholstery issue. For the stress on the seams - maybe I should go with a thicker thread or some kind of solid reinforcement in the area of the hook seams. Will have to think on that and discuss with him.

Those are nice looking projects. When punching stitching holes for square corners start at each corner and work outwards towards the middle on both sides of a stitch line. Sometimes it just doesn't work out and you'll end up with an extra space that is large but not large enough for another stitch or a space that is too small. The trick is to watch to see how it's looking as you get closer to the middle. Deciding what to do in the event the space is a tad to large is easier than if you have a space that is too small. You can split the difference on a larger space. In the end you have to make a judgement call on whether to leave a large space or have a couple smaller spaces. I think everyone decides this differently and I I do it on a daily basis. Sometimes I'm happy with my decision and sometimes not. Bottom line is that starting from the corners and working towards the middle helps at least to have uniform corners.

I have a customer who is looking for a belt key holder. He is a law enforcement officer and needs something heavy duty and where the hook won't move. I'm creating some prototypes to show him and this is the first one with brass hook and gold Vinymo thread. I used 8oz Sepici veg tan, then a basketweave stamp and Fiebing's Pro black oil dye. My personal observation is it is a bit tall but needed to be to fit the hook. I may need to purchase shorter heavy duty hooks. I also should have made the belt slots wider and taller I think. It works as is but needs some fine tuning. And my basketweave is off as usual. Just need a ton more practice on it.

Beautiful leather work and the knife is stunning.

I love this bag. I bet it will make the club some money and the new owner extremely happy. The attention to detail and the hand made customizations are really nice additions.

That is one beautiful wallet to be very proud of!

Try a small bottle of Renia Aquilim GL. It's available at Rocky Mountain Leather Supply. It is a rubber cement (neoprene). I have not used the GL but I have used other Renia glues and I love them. Email RM Leather and ask them about the permanency of the glue before you buy because it doesn't state on the page if it's a permanent glue. It is water based. Here's the product page for it: https://www.rmleathersupply.com/collections/dyes-stains-finishes/products/renia-aquilim-gl-rubber-cement-water-based-glue?variant=12107727044728

Super nice!

You're welcome.

Nice looking holster!