doubleh

Great work. If I were choosing I would go with the oxblood one. Nothing wrong with the oxblood and black but I just prefer solid color holsters. I used to own a pair of cowboy boots with oxblood bottom and black tops. Boy, I though they were pretty and loved them but that's boots and not holsters.

Maybe the scorpion will limp a little because of the missing legs but that is great work. 99% of lookers will never notice he is handicapped.

Very nice work and if green does it for you that's great too.

Excellent work.

Excellent work. I love it. That rose pattern is my favorite and I've made a number of belts using it over the years and also turned it into a few holster patterns.

Very nice. I'm another single action Ruger fan.

Most excellent work. The first one is my favorite. I've always been into floral carving.

Great. I kind of like dragons but never thought of using one as a belt design.

Yeah, what Rohn said.

As usual I'm late to the party but I'm going to throw my two cents in anyway. Save up and get a couple of ceramic blades. 3/8" straight and 1/4" beveled handle everything I do. You won't believe the difference between them and steel. Also don't be afraid to strop the ceramics. DON'T drop one on something hard. If you ever manage to dull one they can be resharpened. I would also suggest some 8/9 ounce leather to practice on. I've been using the Tandy granite slab for many years and the thing still looks new. I don't know about now but mine is quite a bit thicker than the countertop material and I don't know if that would make a difference in the durability at all. I kind of doubt it and the Tandy is expensive.

Excellent work.

I had a good friend that was a bootmaker and turned out as fine a boot as you'll ever put on. He and his wife were a team. She did the fancy stitched and inlaid tops and also did any dying that was needed including refinishing. She used an airbrush and Fiebing dyes. Sadly they are both gone to that big bootshop in the sky now. I hardly ever dye anything anymore but Feibing oil dye and a piece of shearling is my method when I do.

As far as my opinion goes, and you know what is said about opinions, the difference between Herman's Oak and the Tandy stuff is like night and day. I do very little leather work anymore and just for myself. There is an old saying that if you are going to do something, do it right and to me that means using the best material for the job. Better quality leather will show up in your finished product.

Very nice work.

Nice work, double D. I especially like your idea for the strong side/cross draw holster.

Good looking rig. I have no idea of the thickness of the leather you used. I'm too old to convert to metric. Still stuck with ounces/64s of an inch.

Beautiful work.

I already already complimented it on another forum.

I use an adjustable groover on the front and back. I also cheat a little. Due to arthritis in my wrist pushing a stabbing awl through a couple of layers of heavy quickly becomes very uncomfortable. I groove the front and then go to the drill press with a 1/16 bit. If you pay attention and keep things level the holes will be even on the back and then I groove them. Then I go to the stabbing awl to make my stitch lay the way I want. I hardly ever do a double row of stitching as my holster style doesn't need it but I don't see why this method wouldn't work with two rows.

I haven't been on here in a few days but I'm glad it wasn't your rotator cuff. My oldest grandson suffered a seperated shoulder several years ago. It's isn't nearly the ordeal as recovering from a seperated rotator cuff is but it's no walk in the park either. With a skilled surgeon, knowledgeable re-hab staff, and a willingness to do exactly what they tell you to do has a lot to do with rotator cuff surgery recovery. It took a year and a half for each shoulder to be pain free but I have 100% of movement in my right shoulder and 95% in the left.The head of the therapy department did say it is unusual to have that level of recovery.

After a fall from a ladder several years I had a right shoulder that looked exactly like the picture of yours. Thankfully it didn't damage my rotator cuff although I couldn't even lift a cup of coffee for several weeks. I had no idea at the time how lucky I was. Fast forward to 2010. I had been having a lot of pain in my left shoulder for several months and then I tore the rotator cuff in my right shoulder. I felt it let go but didn't really know what it was. MRIs showed both to be torn and in 2011 I had both repaired. Just let me say that rotator cuff surgery and rehab is VERY painful and takes a long time to recover from. I hope you have an understanding wife as you are going to need lots of help if it is your rotator cuff. Hope it isn't the cuff and you have a speedy recovery.

Wow! Really nice rig and excellent work. I really like your homemade color.

I agree with Mr. Ashman. I'll admit to only being a hobbyist and do very little leather work anymore but I don't even consider Tandy's tooling leather for any of my projects.

Nice work. I do very little leatherwork anymore and very little woodwork (age is a factor) either but I use the correct width wood chisel to cut slots in leather. Saves money and space on tools and it makes for nice slots if you are careful.

I like it---a lot. A good edge is just as important as any other aspect of a leather project. Maybe more so. I don't care how good your tooling or stamping or sewing is, if the edge isn't up to snuff it ruins the whole thing.