Outfitr

I used to punch 2 holes and then connect them with a box cutter, could never get them perfect. Still haven't ponied up for an expensive bag punch. A while back i bought a set of cheap chinese cookie cutter dies, all different shapes. There was one oblong one which is the perfect width for the belt buckle. I've had a set of plastic belt end templates for years and use them to center and mark the hole, then place the die on and smack it with my rawhide hammer. The die I use is a touch short so I just cut the first hole and slide it down a bit and hit it again. They turn out perfect. One thing about the buckle slot is that even if you were off a hair it wouldn't be noticeable.

I've tried quite a few different bevelers but have pretty much settled on the horseshoe brand with the plastic handle that accepts all the different size inserts. They seem easier to sharpen too.

That looks nice! Tried one myself. It's a pretty cool pattern. I used my flower center tool after beveling. Several places I didn't tip in enough and you can see the toe of the tool. Next one will be better.

Really nice work. Love the green and black color.

Nice work. Very heavy duty for sure. Did you leave the liner off the bend portion? I know it can get difficult to make that bend with thicker belts. Machine sewn?

I just pull the last half stitch to the back of the project snip the two threads and melt them with my battery thread burner. Never had anything even loosen. I pretty much use tiger thread exclusively. I also try to size the holes and thread size together depending on the project so it's a tight fit and very hard to back stitch.

Have you tried the little needle head bottles? They are cheap and seem to work pretty well. I use them also for aquilium glue on small projects.

That is a very cool design and very well done. I really like it! May have to try and copy it.

Nice holster! I almost always use a strap and snap on my holsters. Maybe a slightly shorter length of strap from the snap to the end.....easy fix.

Hey thanks a lot. Sorry didn't answer sooner. Yes all hand tooled. Total hrs., man I'm not sure really. Floral tooling ones definitely take me the longest although I'm getting faster on the tooling part. I also really liked how the colors came out on that one.

That's funny, I hand sew all my belts (4 hrs).....and I just retired two years ago...concrete finisher. Ha. However I am now considering a machine after sustaining a fairly serious thumb injury.

Nice work. I like the color. Very clean, great stitching!

I've only used barge thinner and try to get it to about a honey consistency. Always seems to take quite a bit of thinner.

I've tried quite a few knives and a lot of them don't get much use. Most used is a snap off blade box cutter. Then the 2 sizes of xacto knives.

Oh cool, I actually thought the letter was cut/tooled. Didn't mean to criticize your project it's very well done and looks great for sure you won't get any complaints. I turmoil over little stuff all the time on my projects so I notice little things that don't matter.

I like it, clean, good colors, nice stitching. How'd you get the 2 color letter? Whenever I have a square corner to stitch I punch a very small round hole in the corner instead of the pricking iron and try to make sure it's on the outside edge of the corner. (just noticed one stitch on back lower corner).

I don't do a lot of belts. If I did I'd certainly get a good machine. I try to incorporate stitching in all my projects because I love the look of good hand stitching...just a personal thing. Fortunately I'm more of a hobbyist, if takes me longer I'm ok with that. Here's another one I just completed.

Completely agree!

This is what I usually use, .8 tiger thread, 4mm hole spacing. All hand done...about 4 hrs of stitching per belt. I think it looks better than machine stitch but is it worth the time?? Not sure.

Beautiful sheath for any amount of time. Impressive for 5 hours of work.

Nice belt. I've been using 6oz./6oz. lately and I like the weight and flexibility.

It's actually a really cool idea but I also don't think they'd hold up. Also I wouldn't want to wear them during hunting season..ha ha.

Huge improvement! Nice work. I've actually thrown out some of my own projects that I was pretty happy with at some time.

Looks good. I hand stitch all my belts, around 4hrs for the stitching. Machine stitch is fine but doesn't look as good. The belt holes seem like the easiest part but it's taken me some time to develop a system that gets them perfect. Even though you don't really see them or notice a little variation, it is my pet peeve and because I do high end belts they must be near perfect for me to be happy.

Nice work. I like your lettering!