ArcherBen

Burnishing edges is my 2nd to last step. My last step is applying whatever final topcoat I have decided to use on any particular item. I use an edge burnisher chucked into a drill press so working around the molding isn't really a big deal for me. If you're burnishing by hand I can see how that could get tricky. You might want to consider burnishing with a dowel chucked into a dremel tool as a cheap alternative to hand burnishing (If that is indeed what you are doing now).

That's a good looking belt. One of these days I'm gonna get around to making myself a belt. The two things stopping me are one...I've only been working from double shoulders and I'd much rather build a belt from a side. And two, the thought of hand stitching an entire belt. By the way, next time you place an order with Angelus, consider trying some Sun Tan. They talked me into trying it and it has become one of my favorite colors.

I personally think your dye job looks pretty good. What method of application did you use on this one? I agree that browns are tough to work with. However, after several projects I've come to the conclusion that while there are some things you can do to help get an even color, it's okay to have some variance as the leather also plays a factor in how it takes the dye.

This serves as a sobering reminder to all of us to think through the safetly aspects of a design before building. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=6630516

No problem. I really wanted to buy a Bob Douglass Haft (I've thoroughly enjoyed the few other tools I've bought from him) but was in a hurry to finish a project and short on funds at the time, and at Barry's price I just had to try it. I still may order one of Bob's when funds are more plentiful, simply so I can compare the two and have a backup. It was a really helpless feeling having a broken awl haft and a deadline to hit.

There's nothing wrong with your 20 degree cant. As Lobo said, that is all personal preference. I personally am more comfortable drawing from a 12 - 15 degree cant, but I've built a handful of holsters with a 25 degree cant for both myself and others that have worked out very well. In fact, one of my personal holsters has a 25 degree cant and is very comfortable to wear. I've got a friend that I will be building for soon that wants a 30+ degree cant. On the other hand, I've had others tell me that 15 degrees is too much and that they prefer a zero to five degree cant. In fact, I even had one guy tell me that he would prefer the gun be canted backwards instead of forwards. My advice (for what it's worth) is to build to whatever specs you feel work best for you (or your customer feels works best for them), so long as you deem the design safe.

I bought a small Barry King haft a couple of weeks ago to replace my old CS Osborne that just broke down on me. Thus far I've only used it on one small project, but I am impressed with it and look forward to getting several years of use out of it. I think it was about $40 shipped to my house.

It seems like every time I start think that I am progressing along rather well, I stumble across one of BoomSticks instructional posts and am quickly humbled into feeling like a beginner again. BoomStick, thanks for the very informative post. You are obviously passionate about your business and it would appear that you have done considerable research in an effort to perfect your work. I dream of the day that I achieve the knowledge and skill that you've got pertaining to gun leather.

My recent marriage has really slowed down my production. This is the first thing that I've turned out in about a month. Anyway, here's one I just finished for a local customer.

ArtS, The sharkskin is very easy to work with. As far as cost goes, it goes for about $20 a square foot.

I've seen a handful of holsters posted here that had snapped belt straps instead of cut belt loops. I recently decided to try my hand at this style of attachment and so far am quite pleased with the design (sorry, I haven't taken pics yet). Building this style of holster got me thinking about the design of the attachment strap specifically. For those that have built this style, do you prefer to start your straps from the top or bottom of the holster? As a follow up question, why? Is there a benefit to one design vs. the other? I personally started mine from the bottom, but couldn't really see much advantage to one way over the other. If you're having trouble visualising what I'm talking about, take a look at the holsters in this thread.

I've been super busy lately trying to get things in order before I get married, so I haven't had a whole lot of time to spend working on leather items, but here's a couple that I have finished up in the last few weeks. Gun: Beretta Tomcat .25 Leather: 7-8 oz. Cowhide Dye: Angelus Honey Finish: Angelus Acrylic This customer specified that he wanted a straight vertical cant, he wanted the gun barrel to not sit below the belt, and he wanted to be able to get a full grip on the gun while holster. I didn't think that would be too difficult to do, but with this small of a gun it was kinda tricky getting the belt slots on there while leaving enough room to grip the gun. However, I think I've accomplished what I set out to do and the customer is very satisfied with the end results. Gun: Springfield XD9SC Leather: 7-8 oz. Cowhide Body Dye: Angelus Honey Throatband Dye: Angelus Saddle Tan Finish: Angelus Acrylic All comments, critique, and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks for the comments. Larrupin, this is my own design, however, I will admit that various features have been inspired by other pieces that I have seen. If I do another like this I'll make a few minor modifications.

Here's a holster I just finished for a Springfield XD45. I'm planning on giving this to my brother for his birthday in about a month. Let me know what you think (good, bad, or indifferent).

I hand stitch all of my work (although a machine is on my wish list), but I use this same method simply so that I can get my stitch lines just right and in tight to the weapon.

Just recently finished this one. Leather: 7-8 oz cowhide Trim: Black Sharkskin Dye Coat 1: Angelus Mahogany Dye Coat 2: Angelus Cordovan Topcoat: Angelus Acrylic This one didn't photograph all that well. The color has more of a red tint to it than is actually showing up in the pictures. All comments, critique, and suggestions welcome.

I just finished a dog collar for my brothers Boxer. He wanted something that would stand out, so we build him a 2" wide double thickness collar with a whole mess of spikes and spots. I must give him credit for the design, I just put it together.

Excellent advice BoomStick. I have learned exactly this from my own experience. Before I mold a holster I alway trace the outline of the gun onto a sheet of paper and then draw the lines that I want to mold. It makes a great road map as I can never remember from memory just where those lines start and end.

The beltslide holster was something I threw together really quick with no other purpose than to try my hand at a hidden belt slot. I don't know if that's how they are supposed to be done, but it was the best design I could come up with, and it seems to have worked out pretty good. I've been wearing that holster around for a few hours tonight and it rides really nice on the belt. As far as the stitching lines go, I actually do a simple pre mold to figure out where my stitch lines need to be. Then I stitch and afterwards proceed with the final molding. It's probably not the best way, and definitely not the most efficient way, but it has worked pretty well for me.

Dickf, I'd love to see them when you've got them. I've only got Mahogany, Cordovan, and Honey right now. I didn't like the honey at first, but it is growing on me. If you want to see that color I've recently posted a new holster dyed with the honey in another thread. I've been meaning to post my samples that I've been playing with for the other two colors, but I'm letting somebody else borrow my color sample swatches right now, so that will have to wait until I get them back. I've been able to produce a deep red color that I really like by combining the Mahogany and Cordovan.

BoomStick, Thanks for the suggestion on dipping and spraying the dyes. I have not narrowed down my favorite color choices enough yet that I can justify purchasing enough dye to dip quite yet, but I will definitely keep that approach in mind as I start producing enough pieces that I can afford to fund it.

Here's a couple of holsters I've finished up this week. The Avenger is for a customers LLamas X45, and the beltslide fits both of my XDs. I'm not really a big fan of the beltslide style of holster, but I wanted something that I could throw together quick just to try out some hidden belt loops. Any/all comment, critique, or suggestions are welcome.

I've got to echo what has already been said by BoomStickHolsters and Jordan. I've been having the same problem as you in trying to get a nice even color without going to dark, and thus also went to the airbrush. However, I have found that my airbrushed pieces show wear spots very quickly. I have come to the conclusion that Fiebings dyes simply are not going to give you the color your after with adequate penetration into the leather. For a couple weeks now I've been playing around with some Angelus dyes, and I believe they are the answer. I can apply via airbrush or dauber, get good color penetration into the leather, and still end up with the color it's supposed to be. You might want to give them a try. That said, I really like the color results you ended up with on the brown holster.

Thanks for the comments. Yes, I am airbrushing both my dyes and my topcoat. The reason I decided to try the Angelus dyes is that I'm looking for something that is both a a truer color and that penetrates deeper. I've noticed that with Fiebings, in order to get good dye penetration, I have to just slather the stuff on, which makes even the light brown end up nearly black. I've found that with Fiebings the more coats I apply, the darker it gets regardless of what color I'm using. With these Angelus dyes I can literally dip the leather into the dye, get excellent penetration, and the color that it's suppose to be. For this holster, I started spraying the Angelus dye with a light coat and finished with a couple of heavy coats. I've got a couple of scraps that I've been dying for color samples that I'll try to post up for reference. Dickf, what color of samples do you have coming? If it's different than what I've got then I'd love to see some pics of the colors on leather. I find it difficult to get a good idea of what color you are ordering by the color charts you see online and in their brochure. I expected their Mahogany color to give me a nice deep dark red. Instead I got a really bright red.

Okay, I don't know why I've ended up with three topics, but I'm gonna stop trying to fix it before I make it even worse. Could I get a mod to delete the other two please? Thanks.