woolfe

Please be blunt, and don't be afraid to offend me. This is my 2nd leatherrorking project ever. I'm having so much fun with this new hobby I'm about to start selling them on eBay. Materials used: Tandy 6-7 oz cheap leather. Fiebings light brown dye Fiebings Resolene 50/50 dip (1 coat) Neatsfoot oil (only used on the belt loops) Kiwi Neutral shoe polish (1 coat) T-nut 6-32 from Homedepot 6-32 scews from Mcmaster #8 countersunk washers Tandy line 24 snaps I know of one thing I need to improve on and I'm not sure how. The Dye appears to have a little bit of a marble look to it where you can see black through it. This first appeared after dyeing, the finish only amplified it. I cleaned the leather with Iso Alcohol before dyeing. Any ideas of how to remedy this for next time would be greatly appreciated.

When bolting the loops on with T-nuts do you guys put anything in between the holster and the loops to help protect the leather?

I went with the Resolene 50/50 dip. Its been about 7 hours and everything seems great. I even used Neatsfoot oil on the belt loops before using Resolene, I did let them dry for about 5 hours first tho. I'll post a picture once I get it assembled. I just want to make sure its good and dry first.

Thanks for the tips! I already got a bottle of Resolene on order so i'm going to give it a shot. Lucky for me Tandy is only 1 hours drive from here so my orders get to me over night. If I have trouble with it I'll try the Neatsfoot oil and Bag Kote next. Thanks!

Is Resolene water based like the Eco stuff? I didn't realize the Eco finish will come off with water. I can't believe the guy at Tandy sold me this junk. I told him I needed a finish for making belts and holsters.

I think I'm going to give Resolene a shot. How shiny does it look, compared to super sheen? I'm most likely going to try the dipping method with it diluted to 50/50.

I need a little help/advice on finishing holsters and belts. I have Eco-flo super sheen which seemed to work okay until I removed the loops from my first holster, i made a few days back, and they took some of the finish with them. Further inspection revealed crinkling of the finish where the leather curves to conform to your body. I spent the last couple hours reading in the finishes section of the forum and I'm even more confused now than before. From what I can gather Fiebings Leather Balm w/Atom Wax or Resolene seem to be the preferred finishes for Holsters and belts. My few questions: 1) Can I expect a more permanent finish with Fiebings Leather Balm w/ Atom Wax or Resolene then Eco-flo? 2) This was my first leatherworking project its possible I didn't allow it to dry properly. Do people manage to produce quality finishes with Eco-flo that last? 3) I noticed someone was using Resolene on the inside of the holster. Are you suppost to use finish on the non-smooth side of leather and if so will Eco-flo super sheen work?

Very nice work!!! I'm modeling my 2nd attempt at an IWB after one of yours, they look great! keep it up!

Tac, Thanks! I think you hit the nail on the head as far as the wax getting on the leather, or other contaminants. I was really anxious to get this thing done. I will definately take my time on the next one and make it cleaner and neater.

Hi, This is my first attempt at leather working. I need a little more practice at wet molding, I left some marks in areas I didn't want them. I used 8 -9 oz leather from Tandy, I know it's to heavy I just wanted to give it a shot anyways since it was all I had at the time. I have some 6-7 oz in the mail. I left 3/8th " between my stitching and the gun outline which made the holster just a little to tight. It took a lot of work to get the gun in and out of it. I used Fiebings USMC black from Tandy. For some reason I had areas of the leather that do not want to be dyed, you can still see the speckles of the natural leather color even after 4 coats of dye. Any advice would be greatly appreciated before I start my next holster. Thanks for your time!!! Woolfe