JazzBass

Wow, classy is right! The fine stitching is beautiful. Nice work!

I found this to be brilliant - no splitter required!! Not sure if it fits your purpose, but you'll love it anyway

That finish is marvelous - along with the texture, it looks both "new" and wonderfully "aged". Beautiful work!

Wonderful depth. The layering of the leaves really makes the flower stand out. Nice!

True, of course. The upright bass isn't too bad, because of the string length. The shorter the string, the harder it is to play in tune. My fretless electric is more critical, being about 8" shorter in string length. A violin, is probably the most difficult, but still, it's just a matter of getting used to it and letting your ears do a lot of the work.

Nice work I always liked the P7, although it is a rather complicated design. The grip safety is actually a "squeeze cocker", and will also drop the slide on a new mag. What's nice about it, is that the bore centerline sits lower in the hand than any other auto I've seen, but the delayed blowback design (by way of a piston under the barrel), can get REALLY hot when firing a lot of rounds.

Haha - After a while, you get the hang of it. Thanks- glad you enjoyed it. Don't know that record, by I do know Mingus' music. I'll look it up when I get a chance. Thanks for the recommendation.

Thanks Gary. I only wish I had asked prior to the current project. It's not "ruined", by any means, but it could have been better. I'll look into tooling up for spraying somehow, and stick with oil dyes in the future.

Wow...someday I hope to do rigs that look that good! Wonderful work.

Hi Friends, Just thought I'd post a short clip of a group in which I'm involved, "Jazz Juice", for my friends on the forum, to give you an idea of what I do professionally. Enjoy!! https://vimeo.com/278430546

Everything I've tried as a resist, or as a finish coat - (Tan Kote, Super Sheen, Pro Resist, Resoline) has a solvent effect on the well dried dye, often making a smooth solid color look uneven, or having background dye smearing on other parts that I intend to keep clean. How do I "freeze" the colors of whatever dyes have been applied, prior to a resist and/or finish coat? a- Would Pro Oil Dye work better than the Eco-Flo (water based)? b- Would spraying instead of wiping/daubing/sponging eliminate the problem? c- Since I don't have an airbrush/sprayer, would a light spray of Saddle Lac or something, freeze the colors prior to either a resist coat, or a finish coat of Resoline? Sure, the solvent effect is a good thing when cleaning up after antiquing, but it's been frustrating to get everything looking as desired, only to have it changed unpredictably by subsequent clear coats. Suggestions?

I'll bet! ...and this one looks perfect!

...and...just saw the linked photo of the interior of the cartridge pouch. Brilliant! Never seen that before!

Gorgeous - you work is so "clean", it's quite an inspiration. I've always wondered how to lay out and execute the "gunfighter style stitch" (at least, that's what some folks call it) on the belt to get it even, and terminate exactly where desired. I'd love to hear a description of this, if you have the time - I know that such descriptions can be long, but even a few pointers would be greatly appreciated. Dividing out the length would give the point to point positions, but how do you determine the radius of the arcs to get it SO perfect? MAN, that looks good!!

I remember seeing a demonstration somewhere, that showed how strong Kevlar is in tension- it will hold an amazing amount of weight, BUT - tie a simple overhand knot, and it breaks fairly easily. I have no idea how it would function with either a lock stitch (machine) or saddle stitch. Seems that there could be problems. Has anyone else seen that demo? I can't seem to find it, or I would have linked it. Even soft body armor has a limited service life, as the Kevlar threads seem to suffer from abrasion against each other over time, and ends up fraying. Not sure that info helps - but I just thought I'd throw it in the mix as something to consider.

That's a winner - simple, tasteful, elegant for the style, and rugged as hell. Well done!

Ditto all the above - very unique.

Yeah, that's a rather extreme difference, all right. A related problem I've had as well, is that Tan Kote and Resoline have a solvent effect. This can work to our advantage with cleaning up antiquing, but I've had it effect panels that were dyed, when the finish coat is wiped on, leaving it "splotchy", changing from a smooth solid color to a "distressed" look, when unintended. I'm guessing that it's probably better to spray the finish coats if possible. Any thoughts on this? Does light spraying help "freeze" the colors better?

Although my first project was to be a belt, I had the high intention of tooling initials in the back center, SO - I started by cutting 3 1/2" pieces and trying to tool a 3 letter script monogram on each. These became "luggage tags" for all my family and friends. It was great practice that didn't require chucking a $20 belt blank if it didn't come out well. Yes...I read that you're not interested in carving/tooling at the moment, but it's something to consider.

Incredible!

Night and Day! If that's your first and second sheath, I can't wait to see your 5th or 6th! Remarkable improvement!

I use blue painter's tape, and a roller to firmly affix it. It minimizes the stretch of the leather, and comes off cleaner than anything else I've tried. Some use clear packing tape, but that pulls up quite a bit of fuzz when removed. The blue painter's tape may seem easy to tear, but generally doesn't stretch. Give it a try.

Gotta admit that it took a minute to understand the "why" behind the unfinished edge, but with the sunburst...I get it. Great lesson, thx.

Custom tooled, set of bar stools =:0 Who'd-a-thunk-it?? Curious - Was this a commissioned work, or the result of "brainstorming"? Brilliant in either case.

Amusing observations on advertising notwithstanding (love it), you're absolutely entitled to be paid for your hard work. I'm a newcomer to leather crafting, but I've been involved with guns and gunleather for 40 years. It is only in the past year or so that I've even become aware of what actually goes into making a holster like this. IMHO, whatever you currently charge, should be received for this, and whatever you consider "better", might currently be under-priced. Consider that one.