AzShooter

Glad you finished your first wallet. That's a great accomplishment. Show us a picture even though it's too tight. We learn from our mistakes. Getting corners can be a challenge but with practice they will come out o.k. Good luck.

Never thought of that. I'll have to get some and use it on the next one. Thanks.

My first attempt at making a briefcase/ gun bag. It's made of 10 ounce Veg Tan leather with 4 coats of Chocolate die, about a ton of Neatfoot oil, leather rejuvenater, more Neetsfoot oil and finally Resolene. I'm not too keen on the hardware. It was recommended by the salesman at Tandy and it took rivets to put the latch on so I used rivets on the handle as well. Next time I'll just do it all in leather I think. It's big enough to hold two guns and the cushion can be cut to form for the guns and some accessories. How did I do? Any comments are welcome.

Stewart: I like it so far, keep it up. Nice work btw.

I use to use antiquing all wrong. I'd put it on before the layer of Resolene they put the Resolene on over the antiquing. I've since learned to do the art work, dye my project and when it's dry I add the antiquing. I let it sit for about 10 minutes and then wipe it off. It's a big improvement on my work.

I think you've done a fantastic job. Great beginning.

You've come a long way. Congratulations. Now just keep practicing. In a few months you will be doing wonderfully.

WOW! Very impressive.

I've been doing a lot of different leather projects lately that I would say were above my skill level. For each one I was able to go to Tandy and ask questions along the way. I wish they had classes but they just started one, the instructor left and they haven't started them again yet. I intend to go to the class and learn everything I can. Give it a try. You may be surprised at how good you will get.

Can't wait until it's done. You are moving along marvelously.

I'm going to use resolene. I've got a lot of it and I've been happy with it on my holsters. What do you suggest?

I'm trying my hand at making a briefcase to transport my gun. It's 16 X 10 X 4 and should hold all my gear. I picked up some gun case foam and will be cutting out silhouettes for two guns and accessories. It made from 10 ounce Tandy Veg Tan leather. This piece had character including a brand mark and scratches for barb wire. Looked like a giant X across the entire project but most of it went away after 4 coats of dye and some leather rejuvenater that I got from Thandy. I've go to go to the store tomorrow to pick up the final hardware for the handle. All comments and criticism is welcome.

Still waiting on some hardware and I need to make the handle but this is going to be my bag to carry my gun from stage to stage. Ten ounce leather from Tandy. It has a lot of character with barb wire marks and a brand. I used 4 coats of Chocolate dye and then some Hide Rejuvenator to soften it up a bit and keep the leather from cracking. I'm using a Box Stitch and so far it's coming out o.k. Not much stitching to do but it's all fun.

That is excellent work with the carving and painting. My mind is blown.

Right on the cutting edge, you did a fantastic job.

I've been playing a lot more with my guns and want to protect them. Last month I made a new shooting bag. This month I'm working on a briefcase to store just the gun. I'm using "The Art Of Making Leather Cases" by Al Stohlman as a pattern with a few modifications to get the right size. What a horrible piece of leather I started with. Lots of character I guess with the branding mark and the bar wire lines across it. I put the brand on the bottom but the bar wire lines go across the entire bag. I normally use Tan dye but I chose Chocolate for this project. I wanted to get it darker to hide some of the markings. This is after it's first dye session. I'll probably dye it at least once more and then I'll use some leather preservative I bought from Tandy. When I went to bend the leather for the sides the leather started to crack. The perservative. I believe it' mink oil, is to restore some softness so that the bends won't crack any more. I dyed the inside as well but the biggest thing is I have rubber cushions that are designed for gun bags, that will fit inside to protect the gun. The bag is 3 inches thick and I have a 2 inch bottom cushion and 2 inch in the top. I haven't started on the handle yet and I'm waiting for the clasp to come in any day now. More pictures will follow as the project gets closer to being finished. Thanks for looking. Comments are always welcome.

Awesome. Great work on the leather and your photography. I'm very impressed.

I have to do like RossR. Send them to your pc and then resize them. I normally size my pics for posting to 6 X 4 inches at 72 cpl That give me a pic under 1K and will work with every forum I've used. Here's an example.

Very nice holster. I like the stitching. Color looks real good too.

I just bought one from Tandy and I'm totally impressed with it. I had a devil of a time trying to miter my new bag because the buffalo hide was very soft and my edgers just didn't want to cut it. I bought my new knife from Tandy and it cut like butter. I am making a new briefcase with 10 oz leather and wow was it easy to do the miter edges. Not only was it the sharpest knife I bought but it's easy to maintain it's edge.

I have holsters that I made 30 years ago and the edge paint still looks perfect on them. You should have no problems. I think the paint adds to the quality but it's not needed on all projects. I do use in on my wallets as well though.

zuludog: Thanks for that wonderful explanation. I've definetely learned a new system for sharpening.

Glad someone revised this topic. Just the information I was looking for. It's a far cry doing a briefcase compared to finishing one of my holsters but perhaps I should use these same suggestions on all my projects. Now I know I need more supplies.

I'm in the process of making a new briefcase. After cutting everything and gouging the folds I damped them and bent them into shape. When I get the full bend in the leather is cracking around the edges. I'm using 10 ounce VegTan leather for stiffness. I haven't dyed it yet but will be using Tan dye and figure I need to wax it or put some other coating on it to prevent the cracking. Any ideas? Would Saddle Soap help, Leather Honey or something else?

Great looking holster. Tooling and basket weave are spot on and I like that color as well.