HandyDave

Ive just been playing these pieces by ear. Whatever colors pop in the head is what they get. Probably some purple and pink or orange. Who knows. Ill deffently post some pics once i get the others complete. The 2 i got done so far are gonna go to sisters so i wanted keep them similar so theres less options for them to argue over who gets what.

Thanks guys. I was able put another bear/critter together in between workin on some customer projects. Kinda the same as first with slightly modded pattern to make it easier to turn right side in after sewing it up inside out. I learned on the first my neck was to small and it made pulling the lower half of body through very tough. So i widened the neck a little more and i added just a little taper to arma and legs so they would be easier to roll right side out. Heres the second critter. And only have 2 more to make and my nieces will be covered for christmas presents.

Thanks everyone. Figured instead of running to the store and buyin mass produced crap toys for my little nieces and nephews i would make them some cool stuff that would be unique and last awhile. Im workin on patches for hats for the boys and some stuffed critters for the girls. Heres what one of the hats looks like that the boys will be getting.

Made me a quick template and built a kinda bear shaped stuffed animal for one of my little nieces. I used some embossed gator leather i had layin around with some chartreuse colored leather for fringe hair. Its deffently not your typical plush kids toy.

I mostly do made to order custom work. So when i get someone asking about making a piece i tell them let me crunch the numbers on there piece and i let them know a hard price within a day or 2. But i give them a ballpark when first speaking. And tell them depending on leather used and detail and hardware used this is the range of price variation. Then of course you get the people who say i seen this online for this cheap price can you make same thing for close to the cheap price. My simple answer is no i cant make it that cheap and want make it that cheap. But i allways tell them once there cheap bought item guves up on them to call me for a quality piece. And i do have alot of regular return customers that do get a little better deal then some cause there allways wanting more stuff. Im not gonna try to compete with the mass produced "handmade" crap that is flooded all over the interwebs. Just cause your hands touch the machines that do all the work doesnt in my opinion make it handmade.

I second leatherstampmaker.com ive used them several times for custom stamps for a few businesses i do regular work for and they work great and the first pieces i got from them has made several hundred impressions with no sign of slowing down. And with there brass stamps you can get there heating iron and use the stamps for branding as well as stamping. Ive got smaller stamps that work great with heavy handle and a hammer. And ive got bigger stamps i use in my press with equal quality results. I wouldnt hesitate one bit about goin back to leatherstampmaker for any custom stamps i need or want in the future.

Really nice work. I had the very same idea couple years ago with a nile croc skin i had. Made a keychain for a good friend. He likes to get people to smell it then tell them where on the croc that piece came from lol. The 1911 grips are also from the same nile croc skin. Atleast i know now i wasnt the only person to look at the cloaca and think that would make a nice eye socket

Just went down to my shop to give the 5906 a try in a couple of my 1911 holsters. The commander size holsters are about the perfect length and overall size for the 5906 but with the crazy trigger guard the 5906 has it wouldnt fit deep enough into my commander size holsters. The holsters i tryed have very tight stitch lines and have been wet molded specifically for commander size 1911 pistols. Now on a more generic holsters like your speakin of the 5906 might fit alot better. Its damn close the trigger guard on the smith is only thing keeping it from sliding right in.

If you can force it in then yes the leather will stretch and kinda form to what you put in it. Now something made for one thing and using it for something different might not be perfect fit but it should work. The s&w 5906 is very similar in shape and size to commander size 1911. Ill try my 5906 prop in one of my more basic commander size holsters and post the results for you.

Nice job im sure it will be enjoyed. If you dont mind just a touch of constructive criticism if you pre bend the outside and glue the liner piece to it on a bend youll get rid of atleast most of that creasing on the inside at fold. And id run the stitching all the way around it adds to the finished look and makes sure that little area in the middle at top and bottom doesnt pucker or delaminate. Still a great piece love the paw print and the 2 tone

Medieval marital aid?

Last quiver i made i used thin walled abs black plumbing pipe. I used 5 pieces of 1 1/2 inch diameter. They was all cut from one stick of pipe. I glued a piece of foam in the bottoms and put caps on the ends. I bundled the pipes together 3 in one row and 2 on top of the 3. Strapped them together tight with some scrap lace pieces and slid them down into quiver. They set a couple inches down into quiver shell so the pipes arent seen unless lookin down into it. My customer wanted to be able to keep a couple arrows with his 1 inch broad heads seperate and be able carry several small game point and target point arrows. The pipe does add a little bit of weight but not terrible. Ill see if i can find a pic of the quiver i did with the pipes and post it on here. I seen a bunch of the quivers for sale on the webs specially the hip style quivers had some sort of pipes to seperate the arrows so i used my construction and plumbing background and made it happen. Hope this helps.

Nice little holster you got there. I love my mouse guns. I have a north american arms mini revolver in 22 mag which is what i carry in my pocket when around the house or workin in my shop. And also have an Italian 25acp that looks about like your 22 that i carry as a back up in an ankle holster or pocket holster quite often when im out in public. Heres my 25acp pocket holster it prints like a wallet or cell phone.

Very nice heartfelt work. I will take an ok dog over 90% of the human population anytime. And a good dog is irreplaceable but its great to have the memories.

I to like chuck said use the regular artist acrylic paints with no issues. I get them from hobby lobby or walmart. And theres alot more colors and options to choose from instead of the basic stuff made "for leather". The only color i ever have any problems with is plain white. It wants to yellow after applying top coat. But ive found if i mix just a touch of beachcomber beige which is a super light cream color to my white and blend it good i dont get the yellowing when top coat is applied.

I dont offer a set "warranty" for a given length of time. Because like has allready been said who knows what kind of life the pieces have once they leave my shop. Im not gonna cut my throat to fix or replace something that was just beat the hell out of in a short time. But i do work with my customers to try atleast reach some kind of common ground that works for all parties. Knock on wood so far ive not had a piece of leather come back because of the leatherwork itself. But have had a couple snaps and other hardware pieces fail a few times. And i tell my customers that i buy the best hardware pieces i can but cant be held responsible for failure of parts that i dont make or assemble myself. If a snap or clasp or something goes bad i still usually fix those little things for free with the customer paying for the shipping.

Very cool. I think id shrink wrap the whole thing like it sets or vacuum pack it and just keep it like it is. I dont think i could bring myself to use it.

With new customers i include a simple card wallet with a few of my cards. I usually make them using scrap pieces of embossed animal prints to jazz it up a bit. Ive also sent a few key fobs. If its a good regular male customer who is married ive added a set of tooled earrings or small bag for the mrs. But doing that i figure the guy want catch as much grief next leather he needs if i bribe there wifes a little along the way.

Lookin good. To bad design is gonna be hid iwb.

I use alot of fiebings pro black dye. And yes its a pain to get nice dark black without several coats. Ive read that alot of guys will start with a blue or purple base dye then go over that with the black. I usually do 2 to 3 coats to get a nice even a black as i can. Then i finish the all black pieces with black tinted resolene cut 50/50. The tinted resolene seems to really help even out the black dye and darkens it up a little more.

I would just replace that cap with a molded leather version. And you could allways add a couple extra pieces set inside of it for little more protection if needed.

Thank you. I love leather work and really enjoy stretching my legs so to speak when i get these fun custom projects with mostly free roam on design. My regular customers ive dealt with for years dont even bother giving me a detailed idea of what they want anymore. They tell me there ideas of what they see maybe some colors there wanting. But mostly they just tell me to do my thing. Knock on wood i havent had anyone yet say they hated what they got and wanted refund. I still allways share my final design with customers before cutting leather. Just in case i do get one who dont like what im throwin down.

After makin a few belts over because my lack of questions early on. Now i ask probably way to many questions before i cut leather for any job. Belts i ask for current pant size which can be baggy or tight or an old pair of pants that has naturally stretched a few sizes so not best question but helps. Then i ask them to measure there current belt from end of buckle to the hole they mostly wear belt in. I also ask for a pic if possible of current belt with tape measure layin beside of it from end to end. Everybody has a phone or camera these days so a pic is great. Havent had 1 wrong size belt since askin for a pic of belt next to tape measure. I mostly do reinforced edc belts so they usually have a little more wiggle room anyway to allow for owb carry or iwb carry along with tucked or untucked shirt styles.

Its what i know as a sneaky pete kinda style. Small 380 and some small 9mm pistols. Havent seen a huge increase in this style in my neck of the woods but have made a few of them. Ive been noticing and making more purpose built appendix carry iwb holsters in my area and around more southern states. Im not sure id want to carry loaded pistol around aimed at my bits all day. Plus i got a little more around the mid section which doesnt make aiwb very comfortable. But appendix carry seems to be growing atleast down this way.