HandyDave
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Everything posted by HandyDave
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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.
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Reasonable expectations to the life of a leather item
HandyDave replied to nstarleather's topic in Leatherwork Conversation
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.
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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.
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Lookin good. To bad design is gonna be hid iwb.
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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.
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Rubber tip for rifle case
HandyDave replied to 327fed's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
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.
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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.
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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.
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Customer sent me a few photos with his colt in holster. The real deal allways looks better then the colored holster makin props.
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I recognized the fabric cause i tryed some by customer request on a soft sided shotgun case couple years back and have been using it since in all sorts of bags and gun cases. It comes in tons of colors and is great stuff. Alot tougher then other fabrics usually used for lining as well. And again the fly rod&reel case looks great.
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Really nice lookin work. Is that waterproof ripstop fabric for the liner?
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Thank you. The customer asked for a snake design on a pancake style holster then pretty much let me do it how i seen it in my mind. Once i sent him pics of my renderings and templates he was pumped up and couldnt wait for me to get started.
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The random pattern was painted on free hand over the light tan/beige base color of the snake. I was going for a kinda desert python/ pibald mash.
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Thanks everyone for the kind words. As most of you holster makers know we do alot of tonal pieces blacks and browns. Cause most times there meant to be more low key. So its alot of fun when these fun custom pieces come along and get to work outside the normal box a little bit. This has been a blast to build and ive enjoyed every moment. Front and back are 7/8 oz vegtan dyed with a thinned down medium brown. Fully lined with 3/4 oz vegtan lightly oiled but left natural. Hand sewn in a dark brown then hand painted the python carving after wet molding dryed. Heres all finished except final topcoat and polish.
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Hey guys and gals. I havent posted any projects lately mainly cause been doing alot more basic items thats not as fun to look at and talk about. But i got a job for colt python pancake holster. And the guy has seen alot of my wilder pieces and ask if i could do a python on the holster. I said yes sir and the fun started. Hope yall enjoy. I know im having fun building it. Ill post some more pics once further along.
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S&W SD9 blue gun.
HandyDave replied to AA3JW's topic in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
A great website i use for pistol dimensions for allmost every pistol made is handgunhero.com you can easily compare dimensions between props you allready have or that are available. I use it alot to make temporary mods to some of my props so they can be used for other holster making jobs. -
Thank you sir ive been working with leather for many years. But have only tinkered with a few scraps of "exotic" leather. As much as the stuff cost i would hate to put my finish on everything and it hurt the inlay pieces after all the work has been done. Thanks again.
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Hey guys and gals i tryed searching and im sure the info is allready on here somewhere. I just couldnt find it. So thanks for the help in advance. Im doing some inlay work with real nile croc tail. I usually finish my cow only projects with resolene or similar finishes. My question is since i havent worked with very much "real" croc or gator skins can i or do i need to go over my inlays of croc with my finish as well? I also have a little wet molding to do. How will that effect my croc inlays? Thanks again
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I try use every piece i can for whatever i can. And when i get a good bag or box of pieces that are to small for my projects i give them to my littlest sister who makes earrings and barrets, braclets and such. The earrings is a pretty good way to use even the smallest of scrap pieces.
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The Power of ' word of mouth' advertising
HandyDave replied to Handstitched's topic in Marketing and Advertising
Love the word of mouth advertising. And its where allmost all my new customers come from. Ive handed out 1000 cards in the last 8 monthes or so and ive got maybe a dozen or so calls and maybe half of those calls turned into paying jobs. But i build a holster or whatever for one guy or gal and 2 or 3 of there friends call wanting custom leather. -
I second chuck on the quilt batting if you are gonna add little extra padding between leather and liner. Ive been using waterproof mil spec rip-stop fabric as the liner in most of my cases and sleeves. I know wool and such liners are a more traditional route. I myself dont like suede or wool lined anything because dirt and debris can get caught in the fuzziness and cause wear. I know linings is a very debatable subject and i deffently aint trying piss anyone off who likes the soft fuzzy liners. They look really good speacially in a case for an old firearm just my experience theres better options for better firearm care.
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I live up in stokes county between pilot mtn and mt airy. Or as most people outside of nc knows it mayberry from andy Griffith show. About 10 minutes from Virginia line