HandyDave

Thank you guys for responding. I found a partial side of white upholstery leather in the depths of my scrap bins. I probably stuffed it in there thinking i would never need to use bright white leather. But it seems i have found perfect place for it on the back of organizers.

Allright guys and gals i have a good customer and friend who is wanting a couple tooled leather seat organizers that will be hanging on the backs of his white leather suv seats. First i dont know why anyone ever wants white seats or carpets or anything thats gonna get used. But either way his seats are white and his worry is the leather organizer would stain or dirty the white seats. My question for all of you is ehat would be best option to not have any kind of rub off or discoloring of his seats? Atleast not from my organizer. Would lining with a chrome tan leather work or just leave the backside completely natural vegtan? Thanks as allways gang for any help.

Thanks guys for all the tips and info. I knew i could get some answers on here like allways.

Ok guys and gals i have a request for a shoulder holster design simular to the discontinued galco executive. Surprisingly ive never had to deal with curved straps in the years ive been workin with leather. How do you go about finding out the radius needed? Is there a magic number or method for figuring the curve? Thanks gang for any assistance you can give. Im sure i could cut a bunch of paper templates and figure it out. But i know somebody here has experience that might save me some head scratchin.

This particular piece had no assigned time frame. But carving and dying and painting on this piece took me around 1 1/2 days. All the carving and design work was on me for this one as my contribution to a young man who is serving his country working full time and taking college classes. My customer who ordered the scabbard for the young man didnt have alot to pay for something but wanted to get the kid something speacial. So i made a deal with him and told him pay me for basic plain scabbard and let me run wild with design as my gift to the kid. As for finding military stamps like pastor bob said bunkhousetools.com has alot of options for military embossing stamps. That must be used with a press since there a poly type material. Ive got a few companies i make items for on a ongoing basis and have used leatherstampmakerusa.com to have some really nice brass stamps made for company logos and such. There in california i beleave little on higher side of price but excellent quality. Send them a pic of design you want and theyll give you free quote.

That mauser looks very similar to a walther ppk. You might check dimensions online but looks very close. If it is you can find holster props for the ppk.

Great looking holster. Been tempted to buy some shark skin for some time and i think im gonna have to go for it after seeing yours.

Very cool. Packed with detail.

Can you post pics of holster? Maybe will help with ideas for this crowd if we can see kinda what your shooting for. Is it one of those super cut down comp holsters and does the metal or rawhide create the retention?

You say makers mark so im guessing the delrin stamp in question is relatively small in size? If so you probably could get by with some sort of clamp for a small makers mark stamp. A press is the best way to go for sure. I use a 12 ton shop press from northern tool a bigger press like this can be used for alot more then the arbor presses and there about the same cost as a good arbor press. With the bigger press you can set up for bigger delrin stamps and embossing plates along with clicker dies if you plan to advance in the future. Buy once, cry once.

If i own the firearm needed for holster im making then i wrap with cling wrap or ziplock bag. And oil and clean after molding is done with no problems. On custom orders requiring firearms i dont have i just spend the 45 bucks at holstersmith.com and buy the blue guns. I might use a friends gun or a family members but never a outside customer. To much liability. Then it also depends on if your making made to fit molded holsters or doing more basic shape rigs. Cause if not going for that molded tight fit ive had customers to trace there pistol as close as possible and mail it to me and make a prop from cardboard or wood. Works fine on basic shaped holsters. And allmost every firearm known to man has a spec sheet online where you can get exact sizes and dimensions. So if your pretty handy making some basic props is pretty easy speacially for most newer semi-auto pistols since there all squared L shapes.

Like has allready been said best ways to cut cost in leatherwork is to get proficient with your time management on your projects. And if you want to use quality materials only way to save money there is to buy in bulk. Tandy for the most part sells junk in my opinion. But if you like the cost of there crappy import Brazilian hides then you might look at frogjelly.com they sell alot of the Brazilian and European hides that are cheaper then some of the big name quality suppliers like wicket&craig. But the hides i have used from frogjelly where 10 times better quality then the tandy hides.

All i can say is damn. Thats alot of beautiful carving and tooling. Makes my hands cramp looking at it. I can see why it has taken you some time to get this far and look forward to finished pics.

I prefer a groover as well. I make mainly heavily used outdoor gear and gun leather. And if the stitching isnt recessed that fraction the groover makes it will rub and fray against everything. And a groover in my opinion doesnt go no where near deep enough into the leather to break the structure of it. Now thin softer leathers i will use a divider to make a line cause ive found when you pull thread tight it kinda sets itself into the leather. This is one of those questions where there really isnt a wrong or right way its what works best for each person and what there doing.

Been there and done that way to many times. I got 2 scrap piles. 1 for small cutoffs that my sister gets most times for earrings and bracelets and such. And 1 pile that is messed up projects and such. Most days you just know first thing if its gonna be one of "those" days. And the time is better spent watching old westerns then trying to push threw the crap.

Another nice chest rig indeed. Allmost everything i make for myself is natural un dyed vegtan. Ive done a couple items for customers left natural. I love the way the natural veg tan grows and ages and takes on its on story as time goes. I wish i could get more natural orders but it seems like browns and blacks is what most of the gun crowd wants.

Nice lookin sheathes sir. It also looks like your maul you posted awhile back is holding up great.

Really nice work. Nice use with the exotics. I would say your on the right track or is it left track? Either way great job

Thanks. I really enjoy the pieces i get to go wild with.

Thank you sir. I wanted give the young man something way cool and speacial. And its a great show piece for my work that is gonna be seen by tons of other veterans and active duty military.

I havent posted any projects lately but wanted to share a speacial project i just finished. Its a over the shoulder scabbard for pistol grip shotgun. Specifically the mossberg shockwave. Its a surprise piece for a young man who is 19 and works full time goes to school and is national guardsmen. A good customer told me the story of young man and asked how much for a basic scabbard to give as a gift. So i made a deal with him and told him if he would pay for my basic and allow me free reign on putting a design on it i would go over the top and give the young man something truly unique and badass. I went full on military with design as my way of showing my appreciation for the young man getting this piece and every other man and woman who have served or serving. I hope i can get the pics to upload after all this typing. And hope everyone here enjoys. I look forward to hearing your feed back.

Beautiful thoughtful work as usual sir. Great job.

Thats great. Very cool and different. Thanks for sharing.

Great looking gloves. But i would like to see and hear more about the tape measure with the molded leather wrap. Thats just cool.

Same with my great grandma. She had me cooking and sewing,gardening and so much more from time i was around 5 or 6. She allways said i needed to know how to do the stuff so i wouldn't be dependent on someone else doing it for me. A comment i have for the original post. It sucks when we put so much work into a custom piece only to have something go bad toward the end. I have a scrap pile like most. But on projects like yours where something happens to the surface i overlay with some exotic or embossed leather. Then its a saleable piece with bad spots covered up. Out of sight out of mind.