PastorBob

Carve first, dye second.

Neatsfoot oil may help. Put your gloves on and pour a little neatsfoot oil into the palm and begin rubbing it in, similar to washing your hands.

Great idea. Sometimes, I will get out some of my stamps and start making marks on scrap leather and find a unique pattern between 2 or more of the stamps and take off with it. Also, explore YT for border stamping.

For around $1300, I can get a Cowboy Outlaw, an Adler 104-64, or a Singer 144w102. Both the Adler and Singer are being sold by an individual reseller who has completely went through them and are in good working order. I have tried one of those Chinese Patcher / Cobbler machines with no luck as my only inroad into the sewing machine market. Any thoughts about which of these to choose as my first real sewing machine? I really don't want to have a bunch of these. Just one to take care of my leather needs. They will mainly be for holsters, sheaths, and may jump into some satchels, backpacks, etc. Thanks for you help in advance.

Not at all....throw in a granddaughter and I have a hat trick. More than you know. beautiful pieces BTW.

That's awesome. Back when cartoons were actually funny.

Welcome from SW Missouri. Lots of great stuff on here for sure. As you keep practicing, you will amaze yourself with your own improvements. Lots of videos on YT as well. For carving, check out Joe Meling and Don Gonzales. They are really really good.

+1

Nothing wrong with oak leaves on a nice holster, especially when it is for you. Well done.

Very nice! I like the Bersa. Feel it's underrated, especially at half the cost of the Walther PPK. I have an IWB with that same metal clip and find that, for me, the end poking out will dig into the seat back while driving. It has scratched up several seat backs when getting in and out of the vehicle. I have switched to a plastic one that doesn't angle out away from the holster. On the OWB holsters I most often dye the belt slots as well. I really enjoy seeing that extra patch of leather on your holsters. Gives you the ability to add a little flare with tooling.

Pretty sharp. Love the idea of using bison to prevent sliding in the saddle. What is the braided strap for?

That looks great @Gezzer. I forgot how to tie knots from by Boy Scout days and end up with some crazy ones for sure. What a wonderful project. Way to overcome the challenges. Very nice.

Glad you were able to find some useful info here. Welcome from SW Missouri!

Maybe A4 (not heard of A2). It is the metric version of our standard 8.5" x 11", but slightly bigger. It measures 8.25 x 11.75" Most applications allow you to choose "print full size" and it will automatically cut off some of the blank margin so it fits. If the size of the print isn't a big deal, you can choose "fit to page" and it will print, just a little smaller.

very creative. I like the 2-tone. looks like a lot of stitching.

that's pretty cool!

I still like my DSLR camera, but you are right, the cameras on these new phones are really nice. There are all types of tripods available specifically for phones. You can spend hours searching through them to find just the right one. Some are traditional 3 legged adjustable ones that are tall, others are stubby and can sit on your desktop. Can't wait to see your video.

Very nice indeed! Nicely done.

Not sure. worth trying. grab a piece of scrap and go at it. Let us know what you find out?

Welcome to the forum. You could try some matte finish eco flow clear finish. https://www.amazon.com/Tandy-Leather-Eco-Flo-Satin-2611-01/dp/B007O2NWES

I will sometimes use dye to slick edges. I put a coat of dye on and while still wet, rub it with the wooden burnisher. I gets pretty good results.

I would go with Option 3, but instead of the $1800 unit from weaver, I would use the $55 Lace cutter from Tandy. It works well and uses standard razor blades for cutting, so cheap and easy to replace. https://tandyleather.com/collections/tools/products/table-top-lace-cutter

Very nice indeed. Congrats to the new owner. They will cherish that for sure.

Wow. Exquisite craftmanship. Really like the way you did the background as well as use of the petal lifters. Been looking at those Judges too. Can't find a good deal on them. Still too pricey for me.

That is beautiful. As far as amount of leather in front of the first hole, Chuck at Weaver leather has some really good tutorials on belts to help guide you to the proper length. Nicely done. Love the color.