PastorBob

love it...and the play on words.

Nice looking holster! Hand stitching for me is so relaxing, unless I screw it up. I think it really adds to a piece when presenting it to the recipient. A couple of things I have struggled with initially was getting the thread to lay down uniformly. With a standard sewing machine, the needle and thread always travel in the same manner while you move the piece being sewn to achieve the stitch. I practice the same thing when hand stitching...I move the piece all over the place in the stitching pony so my thread and needles go through / pass over each other the exact same way, in the same orientation. And I always use the same amount of tension when I pull the thread tight. This way it looks very uniform. Another trick I picked up...After making my stitching groove, I will place the stitch holes at all the intersections and corners first so they always align, especially when changing directions. This allows me to put a hole on the exact intersection of lines, especially on corners, so it is kept straight in the groove (otherwise it will cut a corner if no hole on the corner). I also don't stitch around the belt holes. I slick them down really good and that works well. It is stitched on the outside so as long as there was plenty of glue, they shouldn't go anywhere. I would also go ahead and run the double stich line all the way to the bottom stitch instead of stopping. When it stops like this, one is forced to do a back stitch there. It's all about how the eye perceives it. To me, it is less noticeable when hidden in the bottom stitch line. Here is an example of one of my holster. Notice the belt loop and stitching.

Nothing sexier than a 1911. Even more sexy with that low cut dress. Wowser! I did notice the "extra" stitches below the trigger guard. Was that intentional? I have not seen that before. What is the purpose? Just added strength?

Welcome to the Forum! Lot of great ideas, patterns, and plenty of suggestions and opinions. Jump right in! Make sure to share your journey with us through pics. There is a thread showing how to upload pics somewhere.

I know Don Gonzalez does a lot of that. May check out his youtube channel. Can't remember what he uses, may be resolene. He is able to cover it using a sheepskin applicator with no smearing.

Wow! Nicely done. The detail around the mouth, feathers, and hair is great. A couple of things to add as you continue in this craft...watch Joe Meling's video on tooling leather feathers. It will assist in getting the lines going in the same direction. Also, Bruce Cheney has a couple of videos on beveling. This will help remove the light and dark spots around your circle, making it more consistent. If this is for your table top, thank you for your service. Thanks for sharing a creative, and daunting carving with us.

if you don't have an airbrush, or a place to use it with proper ventilation and easy cleanup, you can get Saddle-Lac from Tandy. You could probably find its comparable at a wood working store as in spray on lacquer. I am sure one could find a MSDS sheet for it. It sprays on from an aerosol can. I have used it with great success. Kind of pricey, but lasts a while.

I have never used atom wax. Is it more like a conditioner / protectant (like sno seal or mink oil)? If so, that would make sense. If you don't have some type of top seal on it, it will definitely rub off over time. Keep us posted on progress. You could even use Super Shene or Satin Shene, depending on the look you desire. or for that matter, saddle lac

Pretty ingenious. Thanks for sharing. Another great idea! Thinking i could either laser engrave on the board itself, or attach some decorative pieces of carved leather. what is the dimension of the gap, where the plant hangs?

Nice find. Thanks for sharing. Do you have one? I thought the ones I've seen were 1/2" thick. This looks to be less than 3/8" in thickness. Should still work okay though, right? If that's the case, I may go by my local glass shop and see if I can get a scrap piece smoothed down from their discard pile.

I know there are a lot of custom stamped / carved motorcycle seats out there. You might try contacting one and asking them how they keep theirs looking so nice for so long. They may divulge their method. I would make the call as a potential customer and ask how they guarantee it won't fade, etc.

Glad to hear it. Make sure to post pics of your work when done. Excited to see what other crafters are creating!!

My wife's purse had an outside zipper area that would open up to a padded, generic holster velcroed in place inside the pocket. It was sold out of a gun shop. I would think if you are making a custom bag for someone, you could make a removable holster attached with velcro to hold it in place that was specific to the firearm. Then, should they ever change the firearm they carry to another model, they come back to you for another insert.

I use Tokonole by spreading it on the back and rubbing it in really well. There is a glass slicker out there that is super nice, but super pricey. I don't have one of them. I just smear on the tokonole and rub it in really good with by bone creaser. It essentially slicks the back of the leather to super smooth. Check out this video by Fischer...

Yeah, it doesn't take long at all. I think the one above took about 15-20 minutes to create.

"Drop Forged" is a process. "Chrome Vanadium" is a steel alloy. The two are commonly used together: if you Google for "drop forged chrome vanadium" you will find many tool sets using that process and that alloy together. (https://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/12773/Drop-Forged-or-Chrome-Vanadium)

YAY! Love a happy ending!

call Springfield Leather and talk to them. Great folks. I was just there this past Saturday. Tell them what you want to do, and they will guide you into purchasing what you need. If you talk to Skyler, congratulate him on his recent engagement.

If your leather products are priced to include the scraps, you could make dog / cat collars and sell them for cheap, donating the extra cash to an animal shelter. Charge enough to cover the hardware and a little for your time, plus whatever you want to donate. You could also make (along the same lines with donations) some of the cancer ribbons...I am thinking ones that are 6-8 inches tall.

@swortsoul I just started playing with the glowforge. If that is what you have, let me know and I can walk you through the setting I used.

Sergey makes a good one and you can get it from Springfield leather. Fairly reasonably priced if I remember correctly. His stamps are designed to line up real nice. SLC can get them to you real quick. (Based on the image in @fredk link above, I believe it is a Sergey stamp as well.

even without the coloration, each one has it's own unique design. Love seeing finished work to inspire me and other crafters. Thanks for taking the time to post the pic.

very nice! Just made an acrylic stamp using that same exact pattern. Letters are SOO hard to get right. You did a nice job.

Welcome from SW Missouri. Great folks here and willing to help as you start your journey.

This is the patina I referred to in earlier post. Glad you found a solution that met your needs.