Bronson

A business savvy friend of mine suggested something like this. Start TWO businesses. The holster making business (in this case) is incorporated or an LLC, thereby protecting your personal assets from lawsuit. The second business can be incorporated or simply be created with a "Doing Business As". This second business owns all the tools and tangibles and leases them to the incorporated holster making business. This way the holster business owns zero tangible assets so there is literally nothing to take. My accountant girlfriend once told me that her business law instructor (a practicing corporate lawyer) called the LLC the best thing to ever happen for small businesses. Bronson

Maybe I need to dip it instead of putting it on with a dauber. I learned my lesson on the overuse of neatsfoot the first time I used it. Now it goes on a little at a time Thanks for the help. Bronson

Hey all, Firstly I'd like to thank everyone here for the great advice and tips. Using what I've learned here I've been able to fix the problems I was having. Of course now I've found other new and exciting problems I put together another holster for my 1911 and used the vinegaroon on it. For the most part I'm very happy with the holster but I noticed that the first time I put the gun into the finished holster the black on the back side faded where the leather flexed. Maybe I need to color the leather before forming it. I didn't want to do that this time as I was using a different pattern and didn't want to spend the time coloring it if I couldnt' get the gun into the holster It was pretty dang tight. Getting it in there was like wrestling a funnel cake from a fat kid at the fair After coloring, rinsing, and air drying overnight I put a thin coat of neatsfoot on the outside rubbed it in and let it sit all day. Then it got two coats of brushed on Resolene. During all of this the color never faded. Well that's not exactly true. After it dried overnight the color had faded to more of a dark grey than black and I had to reapply the mix to get it black again ....has anybody else had that happen? Anyway, here's a couple of links to pics. Hopefully you can see what I'm talking about. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29310638@N07/3366103367/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/29310638@N07/...in/photostream/ Thanks everyone. Bronson p.s. Here're some links to the front of the holster. Like I said overall I'm happy with it but I'd like to figure out how to keep the color consistent. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29310638@N07/...in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/29310638@N07/...in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/29310638@N07/...in/photostream/

I sent an email to all my "crafty" friends about the vinegaroon figuring they might like to knwo about it. One of them, a metal/blade/armor/smith emailed me back with this: Hi Bronson, I use this recipe for a top patina on copper, the Japanese call it "ohaguro" and it can be made with vinegar, beer , or sake (cheap sake). They suggest heating iron scraps to a red heat and letting them air cool, then adding them to the liquid. The Japanese method say let the mix sit for six months to get a good reaction (topping the liquid off that evaporates). It produces a beautiful dark brown speckled surface when used. Also, it was popular for upper class women to color their teeth black with during the Edo period. That's cool, I'll have to try it on leather. It appears this stuff is pretty versatile Bronson

I just made a test swatch from my vinegaroon. It worked great and mine has only been sitting for about four days. I washed a steelwool pad with soap and water, squeezed it as dry as I could and put it in the vinegar. 4 days later it's a brown sludgy liquid and I dipped a q-tip in it and spread it on the leather which instantly turned a nice even, dark charcoal. I'm excited about this new (for me) techinque. On another note I've also done some test pieces with some PVA diluted with water and drop of dish soap (read about it someplace on Leatherworker.net) to use as a treatment for the inside of the holster. So far so good with that one too. Once the water dries it leaves a thin flexible coating that can be slicked down nicely. Bronson

Yeah, the big chiseled holes do make stitching go quickly. Bronson

I recently picked up a stitching awl and I have the (very good) Stohlman book. I just haven't worked up the nerve to give it a go. I need to slap two scrap pieces together and give it a shot since I've got a new one waiting to be punched on the bench right now. The big benefit of learning to use the awl would be that I could keep working on holsters after my girlfriend went to bed How long did it take you to get the hang of it? Any tips or things I should look out for? Bronson

That holster is for my girlfriend. She wears her pants high on her hips and has a short torso (the grip of her pistol is almost in her armpit). Those two factors decided the straight drop angle and the low cut front. The low cut front is primarily for two reasons 1) she doesn't have to draw as high to clear it and 2) by moving the front wing closer to the holster body it creates a small amount of offset so the grip doesn't jab her in the ribs due the the curve of her hip. The straight drop allows her to draw without cocking her shoulder at a weird angle like she has to with forward cant holster. With a loaded cylinder I can still shake it upside down without the pistol falling out. Bronson

Thanks, although It's not my second one I'm using a chisel. I didn't have good luck with drilling them when I tried it. Bronson

My local Tandy store sells small drops for $7-$10. My very first holster was a Kydex/leather combo and it wasn't difficult. The clips probably took more time than anything else It works well with good retention but a nice draw. It's not a bad way to start and it can be done without many of the specialized tools needed for leather so if you find you don't enjoy the process you're not out the money you would spend on them. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29310638@N07/...57606586066759/ Bronson

Hey, I can help with that http://www.condorsflight.com/products/index.php?cPath=115 If you become a member at BersaTalk and get 10 posts you can ask the mods for a 10% discount code. Bronson

Again, any comments welcome. I would've posted them both in the same post but they were too big. Bronson

Any thoughts or comments are welcome. Bronson

Thanks guys. I might just give that a try mattsh, thanks again. And yes I'm using the alcohol based dyes. Bronson

I'm too new at the holster thing to be able to add much to this forum but I want to add something productive instead of just asking questions all the time Many years ago I was watching a show where two guys would refinish furniture. On this particular show the wood refinisher dude was using a mixture of vinegar and rusty metal on oak. He roughed up the surface with a wire brush and applied a liberal amount of the vinegaroon. It produced a beautifully highlighted grain pattern. He said it worked very well on oak due to the high level of tannins in the wood. So if any of you are also into wood or furniture finishing there's another use for the vinegaroon you've got laying around Bronson

Ok, I'll try to answer 'em all in one post. I'm using Fiebing's dye in mahogany. I'm dying the leather after it has dried from the wet forming process. I coated the interior with gum tracaganth and slicked it down, when that didn't stop the dye rub off I went over it with resolene and let it dry in a warm place for 1 1/2 days. Soon, I shall make a jar of vinegaroon then I'll just do everything in black Thanks everyone, Bronson

The last holster I made is rubbing dye off onto the gun. I've coated the inside with Resolene and it got a little better but it's still rubbing color on to the top edges of the slide, the front edges of the dust cover and the trigger guard. I'm wondering if it's because I didn't really form the backside since that's the side of the gun where most of the color transfer is taking place (I wanted to keep it relatively flat on the back). None of the other holsters I've made have done this and I'm curious if anybody else has had this problem and how they fixed it. I'm thinking of making another one and not dying it or at least not dying the inside. The gun is a 1911 Bobtail Commander if it matters for this discussion. Thanks, Bronson

Thanks everyone, Any and all advice gladly taken Bronson

Thansk L'Bum, I think I'm coming to the same conclusion. I've read several of Lobo's posts and have taken a lot of great information away from them so I'm going to try oiling and forcing myself to be patient (I hate waiting) and see what I get. Bronson

Hi there, new guy here with his first post. First I'd llike to say thanks to everyone for all the great advice and tips. I've been reading and found answers to many of the questions I've had, so thanks again. One thing I'm still having trouble with though is that when I get a holster done it hardens up like a board. It gets so stiff that it looses any ability to flex and will crack. I assumed I was using too hot of water during the forming but I've read here where others are using a lot hotter water than I am. I will admit to getting impatient and trying to speed things along with a hair dryer and I think that's my ultimate problem but was hoping for some confirmation from the knowledge pool here. I'm currently using Fiebing's dyes and brushed on Resolene. I'm just starting to play with neatsfoot oil and have a sample piece that I formed, oiled then dyed, then coated with Resolene that looks promising. I've also got some Tan-kote laying around but I'm not sure about the best way to use it. Any advice, suggestions, or encouragement will be greatly appreciated. Bronson