Mablung

A blade can never be too sharp for skiving, but it sure as shootin' can be too dull, even if it's plenty sharp for cutting. Sharp, sharp, and sharper.

Books are always tools, in a different sense. Intellectual tools, which are the best kind. To paraphrase another saying, the mind is the final tool.

My absolute favorite tool, and the only one that is not a relatively inexpensive Tandy buy, is my vintage (120 years +) C.S. Osborne round knife. 5.5" inches from point to point that I got for a song on eBay. I have the tools and know-how to restore the edge, so I sharpened it myself. I love that knife and do everything with it, from rough cutting to skiving to fine trimming. The blade is thin, so the whole thing is light and very agile. Next thing I'd like to upgrade is my stitching awl, but my Tandy Pro one still does the trick for what I'm doing. But frankly, halfway decent beginner tools will serve you very well for a long time. The biggest thing to work on, IMO, is technique. I'm right there at the same stage of skill as you, and I don't think my skill has equaled or surpassed the quality of my tools.

I enjoyed reading through the recent posts about GSDs and Huskies. I have a Husky/Belgian Malinois mix. She does okay with a 3-mile/5K-ish walk or run, but she always wants more like a 10K and some playtime. She's 6 years old, but the vet always thinks she's about 2. And judging by her energy levels, one can believe it, lol. Surprisingly, she'll spend a lot of time chilling by my feet when I'm at home, or sleeping on my bed, while I'm at work. Once I'm up and moving, it's time to move, lol. I'll post a picture at some point. And yes, I made her collar and leash, of course.

If this is, for all intents and purposes, a practice piece, I wouldn't worry about trying to coat the inside. I'm a fan of gum trag for interiors of holsters (done a couple that way), but whatever you use, it must be applied before the holster is cemented. I use my scratch awl to make a line on the interior delineating my cement area, then apply gum trag and burnish with a glass slicker everything else. The glue line functions as a glue line and as a gum trag line.

2 oz. calfskin is a decent choice for interiors as well. Also not as cheap as regular cowhide, but it's cheaper than kangaroo.

Oh, that is so cool. I love frontier history and the gear and accoutrements. Looks like just the thing a long hunter who lived and hunted from the small supplies carried in his possibles sack would carry. Now I want to make one (along with the long list of other things I want to make...).

First, thanks for sharing your failures—we all learn that way. On that note, do you mind showing pictures of where the mag release sits and describing what you think causes the issue, as far as design goes? I do a little bit of holstermaking (for myself only, so far) and would like to see so I can avoid similar issues.

Welcome! And your English is pretty good. You'll get exposed to a variety of flavors of English on this board, since there are members worldwide. It'll be a good way to refine your language and your leatherwork alike. Great group on here, willing to help.

I'd just clean off the major surface dirt and then seal it. Try to preserve the character of the staining and antiquing of age.

I’d imagine she’s in love with that. Beautiful work.

Can’t search the forum very easily while on my phone, but there’s a thread where JLS Leather, a member here, posted a guide to making patterns for pistol holsters. There’s also a good video from Andrews Leather here. I used a combination of the two to make my last holster (which I need to post on here). Found JLS Leather’s stuff in my saved files on my phone. Holster_Theory.pdf PancakeLayout.pdf

Ha! That explains why it looked like a mix: it was. I’m going to borrow that technique, because it really does give some greater depth. I like the look.

Terrific. Really looks good. Did you stamp or carve the initials?

I have used a cheap paintbrush to reduce the effect of brushing out the antique paste. It’s not a perfect solution, as some is still brushed out, but to a lesser degree.