Mablung

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.

Have you read the other replies? You’ve posed a fairly binary question, when the answer is really, “It depends.” The answers depend on the weapon, placement on the body, and user preference, not to mention the cut of leather you’re using. 9 oz belly will never work as well for a holster as 6 oz shoulder, for instance. By way of example, I usually carry a CZ P-01 Omega with a dot and a spare mag, all AIWB (i.e., up front inside my pants). It’s a weighty rig, for the overall dimensions of the firearm. 7/8 works just fine for it. Wouldn’t use less than 6/7. I’m working on an updated design using 8/9 shoulder that will be really tough and will take carving nicely. Do I need it that thick? Not really. But it will be bombproof, which is what I wanted.

You can also get some good specimens on evilBay with some patience, if you have the inclination to do some restoration work yourself. I have a great C.S. Osborne I got on there for $58 including shipping. It needed to be sharpened, but the handle and ferrule are in great shape (slightly loosened with my use, due to my tendency to use too much pressure when cutting), and the restoration work on the edge was fun. Cuts like a dream now. Anyway, eBay can be good, but Bruce Johnson is the best if you want something already put into good working order.

Made another pair of moccasins the other night, when I couldn’t sleep. Frontier Bison from Tandy. I’m a big fan. I still need to adjust the toe profile to turn in less abruptly at the big toe, but it’s getting there. Same for getting the sides of the vamp to come up a bit higher and tighter—I just need to adjust the angle of the pattern and the taper of the heel pieces, I think. I’m much more pleased with these than with my other efforts.

This right here seems to make the difference. Two of my favorite briefcases are down and out because strap ring billets were stitched across, nicely perforated, and then broke under tension. I’ve quit stitching across the width of even my knife sheath belt loops for this reason.

Never heard of that, either, and don’t think it would work. If you truly soak the leather with oil, you will create an irredeemable, soggy mess.

A good thought. If I get a machine any time soon, I’ll add that in. Still doing all hand stitching at the moment, though, and that would add a tremendous amount of stitching.