Mablung

Thanks! Shoulda been more clear on the carving. The barn is inverted and originally I was going to do all of it inverted, but spur of the moment as I was beveling, I decided to do the other elements in relief instead. Make them stand out as the focal point and let the barn fade into the background. The inverted portions are by no means even, but it makes the beams look a bit darker and at least a little bit more "woody" that way.

Did this as a quick project to hang on my office door at work. It turned out much better than I thought it would. All I did to finish it was give it a couple coats of NFO and punch a couple holes for a piece of dark green chrome-oil-tanned scrap to act as a hanger string. Would appreciate some pointers on the backgrounding and beveling. Can't figure out what to do with the beveling, as it keeps coming out choppy, even if I make small moves and many strikes. I used a matting tool for part of the background, mostly to fade out the beveling on Mary, Joseph, and the manger and Jesus. The star points along the barn roof beams didn't come out right, but I didn't realize that would be an issue until I had done the swivel knife work and beveling.

Is that when cleaning with the pumice hand cleaner? I assume so but wanted to make sure I hadn't missed a change in tack in regard to cleaning. If so, that looks pretty good, as long as one doesn't mind any later finish being a bit matted due to the surface scratches.

@ThomG To state Chuck's point another way, the pumice takes off part of the surface. The surface is slightly glossy because the very, very top layer is glossy. Thus, removing the gloss = removing part of the top layer—thereby damaging the leather. Unless, of course, you desire to take off the top. Then you have achieved your end, but if you want the leather to stay intact, then you've damaged it.

That's a risk of using an IWB holster generally. The specific concern here, however, is with ensuring the leather retains its structural integrity so that the holster itself does not collapse and cause an accidental discharge. One should always look while holstering with an IWB holster of any material, but using insufficiently-rigid leather can cause additional problems.

That's the place to be. I used to sit on the bluffs overlooking a local lake for hours on end, staring through my spotting scope.

Sometimes gotta dial something in at closer distances before pushing it faster. I'll bet that long slide and barrel help with recoil attenuation, though.

I went hunting last Saturday and didn't see a single deer, but I saw and listened to plenty of songbirds. I used to watch birds avidly, when I was younger, but I haven't had the time to do so in quite a while. it was a great treat to watch them again.

That is incredibly neat. Well done.

So's the one shooting it. What distance?

If it's the same story I've seen, it was a Glock 19 (Gen 3, if I recall correctly); arguably the most prolific double-stack carry gun. The main thing about handling firearms is to not be stupid. Or, as I like to say and a law school friend of mine turned into a favorite aphorism through our frequent use: "Be thou not a dipstick." The same thing goes for holster design and maintenance. Imagining someone with that build trying to carry AIWB is painful...

My backgrounder is checkered, but its small surface may not allow that to come out as clearly. Seam ripper it is. I slicked some edges but didn't finish them off because I realized I needed to reconstruct a few components. They'll get slicked properly once I've redone a few things. (I need to adjust the belt strap and safety snap.)

Always a good reason.

I made a new sheath for one of my knives, fold-over with a welt. I'm going to ask for critique but am posting it in this thread because, frankly, I was pretty pleased with the tooling and wanted to show it off a bit, which really means I thought it was going to look like crap, and I was pleasantly surprised when it looked like less than crap. Besides, I like oak leaves and wanted to make a foray into them with a simple design on a hunting knife sheath. Now, for the suggestions requested. I screwed up with the welt and left some of the stitching bare (thus the loose stitch at the end: the tip of the knife cut it). I have two questions on this point: How should I measure the welt, and how can I take the sheath apart with relative ease to redo the welt to get it right? I think I'm really asking how to efficiently undo the stitching (saddle stitch), as cutting apart the cemented portion isn't too difficult, with some care. I may also trim the shape so that it looks less like it houses a cleaver and try to match to the blade shape more effectively. On the tooling, what can I do to clean up the backgrounding? I used a combination of a small backgrounder and a matting tool, but I don't think I understand how to background. I couldn't get an even texture to save my life.

What's the 17L for? Hunting, competition? Wouldn't think the latter, since it's in a thumb-break crossdraw holster, but the model is just an oddball mostly used by competition shooters. I like the balance of long-slide models, though.

Holy crap, that's a whomping welt. I was trying to figure out why you would need a welt that thick, then realized you were stacking it up the thickness of the trigger guard. Definitely not busting that thing. Nice work.

I've carried and shot all three major actions in semi-auto pistols (1911, striker, DA/SA). My usual carry for the last number of months has been my DA/SA CZ 75 P01 Omega, which I adore. My other carry gun is a souped-up Glock 19. The manual of arms differences mean one must do some "muscle memory" reps to revive the appropriate reflexes, when switching from one to the other, but that's easy. The same rules for holstering safely and holster design and maintenance are the same no matter what, though. We wanna really get the gun people going, we can always debate the virtues versus vices of appendix carry.

You should call Johnson & Johnson to let them know that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OdzRCOR9OM

Just make it like one ordinarily would, using a good leather, treating it properly, ensuring the leather is adequately dense, not oiling the crap out of it so that it becomes soft, and paying attention to when it degrades to the point it needs to be replaced. I've carried a firearm nearly every day for almost ten years, much of my time spent with striker-fired guns, in both Kydex and leather, and I'm convinced the accidents people attribute squarely to leather holsters are the result of user error and improper maintenance.

I'll bet M&G would be good on toast, like Kentucky Jelly.

It really is. My first thought, when reading some of the replies about different products, was, "Well, there aren't that many different ways to create an acrylic sealer that can be buffed to become shiny. Just look at the ingredients and see if the tiny bottle contains the same stuff in roughly the same proportions as the big bottle, then use the stuff in the big bottle for a fraction of the price-per-ounce. Bada bing, bada boom." But then, there is no accounting for taste. Or for the tendency of people to insist something is true if and only if a supposed expert says it.

I've been reading this for the amusement factor. I think I'll give Mop & Glo a try.

Yeah, that is essentially a clone of the Glock 43. Make sure to check the front sight screw and put a little thread locker on it. A friend didn't do so and had it spin around. He couldn't figure out what the problem was, until I looked at it and fixed it.

That stitching and edging look wonderful. I also have to ask, who makes the top knife, with the broad, beefy blade and immaculately polished convex grind?

Snazzy and classic. I like the stamp on the back, lol.