Mablung

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.

Looks like it's just four panels with two functioning as gussets and underlapped with the front and back panel. My guess is you can replicate the proportions by cutting four equal-sized rectangles and underlapping the edges, and pick the dimensions the missus would find useful. I thought about doing something similar for a tote bag I'm making my mom for Christmas, but I decided my leather (~5 oz. S.B. Foote chrome tan boot leather) would be too bulky to make attractive overlapped seams.

T-shirts are smoother and less likely to get caught on the flesh side fibers. In my limited experience with NFO, the blotchiness is easily avoided by (1) not loading the rag/other applicator too heavily, as that will produce a hot spot of oil just like with dye, and (2) rubbing a drier corner of the cloth over any spots with more oil---if those spots are rubbed, the cloth seems to pick some oil back off the surface of the leather and distributes it more evenly. I also put a couple light coats so that I can start the second coat in an area that received less oil the first time around, and that helps even out the color saturation. My process is hardly well-refined, so maybe I'll change my mind on that, and lots here have more experience than I.

Conceivably one could tie a few tight knots in the last hole and hide them between the two layers and the tension of the stitches would keep them tight, as would any edge treatment done (especially if one finished veg tan edges using beeswax, as I generally do). But that's not quite as tight or sure as backstitching. Personally, I kinda like the look of the backstitching, but that's me.

I've just used a soft cotton rag torn from an old t-shirt. That seems to work pretty well. I have only used lambswool daubers to apply dye and haven't had any trouble with those, so I'd think they'd work well for oil as well. That said, nearly anything will have fibers removed and held by the flesh side, especially on something like shoulders (which I've been using a lot lately), so I try to do as much from the grain side as I can.

From what I have read on here, the general consensus seems to be that you're not going to lose appreciable strength by cutting a thin strip of grain out of the top of a 6/7 oz. piece of leather. Groover vs. creaser seems more important, as a matter of protecting leather integrity, only with thin pieces. That said, some prefer the aesthetics of a crease over a groove, and/or just don't want to remove any material at all. Judging by others' pictures, I think the stitches tend to settle into the leather a little bit differently. I use a groover because that's what I started with and thus what I have, but creases look nice, too. I don't do much in thinner leather so far, working mostly with 6/7 oz. for holsters and knife sheaths and pieces needing similarly thick leather, but I'll probably get a creaser at some point anyway.

I think you may have missed the point.

I like it. The irregularities in the hide piece give it character. I like the contrast stitching as well, but I'm a sucker for a nice brown hue like that with well-done white stitching.

Conceivably, this is the kind of thing that could be 3D printed. I'm interested in finding a form as well, though, as I plan to upgrade to the Plus soon and would like to make a good leather case.

Roger that, and thanks. I have read before that oval holes resist wear from sling frogs better than round ones do, but that may also be a matter of preference rather than actual need. What hole size did you use on this one? At first glance, I would think a 1/8" round drive punch would do the trick, but I haven't looked up the frog dimensions.

That's fantastic. Where did you get the frog hook for the working end? I've got this wild hair to make myself a 1903 sling for my .308 bolt gun but don't know where to get good hardware. I found an oval punch on Weaver Leathercraft's site, so that part would be covered; just don't know where to get the hardware itself.

Use scissors to cut the thread (extra points if you use snippers with finely-edged blades to create a clean cut to prevent fraying---I just use regular old scissors, though), down to about 1/8" length. Then use the lighter to melt the end and press the melted bit down into the other stitches. With a little practice, it's pretty easy to do very cleanly.

Far better than a Ziploc bag. Now I've got the itch to make myself a better bag. Might require I learn how to install zippers and fashion something like a hanging hook for a hanging toiletry bag. Or just a dopp bag.

That is gorgeous. Both the leather and the piece.

Looks much better than my attempt at antiquing last night. I forgot to put down the beeswax I meant to use as a resist, so I got more of a mottled/splotched dark brown staining across the whole notebook cover rather than just lightly staining the surface and settling into the grooves of the tooling.

I like it. I always admire those who can draw and mix colors like that. I love good art but can't make it myself, so thanks for sharing what you can do.

Thank you.

What weight/thickness of leather do you usually use for these? Thinking of making one for my watch but have mostly 4/5 oz. oil tan and was thinking 2/3 would be more like it. I may get some skiving practice, if it needs to be thinner.

That's really slick and clean-looking. What are the dimensions? That gave me an idea for integrating an ammunition pouch into a rifle stock pouch I need to make but have put off researching while dealing with some other things.