Mablung

Is the cutting edge on the round end punch smoothly curved, or is it deformed like the upper body of the punch blade? If it’s smoothly curved, yeah, the overall finish is a little sloppy, but it’s still going to do its job. I have read elsewhere the QC isn’t what it used to be, but the tools seem still to work. Only one I actually own is a 120-year-old round knife, though.

This is a nothingburger, if one uses decent leather molded well and of the right temper and thickness. In other words, make the holster properly and you’re fine. It’s also a lot harder to shoot oneself in either the family jewels or the femoral artery than many think. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, but it’s not the imminent risk it’s made out to be. Don’t be an idiot when reholstering, and it’s perfectly safe to reholster with the pistol still in the pants, regardless of the pistol’s action.

Great work. I really like that choice of the brown pull-up. I’ve got some of that and really like it. Looks really good as a wallet, too.

Tandy sells some bark-tanned shearling. Don't know if it's the same stuff Cattleman is referring to, but it might be an equivalent.

No toe puff. I almost soaked them this morning but didn't want wet feet at work and thought I'd see how they did just stretching under foot heat and wear. Doing better than I expected. They'll probably get a wetting and wear tonight, though, at least the right one. The left feels perfect.

Finally got a new pair of these things done. Made the heels pretty ugly in trying to combine a dart and curve to the heel piece pattern, but they'll be serviceable for a while. Used a Crazy Horse pullup cowhide for these and needed to add just a smidge of length for the right foot, but I think it'll stretch adequately to work. I'll probably make another pair out of some great bison I got recently to see if they stretch to fit more readily in that stuff, after I adjust the heel a bit more.

Use a thumb break retention strap or mold the retention around the light and slide. I’ve done one for my CZ P-01 with a Streamlight TLR-7A that way. Some molding around the trigger guard is okay, but just not too deep.

If you’re looking at veg tan, you’ll usually be able to tell by the surface finish appearance and texture whether it’s been sealed or not. Words like “glazed” are dead giveaways, too.

Good to know. Is it a particular kind of nylon? I may get some for some hunting boots I plan to make soon, as I need to attach the sole very sturdily.

There are tight restrictions on importation of exotic species like elephant, but it can be imported and purchased. Just got to make sure the CITES treaty requirements were followed; reputable importers and dealers will have and show the paperwork. That aside, that’s a great looking holster. Very clean, and the color of the elephant hide complements the pistol and grips quite well. Very well-done.

Most use braided or twisted polyester or nylon thread. There are a lot of threads on the market, but the ones I use are the Ritza 25 braided and the Maine Thread Company braided and twisted. I like braided better than twisted, because the twisted tends to come unraveled as one stitches, due to the pressure on the tail. It can be retwisted to a degree, but it’s a bit of a pain. The braided Maine Thread is a round braid, unlike the Ritza flat braid. The Maine Thread feels stronger to me, but it’s also a royal PITA to pierce with a needle that has a large enough eye to thread effectively. I use 0.8mm, generally, but 0.6 would also do the trick. I tend to buy heavy threads because I don’t make many delicate items, and a lot of what I make needs to hold up to some heavy use.

Yeah, that’s your issue. I think Nigel’s channel is called Armitage Saddlery, something like that. If you look around in the Stitching forum on here, you’ll find some of his posts and tutorials. Pure gold for anyone looking for stitching chisels, pricking irons, proper stitching technique, the whole enchilada.

How did you make the holes? Looks like the second stitch went a little awry, either because you used an awl at the wrong angle (really easy to do), or you reversed which thread went through first. Overall quite clean, though, that one stitch notwithstanding. Have you watched Nigel Armitage’s video on saddle stitching? No better resource on the subject.

No, this is me trying to do my own pattern from my foot tracing. When I used Tony's pattern, I think I screwed it up by trying to be fancy/cut some time by using my stitching chisels, instead of punching along his hole punch marks. Shoulda taken the extra time, lol. (That and some of the lines didn't align because I think that piece of leather wasn't properly flattened on my cutting surface.) I think you may be right about the pattern slipping on this pair. My feet are slightly different, but not by much, at least in length. I need to compare the overall shape, dimensions, and proportions to really be sure, but I think they're close enough to use the same pattern. I trimmed the left vamp a bit but didn't trim the right as much (adjusting for lopsided patterning---actually worked pretty well on the left one), which, I think, is why the right one twisted more.

Is using a small-blade awl an option? More difficult than using stitching chisels but probably the method to use to do this repair by hand. Most awl blades are a good bit larger than that thread size, though, so it may be difficult, I grant.

Love them all. The revolver looks like the one Clint Eastwood carried in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (phenomenal film).

Yeah, I looked at the Earthing Moccasins patterns—really expensive for nothing so unique I couldn’t eventually make it myself. I used the “wide” plugs in the Dieselpunk.ro pattern; I guess I just like “really really wide,” lol.

Well, they do look rather ridiculous, lol. They’re starting to take a little shape after wearing them for a few hours earlier. I’m going to experiment with a few different leathers I’ve got to see what works best, after I dial in the pattern.

Thanks! I found a good video on YouTube showing wooden last making; I’m planning to try my hand at making some plaster cast ones and eventually carving some wooden ones. My dad got me a jigsaw at an estate sale for an absolute steal, so I’ll be able to do at least some rough cutting. I’ve got that pattern pack as well, actually. I find them too narrow for my preference (I don’t have über-wide feet, but I wear minimalist shoes with wide toe boxes and try to make my moccasins similarly). It’s a good pattern pack, though, especially for getting the hang of making them. I made some for my ex-wife with those patterns that turned out quite nicely.

For whatever reason, I’ve had a terrible time making moccasins correctly. Theoretically, they should be easy. Practically, I have had a difficult time developing a pattern that works properly. I have Tony See’s pattern and need to make another go at using it, as I tried to get cute and cut a few corners the first time I used it (don’t do that). Anyway, I finally made a rather ugly, imperfectly-fitting pair out of some utility pull-up buffalo I bought for a steal at Tandy. Planning to revamp (no pun intended) the pattern a bit and make a second pair here soon. I put enough work into these that I wore them to church today even though they’re not especially attractive. (I don’t know how I managed to put that 90-degree kink in the left one—something to do with my stitching hole spacing, which left much to be desired.)

Sadly, OP hasn't visited since exactly a week after posting this---but @Fonzarellis, if you happen to see this notification, I, too, would love to see the finished piece. This is beautiful, beautiful work.

@cotymorris, is that an old Bible case? How thick is it? It looks pretty thin and supple. Tastech has a good guess re: buffalo, given the wrinkle pattern, but it also looks like it could be a really thin garment chrome tan cow hide.

That's even more impressive. My hat is off to you for your creative abilities. Very well-done.

Very nice. How do you determine the dimensions of the raised portions of the mold? I think of that because the pear shading on the flower center looks like it goes almost as deep as the backgrounded areas, which is a bit deep as far as tooling goes, but then I wonder to myself how one would determine those dimensions/tolerances to start with---it would not be easy! So kudos for making a very good-looking stamp mold.

It reads a lot like an advertisement—you know, the saying about a duck. If you want it to be evident you’re just showcasing a tool, you really gotta write your posts differently.