KillDevilBill

Customer wanted something budget friendly and not too fancy. Part of a gift to his father. He made the knife, asked me to make the sheath. I found out that both he and his father are veterans of the 82nd Airborne. This is the first sheath I've made without having the actual knife. Customer took very nice precise measurements, and good clean photos of the knife. I really like the natural grain on the front. Can't see it in the pics, but the antiquing laid down in there nicely. I just hope the dang thing fits!

Thank you!

Finished up a phone holster, came up with a good idea by accident. Kinda put the logo a bit too high, didn't want the strap to cover it, so I flipped it over and secured it to the back. So now I have an "ejector strap" which works out kinda nice!

I want to see this when it's done! Cool project. I'm gonna go measure my pens.....

I'm gonna go with Dwight on this one. Very similar to how I line my holsters, and as a bonus I may have just learned something. Holster or not, just even a test with some scraps on the bench, I can't even imagine a single layer being stronger or more durable than 2 or more pieces making up the same thickness. Multiple pieces have the grain going in multiple directions, then the glue adding a bond. Just my $.02 and some good reading in this thread. Thank you!

That's a fantastic idea! Thank you!

I should have clarified in my first post. This old gal's working days are OVER. She's a retired garage queen now. I'm not looking to rebuild the pulley, just want to make a nice leather "show cover" for it.

The wheel is staying as is. Taking it apart would leave a HUGE mess. It's actually made from paper! It acts and feels like wood, it's nailed together at the factory (79 years ago). I'm liking this Dwight! Got the brain wheels turning.

This is a personal project, not a customer. I'm "restoring" my old tractor. It's almost mandatory that it has a leather seat, but I also thought it would be cool to wrap the belt wheel in leather also. My first thought was to stack rings on so the edges face out and burnish the heck out of them. That's gonna take A TON of leather, wheel is 6" diameter. Next thought was flesh side out and burnish, but I'm not sold on that. Right now I'm thinking tooled with the "IH" logo facing out. Just wondering what the talent here comes up with. Looking for ideas! Thanks!

I thought I was the only one that obsessed over such things. Lol This is slick!

I wouldn't carry such a thing in my pocket, but customer is always right! I had fun with this one. Not much to it after the design and layout is done, but that was the fun part of this one. Sewing was a challenge, and learned a few things. Double stitched on all the corners. Who doesn't need more sewing practice? Lol

This is classy! Nicely done!

Yeah, what he said. I'll add my thoughts on the groove. If you're making padded collars, the stitching is no longer decorative, it's structural. You mentioned the inside will be protected by the lining, so I would absolutely groove the outside to protect those half of the stitches. I only do straight stitches (my brain shorts out when I see the ugly diagonal stitches. Just my opinion!) and a nice tight stitch in a groove looks classy and clean. If I'm building a hunting collar, absolutely groove even if it's decorative. I've had ZERO issues with Tiger thread. I've had dogs tear the leather but the stitches held up. Good luck!

I'm liking this! Nicely done!

Latest project, long wallet. Hybrid version of my Billy Bada$$ wallet. My customer tweaked Billy to his own liking. Haven't named this one yet! Lmao Outside is 4/5oz tooled vegtan, dyed English Tan with Bismark antique. Chocolate alligator. First time I've used gator, won't be the last. Inside is 2/3oz Bison dyed Peanut. Lined with hair on calf skin. It absolutely pained me to use edge paint. Bison and calf skin were not cooperating with burnishing. I could have gotten the inside stitch line quite a bit better. Let me know what you think!

Angelus makes a product similar to Tokonole and a fuzz cheaper. I've used it with great results. The best product I've found for edges is time.

I use welts on trigger side of my holsters and the whole way around my knife sheaths. Plenty of reasons for this, the main one being my brain doesn't like taco sheaths. As far as stitching THICK welts goes? Oh boy. Like eating an elephant. One bite at a time. Very time consuming but a look like no other if you get it right. And I really like this holster! Nicely done!

Sa-weet!!! Thanks everyone!

I tried the usual, no idea what it's called to search for it.

Working on a new project, and I ran into the ole "what's this thing called" hurdle. Leather is going to be 1/2" wide, thickness to be determined on hardware if/when I can find this. Thanks in advance!

Yeah, that was pretty dumb of me! If I found my exact truck in a junkyard, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Lmao 🤣

This is the one I bought https://www.ebay.com/itm/396977964819 I haven't started on the holster yet, so I can't say how it does wet forming, but just looking it's really well made. No "flash" or seams to contend with. Ready to use as is for our purpose. When I need another dummy gun I'll definitely look up this brand.

I like how you're thinking, but I'm not gonna find my work truck in a scrapyard. I should have specified it's a semi.

Area is dry, except when I leave the door open in the rain. Lol How would I mount the clips to the MDF? Here's a better pic: Metal clip removed for pic purposes.

So I decided to reupholster the door panels in my work truck. I'm new to upholstery, but I *think* I have that part figured out. I have an idea that I need help with. Here's the panel: My idea is to build complete new panels, and keep the factory ones intact. No particular reason, but it is a company owned truck even though it's assigned to me. I do have permission from the owner for this project. The factory panels are conveniently 0.75" thick, so I can make them from MDF, particle board whatever I decide. Suggestions on this are welcome also. My main concern is mounting the new panels. I do not want any visible mounting through my brand new black cypress leather. The factory panels mount to a flat aluminum sheet on the door using these clips: For the life of me, I cannot come up with a mounting process. I know my question doesn't directly pertain to leather itself, but I'm hoping someone is more familiar with upholstery tricks than I am. The new panels are going to be black cypress on top and bottom, the middle section will be black/white hair on cow. Haven't decided on red or black piping yet. Truck itself is red. Any suggestions? Ideas? Scrap the whole project? Thanks in advance!