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Just finished my first full flap holster, a friend of mine has been bugging me to make one ever since I got this .44. I wear it for bear protection here, whenever I'm out in the woods. The full flap is to protect it from rain, snow, and debris, specifically for when I'm cutting firewood. With my other holster, the saw dust would always fill up the opening of the holster, so this is the solution....hopefully. Let me know what I should have done differently. Design is loosely based on holsters I've seen from US Cavalry, and Canadian Mounties. 8-9 oz veg tan with welt, rough out, artificial sinew thread from acs_trading_post on Ebay, hand stitched, treated with neats foot oil, and Fiebings Aussie leather conditioner, fastened with a button stud.

I'm looking for some advice on making a rough-out saddle. I personally don't care for rough out saddles and have managed to avoid making any but I now have a customer who really, really wants me to make a rough out barrel racing saddle. Normally, I decline these jobs but this is one of my frequent customers and, in a moment of weakness, I agreed to make the saddle. Instead of grumbling about it, I'm trying to look at it as a chance to expand my saddlemaking/leatherworking knowledge. So, are there any special tips or practices for rough out leather? Which leather do you use and what do I have to do in the way of prepping it?

Greetings from California! I am currently deciding between two different pairs of boots that are available to me. The only difference between the two sets, is the leather type. Both are full grain leather. http://hypebeast.com/2011/9/red-wing-shoes-6-moc-olive-mohave-boots - An Olive Rough-out pair of boots. http://hypebeast.com/2010/10/ronnie-fieg-x-red-wing-ashy-grey-6-boot - An ultra rare pair of Grey Oil Tanned Boots The boots I buy will be accompanying me up mountains (with Crampons strapped on), through forests, down into jungles. I spend a lot of time backpacking and traveling through different climates. What I'm looking for in these pair of boots, is something to be as durable and long lasting as possible, able to handle diverse climates and situations. While I realize that nothing lasts forever, I would like these boots to last my adventuring days at least. Right now I'm leaning towards the Rough Out leather, based on the information I've been able to find about its durability. My questions are as follows: Would Oil Tanned Leather out last Rough Out Leather, if kept maintained? Does Rough Out leather eventually wear down to the Corium, and then eventually the Top Grain? If it does, do you condition the deeper layers to prolong them? How would one go about dying Rough Out Leather? Specifically, if I wanted to dye the Olive Pair to a Grey. (I'm completely new Leather Dying) If I want to stiffen up the boots, specifically for mountaineering and putting on crampons, how would I do this? Would Boiling the leather have any side effects? Any comments or information I might find useful is welcome, as well, thanks for any responses and help I get!