first photos posted...critiques please

[gearjammer711]

texas jack , what grit sand paper do you use . I have thought about useing a beltsander but I thought it would leave the edge to rough

[Lobo]

Well, I seem to see here a craftsman who has been to the east, as I have been (by way of the south).

I see a good basic design. I see very nice stitching, apparently done by hand. To my eye, the leather appears to be somewhat unfinished; I can't discern anything more than a surface coating. The edges could use some improvement, but so can some of my own.

Suggestion for dressing and burnishing edges:

1. Where you have two layers sewn together, dampen the leather, then use a belt or drum sander to blend the two (or more) edges smoothly together. This will kick up a bead of leather on the outer shell, which can be allowed to dry, then cut smoothly and easily with the edge beveling tool. Nice smooth result every time.

2. Burnishing: After final finish has been applied, try either (a) a hardwood dowel or sewing thread spool chucked into a drill press, grooves cut to similar widths as the finished edges; or ( a wool felt polishing wheel chucked into the drill press. Apply either (a) beeswax; or ( a 50/50 mixture of beeswax and parafin wax to the finished edges (can be rubbed on easily). Then polish the edges thoroughly on the burnishing tool as it turns in the drill press. The burnishing tool will compress and polish the edges nicely. The wax will be heated by friction on the tool being used and spread evenly, filling all the fibers nicely as they are compressed and polished. The finished result will be a highly polished edge with no discernable lumps, bumps, or roughness. Practice will make this perfect quite quickly.

Very nice workmanship. I am sure that you will make progress on the details with just a little practice and experimentation on methods.

Suggestions on leather finishing: although a surface coating can provide an appealing finish, blocked and cased holsters require some additional treatment for long-term protection against moisture infiltration. I recommend a thorough application of neatsfoot oil to the finished piece, which will infuse the leather fibers and provide a degree of flexibility to the finished piece to prevent drying, cracking, splitting, etc. The neatsfoot oil should be applied following thorough drying, and application of any dyes or stains to be used. Then a final surface treatment can be applied (Bag Kote, Resolene, Leather Sheen, etc). Note that neatsfoot oil will ALWAYS darken dyed or stained leather significantly, so some experimentation on scrap pieces is needed prior to application to your prized project.

The way you wear your apron will announce your progress (to some of us).

[carljc72]

loos good , the edge takes time to learn, you have to get a smooth cut and the mosture content of the leather needs to be right. some people use diffrent cems. on the edge but if you can learn when the leather is right it will burnish great. it is still hit and miss with my holsters. BTW where did you find the working tools stamp.

My wife found it used on Ebay...have not found anything else like it.

[Grunt]

Nice job on the holster. I like it!

The more of them you make the better you will get.

As far as critique, I think the folks who have posted have covered everything. As far as burnishing the edges I would suggest you do a search on the forums here, there are a few threads where people share their preferred methods. I would suggest trying the methods they suggest and finding the one that works for you. Same for finishing the leather, do some research and experiment. For me experimenting and learning is a big part of the fun.

I would also like a working tools stamp. I may have to have one made.

Well, I seem to see here a craftsman who has been to the east, as I have been (by way of the south).

The way you wear your apron will announce your progress (to some of us).

Well I would think you would wear an apron to prevent soiling of your clothes or maybe to provide a pocket for your tools. Of course you could wear it to distinghuish youself from other workmen. I guess it all depends.

Edited May 6, 2009 by Grunt

[carljc72]

Lobo...and anyone interested. This is my first year but I can travel to foreign lands and earn master's wages. Thanks again to all who posted.

Well, I seem to see here a craftsman who has been to the east, as I have been (by way of the south).

I see a good basic design. I see very nice stitching, apparently done by hand. To my eye, the leather appears to be somewhat unfinished; I can't discern anything more than a surface coating. The edges could use some improvement, but so can some of my own.

Suggestion for dressing and burnishing edges:

1. Where you have two layers sewn together, dampen the leather, then use a belt or drum sander to blend the two (or more) edges smoothly together. This will kick up a bead of leather on the outer shell, which can be allowed to dry, then cut smoothly and easily with the edge beveling tool. Nice smooth result every time.

2. Burnishing: After final finish has been applied, try either (a) a hardwood dowel or sewing thread spool chucked into a drill press, grooves cut to similar widths as the finished edges; or ( a wool felt polishing wheel chucked into the drill press. Apply either (a) beeswax; or ( a 50/50 mixture of beeswax and parafin wax to the finished edges (can be rubbed on easily). Then polish the edges thoroughly on the burnishing tool as it turns in the drill press. The burnishing tool will compress and polish the edges nicely. The wax will be heated by friction on the tool being used and spread evenly, filling all the fibers nicely as they are compressed and polished. The finished result will be a highly polished edge with no discernable lumps, bumps, or roughness. Practice will make this perfect quite quickly.

Very nice workmanship. I am sure that you will make progress on the details with just a little practice and experimentation on methods.

Suggestions on leather finishing: although a surface coating can provide an appealing finish, blocked and cased holsters require some additional treatment for long-term protection against moisture infiltration. I recommend a thorough application of neatsfoot oil to the finished piece, which will infuse the leather fibers and provide a degree of flexibility to the finished piece to prevent drying, cracking, splitting, etc. The neatsfoot oil should be applied following thorough drying, and application of any dyes or stains to be used. Then a final surface treatment can be applied (Bag Kote, Resolene, Leather Sheen, etc). Note that neatsfoot oil will ALWAYS darken dyed or stained leather significantly, so some experimentation on scrap pieces is needed prior to application to your prized project.

The way you wear your apron will announce your progress (to some of us).

[Freedom]

Holster looks nice...Looks like you have great control of the sewing.

Perfect burnishing can be done with very few tools.. A dremel tool with a little drum sander can make the edges nice and smooth, run it VERY slow so it doesn't burn the leather.

I like the look you can get with a dark edge but this works as good with any color dye.

CAREFULLY wipe leather dye along your edges and then while still wet just rub the edge real good with denim or canvis ...you will not believe how well this shines and edge. (repeat as nessasary) If you use a Natural color like "SaddleTan" the edge will not be as dark.

Then apply wax and rub again. A little shoe polish or "Antique can be used before the wax to fill small voids. Burnish the open ends and any straps before the holster is folded. (lots esier) Sand the seem edges even then edge and burnish the double edges, after they have been sewn together.

results like this are possible without fancy/expensive tools.

Hope this helps

All the suggestions about wood spools ect work great and can be used with a dremel tool on a smaller scale

Edited May 7, 2009 by Freedom

[TexasJack]

texas jack , what grit sand paper do you use . I have thought about useing a beltsander but I thought it would leave the edge to rough

There are better write-ups posted on this thread than I could give! I use a belt grinder with whatever fairly fine belt is handy. It doesn't get the edge looking 'pro', but it gets it even. So the grit isn't critical. The burnishing is what makes it look nice. A bit of gum traganth helps slick it up.