Which Way Is With Grain When Cutting...

[jc3persons]

With my budget this is probably probably crazy question....I use what i have on supply the best way to make the project which so far is 1 holster, 1 dress gun belt, and 1 magazine pouch....I had a double shoulder and plenty left for a few more items.

Anyways when cutting the knife goes through like hot butter one direction and the other direction it takes considerable effort to cut!,,so was wondering if there is a preferable way to cut for the belt( i had to go from right shoulder to left due to length),,

but just picked a spot not blemished for the other pieces...I know i saw it somewhere here but can't find. Once again,this is a tremendous site and am very appreciative,,thanks!

I guess hoslters and gun belts would be my passion,,just a couple more ?? What weight leather and do you use same size thread for cartridge loops?? And which is the bettter cut or is it personal prefference and budget consideration??

[JLSleather]

Anyways when cutting the knife goes through like hot butter one direction and the other direction it takes considerable effort to cut!,,so was wondering if there is a preferable way to cut for the belt( i had to go from right shoulder to left due to length),,

but just picked a spot not blemished for the other pieces...What weight leather and do you use same size thread for cartridge loops?? And which is the bettter cut or is it personal prefference and budget consideration??

Grain of the leather runs butt to neck (the markings and striations running back to belly are wrinkles and stretch marks). LOTS of very nice holsters made from double shoulders, in weghts varying 5 - 9 oz leather. For belts, the best part of the hide is the butt, close to the spine. I have and do make belts from double shoulders, though I stick to the butts (parallel to the spine) for those items made for "heavy service", as this is the strongest, most dense part of the hide.

Not sure what the other thing you're referring to though ... I've seen hides that cut easier than some others, but don't remember getting a hide that showed a significant difference in cutting based on cutting direction. Not sure what that's about ...

[katsass]

With my budget this is probably probably crazy question....I use what i have on supply the best way to make the project which so far is 1 holster, 1 dress gun belt, and 1 magazine pouch....I had a double shoulder and plenty left for a few more items.

Anyways when cutting the knife goes through like hot butter one direction and the other direction it takes considerable effort to cut!,,so was wondering if there is a preferable way to cut for the belt( i had to go from right shoulder to left due to length),,

but just picked a spot not blemished for the other pieces...I know i saw it somewhere here but can't find. Once again,this is a tremendous site and am very appreciative,,thanks!

I guess holsters and gun belts would be my passion,,just a couple more ?? What weight leather and do you use same size thread for cartridge loops?? And which is the bettter cut or is it personal prefference and budget consideration??

jc3, I don't know about your cutting problem unless there was a spot that was thinner or some defect (unseen) in the hide. For holsters I always use shoulder leather. I'm a little different in that I generally use two layers of lighter leather bonded together flesh side to flesh side to build up the thickness of leather that I want to work with. That said I use 4/5 oz shoulder primarily, ending up with 8 to 10 oz. in the final product. I feel that the molded holster retains it's rigidity better than a single thickness of leather, and you also end up with a lined holster. It requires more stitching however. For cartridge loops I use 2 oz calf skin and actually thread the leather strip thru 3/4" slots cut into the belt, forming a loop for each cartridge. For necked rifle cartridges I'll run two separate loops, one below the other. Top one is made to fit the body of the case, and the lower one to fit the (smaller) neck. Hope this helps, Mike

[jc3persons]

yeah buddy,,,like the idea of 2 pieces for holster,,the one i made lined with pig skin,probably not the best choice...Using 4-5 oz doubled simplifiy choosing leather,,was considering 6-7 with a 2-3 liner,thus 2 hides with your way will be easier on the budget ....Now got to figure out where to buy the next double shoulder,,got the first one from Tandys on sale8-9 oz and being new to buying leather it seem ok but a lot of wrinkles,,in the belt especially...I am sure my 2nd attempt will be better

with the info gained from this site.. i made so many mistakes ain't funny,,when get a camera and figure out how to post,,will put some laughs to view,,anyways learning and fun..thanks again

[katsass]

yeah buddy,,,like the idea of 2 pieces for holster,,the one i made lined with pig skin,probably not the best choice...Using 4-5 oz doubled simplifiy choosing leather,,was considering 6-7 with a 2-3 liner,thus 2 hides with your way will be easier on the budget ....Now got to figure out where to buy the next double shoulder,,got the first one from Tandys on sale8-9 oz and being new to buying leather it seem ok but a lot of wrinkles,,in the belt especially...I am sure my 2nd attempt will be better

with the info gained from this site.. i made so many mistakes ain't funny,,when get a camera and figure out how to post,,will put some laughs to view,,anyways learning and fun..thanks again

For holsters I keep a lookout for the Tandy sales........single or double shoulders. BUT, since their hides that are on sale are imported (I believe, and are of lesser quality) I try to always personally go and select my skins. For belts I get a back.........also personally selected. Backs work out well for belts and you can easily cut a belt strip without much worry about varying quality. You can get a lot of belts from one back so it'll last you quite a while. Keep an eye open for a sale on them also. I don't do much (if any) carving at all anymore, If I did, I would opt for a higher quality of leather because the better qualities of leather carve sooo much nicer. When doing historically accurate holsters I usually use a single thickness of heavy (10 oz +) back. This is primarily because the holsters are generally for larger and heavier firearms than more modern guns. If there is a slight surface variation it doesn't matter as it frequently adds 'interest' to the end product. After wet molding, proper (and thorough) drying allows for a very solid and rigid holster, apparent to a greater degree in the two layer holsters. JMHO Mike