1St Holster

[mivecmick]

this is my first attemt at leather work, I decided to make this because the bat masterson replica colt 45 i got looks so good it deserved a holster but i could not afford to buy one

when commenting please bear in mind that i had very limited tools (hammer , utility knife , drill and a couple of nails) because after getting the leather i could not afford any

unfortunately the leather i had was not big enough to make the belt out of one piece

[TwinOaks]

Welcome to Leatherworker.net! You have found the best site on the entire internet!

With the limited tools you did just fine. There are areas that can use improvement, but for a first project-- Nice! Have you decided on a color for it yet? If not (due to project funding), you can get a fabulous look on it with things you have around the house. One of the most attractive finishes is just plain ol' sunshine! You can use sand paper to round the edges and an old pair of jeans to burnish the edges. Using Olive Oil (personally, I like EVO) and a paper towel, give it two LIGHT coats of oil, then let it sit out in the sun for most of a day. The result is a nice golden tan. You can seal the leather with Mop-n-glo.

[mivecmick]

Welcome to Leatherworker.net! You have found the best site on the entire internet!

With the limited tools you did just fine. There are areas that can use improvement, but for a first project-- Nice! Have you decided on a color for it yet? If not (due to project funding), you can get a fabulous look on it with things you have around the house. One of the most attractive finishes is just plain ol' sunshine! You can use sand paper to round the edges and an old pair of jeans to burnish the edges. Using Olive Oil (personally, I like EVO) and a paper towel, give it two LIGHT coats of oil, then let it sit out in the sun for most of a day. The result is a nice golden tan. You can seal the leather with Mop-n-glo.

Thanks for the input , couple of questions how do i burnish with a pair of jeans ?

when sealing the leather is there anything else i can use as we don't have mop n glo here in ireland ?

when coating with olive oil do i coat both the skin and the flesh side ?

also how do i get rid of the creaking noise ?

[TwinOaks]

Burnish with jeans- You can burnish with any heavy fabric that'll stand up to a lot of friction. After sanding the edges to make them straight and smooth, moisten them with saliva (yep, lick the leather) and rub the heavy cloth back and forth rapidly to give the leather a friction burn. Do this in small overlapping sections. You'll end up with a slick, darker brown edge.

Sealing the leather- Mop-n-glo is just a name brand here in the U.S. Any acrylic floor sealer will work. Or you can use a wood finish/stain such as the Liberon products (they even make a 'leather cream', but I don't know exactly what it is) or if you can find a spray lacquer wood finish....leather's pretty forgiving, just run a test piece if you can. I'll see if I can get another member from the U.K. to chime in on products y'all have.

Oiling the leather. This should be done BEFORE sealing and since you've already assembled the holster rig, just do it on the smooth side of the leather...the grain side.

Conditioning/oiling the leather will help get rid of most of the creaking, as it's caused by leather fibers rubbing against each other. On some areas, like the holster, it's best to glue the leather pieces together before adding the rivets or stitching.

[UKRay]

Great first project Mivecmick,

You might want to try to get hold of some neatsfoot oil to finish your work. It is (IMHO) slightly less 'sticky' than olive oil. Almost any saddlery or tack store will sell the stuff.

I do things slightly differently to Mike, I would oil both sides of the work even when it is finished. The oil soaks in quite easily so don't use too much until you have tried it on some scrap leather. I don't then use a finish as I like the matt surface it provides.

Use a piece of natural sponge to apply the oil if you can find one (beauty counters at a chemists will often stock these but they can be expensive so cut it into small bits rather than try to use the whole thing). Synthetic sponge is okay (the car wash variety) but it doesn't last long and falls to pieces quite quickly then you have to pick the bits of sponge off your work.

Have a look through the forum (use the search engine) and explore VINEGAROON. It is a great and cheap way to stain things black although the results can be a bit 'hit or miss' until you have had some practice.

I have an old shoe horn (real horn) that I use to burnish the edges of my curved work. I find it gives me an excellent finish, however, I also use denim or a bit of old tee shirt to burnish straps. Just grip the strap with the fabric between your hands and the work and pull the strap through a few times. The friction will soon tidy up the edges. Once again, check out the forum for EDGE BURNISHING to find more info.

For a shiny surface try to find some Johnson's KLEER (sp?). It may be marketed under another name in Ireland but it is essentially a kitchen floor polish/shine/sealer like Mop-N-Glo. It cracks up after a while but the effects you can obtain are pretty good and you can get it in most supermarkets - try the store's 'own brand' floor shine - just experiment a little until you get the finish you like. I get mine in Tesco!

Hope this helps.

Ray