1020 Stitches Later

[renegadelizard]

Hey all...i finally got this set finished ...it started out rough...many issues with gum trag, dye splatter, vinegaroon, horsehide, rivets...pretty much everything that could go wrong....but i stayed the course and pulled these out of my 4th point of contact...my fingers still hurt so ill stop typing now..have a gander..any and all tips/comments welcome...

[mogwild]

Beautiful work. I love the stitching.

[renegadelizard]

Thank you...although the sight of needles and waxed linen now gives me a slight tremor, i'm glad i went in that direction...mistakes seem to be a good teaching tool for me..i just pray that i don't have any more..lol...

Beautiful work. I love the stitching.

[katsass]

Hey all...i finally got this set finished ...it started out rough...many issues with gum trag, dye splatter, vinegaroon, horsehide, rivets...pretty much everything that could go wrong....but i stayed the course and pulled these out of my 4th point of contact...my fingers still hurt so ill stop typing now..have a gander..any and all tips/comments welcome...

FWIW from the old grump: You done good -- real good. I hand stitch all of my work and appreciate the effort taken to do these great looking rigs. Mike

[renegadelizard]

Thanks Mike...you know, before i started messing with leather, i used to balk at some of the prices i had seen for some custom leather...well, not so much anymore...there are still a few i question, like 250 extra for sharkskin accents..., but then again, I've never worked shark hide and it really may be that labor intensive to justify the cost....and hand stitching...incredible amount of work in that....one day i may be able to justify a machine, but until then its numb hands and crossed eyes...

FWIW from the old grump: You done good -- real good. I hand stitch all of my work and appreciate the effort taken to do these great looking rigs. Mike

[katsass]

Thanks Mike...you know, before i started messing with leather, i used to balk at some of the prices i had seen for some custom leather...well, not so much anymore...there are still a few i question, like 250 extra for sharkskin accents..., but then again, I've never worked shark hide and it really may be that labor intensive to justify the cost....and hand stitching...incredible amount of work in that....one day i may be able to justify a machine, but until then its numb hands and crossed eyes...

Well, guy, my fingers don't get numb. I was taught to stitch a looong time ago by a WWI cavalry soldier.( that might give you an idea of how old I am) One thing he told me was that IF you can pull the needle through the leather with your fingers only --- your stitching holes are too damned big. I use a small pair of smooth jawed pliers. Most of my stitching is done in the evening while watching the tube. There is, IMO, a place for stitching machines, BUT (again IMO) not in truly hand made custom leather work such as I do, and you have just completed.. Mike

[Abram]

Those are some Beautiful holsters.

[chiefjason]

I just hand stitched a 2 layer belt for my wife. I feel your pain! Crazy part is, I am contemplating starting one of my own. But I have a holster to do first. Those look great.

[renegadelizard]

Thanks Guys...Jason, im contemplating the same..ive got a cowhide #2 belt blank that I was going to use for a liner, horsehide on the outside..i little thinner than i would like, but the horsehide is plenty stiff...the thing that is slowing me down isnt neccessarily the stitching, its poking all those holes....i figure a belt that will be roughly 48-50 inches long to accomodate my 36 inch+2 for CC waist will have to have about 650 or so stitches, thats alot of awl work...only about 2 hours of actual stitching, but a whole lot of punching..i was also thinking about putting in a band saw blade for a stiffener...how cool would that be...

[renegadelizard]

Hey Mike, what size awl do you use...I got the cs osboursne stitching awl (diamond blade) from SLC...when i poke it all the way through, i usually dont have to use pliers until i start backstitching...im also using SLC's waxed linen thread..i tried using some thicker stuff from tandy, but i couldnt get the eye of the needle through with that stuff...i wonder if im punching too far through?

Well, guy, my fingers don't get numb. I was taught to stitch a looong time ago by a WWI cavalry soldier.( that might give you an idea of how old I am) One thing he told me was that IF you can pull the needle through the leather with your fingers only --- your stitching holes are too damned big. I use a small pair of smooth jawed pliers. Most of my stitching is done in the evening while watching the tube. There is, IMO, a place for stitching machines, BUT (again IMO) not in truly hand made custom leather work such as I do, and you have just completed.. Mike

[katsass]

Hey Mike, what size awl do you use...I got the cs osboursne stitching awl (diamond blade) from SLC...when i poke it all the way through, i usually dont have to use pliers until i start backstitching...im also using SLC's waxed linen thread..i tried using some thicker stuff from tandy, but i couldnt get the eye of the needle through with that stuff...i wonder if im punching too far through?

Well I use an old Osborn diamond awl that I've had for about 40 years. Sharpened and stropped frequently till it got down to about 1/8" in width. It's a sharp pointed little beggar with a blade length of just under 1 1/4". Mike

[Steve Lowe]

AWESOME JOB!!! My wife an I argue about my using white stitching on a black holster but it looks great when done right.

Great job!

[chiefjason]

Thanks Guys...Jason, im contemplating the same..ive got a cowhide #2 belt blank that I was going to use for a liner, horsehide on the outside..i little thinner than i would like, but the horsehide is plenty stiff...the thing that is slowing me down isnt neccessarily the stitching, its poking all those holes....i figure a belt that will be roughly 48-50 inches long to accomodate my 36 inch+2 for CC waist will have to have about 650 or so stitches, thats alot of awl work...only about 2 hours of actual stitching, but a whole lot of punching..i was also thinking about putting in a band saw blade for a stiffener...how cool would that be...

Lets just say I am thankful that I bought that Dremel work station that makes it into a drill press. Oh yeah! I just drilled some holes in my holster a bit ago. I'm doing a lined holster, so I need to stitch a few parts before glueing it all together. That blade would be kind of cool. Not sure horsehide would need it. I started off with a belt kit from Hobby Lobby. I was nearly ready to finish it up, but I did not like the stiffness. Since I did not know for sure what weight it was I went back and lined it with some 4-5oz I had around. It's plenty stiff now. I just need to groon it, finish it up, and post some pics.

[renegadelizard]

Thanks...my wife said the same thing..."white...that wont look good"...after i was done with the first she said "wow..i really like that"...i think if i would have just sewn the outer edge of the pocket, it might have looked kind of lopsided, but doing the whole thing i think, just rally sets it off and makes it pop...the customer was thrilled....and for 90 bucks apiece i think he got a really good bargain...

AWESOME JOB!!! My wife an I argue about my using white stitching on a black holster but it looks great when done right.

Great job!

im really starting to like vinegaroon...i didnt care so much for at first, but it is growing on me...still have to figure out the timing for edging, but im leaning toward just edging everything i do before the vinegarooning...

Lets just say I am thankful that I bought that Dremel work station that makes it into a drill press. Oh yeah! I just drilled some holes in my holster a bit ago. I'm doing a lined holster, so I need to stitch a few parts before glueing it all together. That blade would be kind of cool. Not sure horsehide would need it. I started off with a belt kit from Hobby Lobby. I was nearly ready to finish it up, but I did not like the stiffness. Since I did not know for sure what weight it was I went back and lined it with some 4-5oz I had around. It's plenty stiff now. I just need to groon it, finish it up, and post some pics.

[chiefjason]

im really starting to like vinegaroon...i didnt care so much for at first, but it is growing on me...still have to figure out the timing for edging, but im leaning toward just edging everything i do before the vinegarooning...

The best luck I have had so far is to burnish it by hand with water only before grooning. It smooths it up really nice and there is no other material on the edge to act as a resist. When I tried this with wax it made it hard for the groon to take. And doing it by hand does not generate the heat that might seal it up or burn it. The groon will raise the grain a bit though. I just go back over it with some soap and wax and lay it all back down. I might even go back with some denim with wax on it and polish it too. Then finish it.

I was edging while the groon was still wet. That worked OK, but on single wide hybrid holsters I was really deforming the edge more than I liked. I've also gotten away from using my dremel tool to edge. I'm not sure why, but the wheel really raises some of the grain back up. And lightly burnishing with just water first has taken away most of my need to burnish with power tools anyway.