Can You Smell The Bbq?!?

[DHopper]

Just finished up my first matching belt, mag pouch, & holster set. All black cowhide with caiman skin trim. Holster is for a 1911 Commander. This is my first belt ever, too.

I'll be making a 2nd mag pouch for the set to get a better match and much better stitching. It was my first mag pouch to match my Wingman IWB holsters.

Edited August 9, 2012 by DHopper

[chiefjason]

Nice. I am part way through stitching my 2nd belt. This one is mine. My wife got the first one because the blank was too short. That Caiman looks good. I've not worked on anything other than leather yet.

[joshk]

is the belt a single strip? if so, what weight leather did you use? if it's not thick enough it'll eventually stretch and sag under the weight of a Commander alone....

Edited August 10, 2012 by joshk

[DHopper]

is the belt a single strip? if so, what weight leather did you use? if it's not thick enough it'll eventually stretch and sag under the weight of a Commander alone....

Hi Josh. Great question!

This one is a single strip of 11-12oz hide. It's 1 1/2" wide and feels like the grain fibers should keep this one super strong for a long while. However, having said that; I think I'll still be adding either a 6oz hide or a heavy nylon backing strip to my future belts. I'd rather errrrr on the side of better than not.

Dave

[joshk]

I'd go with a 4-5oz liner if you're going to use the 11-12oz strips.... that'll keep the width right around 1/4" which has somewhat become the standard thickness for gun belts....

you'd come out with a much stronger belt if you got some 7-8oz strips and where able to criss-cross the grain.... if you cut the strips yourself from sides like I do it's easy to keep track of the grain direction with a few arrows from a sharpie on the back of the strips.... when you're ready to glue the strips just make sure the arrows are pointing opposite directions....

Edited August 11, 2012 by joshk

[DHopper]

Thanks again, Josh for the great info! I'll try the cross grain trick for sure.