Do You Edge Bevel Your Holster Belt Cuts?

[RoosterShooter]

I've been practicing edge beveling on oval cuts that I have made with my punch. It seems that 80% of the time I am bunching up the leather at one point or another, regardless of whether or not the leather is damp or dry.

I can get a good, even bevel on outside beveling, but it's the inside loops that are throwing me off. Is it necessary to bevel belt cuts on holsters?

[TwinOaks]

Well, it isn't "required", but it does look good and is functional in the sense that it prevents having an edge that gets ragged looking.

[Mike Craw]

Hey 'Shooter!

They make a thing called a Bissonette (sp?) edger exactly for that. The time is sharply curved back and the cutting edge is formed by drilling a hole into the curve and beveling the edge of the hole on one side to a razor's edge. They will cut on the push or pull strokes. Barry King, Jeremiah Watt, and a few others make them.

Hope this helps

Mike

P.S. If I had thought ahead or knew how to really operate this machine without losing everything I already typed, I'd have copied a photo of one and posted it here. Maybe some other computerizin' member will post one for you.

[RoosterShooter]

Thanks Mike.

I think I'll order one now.

[bruce johnson]

I am attaching pictures of a few types of edgers that will do a good job on slots. If they display in the order they load, I am good here. Not all bisonette edgers are made the same. The first picture is an older CS Osborne bisonette. It doesn't have a lot of bend at the cutting hole. It is great for running down a straight edge or gentle curve.l The leading edge of the hole will ride on the leather like a training wheel and the cutting angle is consistant. On tight inside curves though it can raise the cutting edge away from the leather. The second image is an old Rosecrans bisonette. They were made with a lot of bend at the hole. They will do a tight curve easily. The third image is a Gomph round bottom edger. With the open toe design, I can do most all inside curves pretty well and they sharpen up easily and have a ton of life to them. The next picture are two old Rosecrans turnback edgers. They are designed for the tight inside curves. They are basically a bisonette bent over almost double. I have a side view of these as well in the last picture. These are all older tools I have or used to have. There are a few who make versions of all of these new now - Bob Douglas has new ones he makes along with Barry King and Jeremiah Watt.

[Mike Craw]

See there, I knew somebody would have some photos to post! I didn't know it would be Bruce, but I knew somebody would jump in and help.

Mike

[IngleGunLeather]

I've got several sizes of each in the Barry King bissonnette and sharp curve edgers and love them. The sharp curve works very good in belt loops and other tight radius curves. I use the bissonnette for general edging.

Edited October 12, 2012 by CountryTrash

[chiefjason]

One of my tricks is to use the same edger I do for the outside, but I turn the leather into the edger instead of pushing the edger into the leather. Kind of hard to imagine, or type. But I have the edger in my right hand, and my left hand is turning the leather while the edger is stationary. But for the most part, my punch does double duty on the front. There is not much of a reason to edge the curve there after I punch them. I still edge the backside though, since it is straighter from the cut.

Also, if you don't edge them they tend to bunch up as you sand and burnish the slot. It just looks bad.