Matched set

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

Hey folks. I got a request to make a complete carry rig w/ a matching belt (which is a first for me), so I thought I would post some pics of this one for fun. All black, W&C leather and Ostrich quill bump accents for a Kimber Raptor 5".

[Billsotx]

Well that raptor won't have it's head in the sand ... Jeffe!

Nice piece of work!

[BradB]

Nicely done!! Was that all hand stitched or did you use a machine?

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

Thanks fellas.

BradB, it was stitched with an Artisan Toro 3000 (and a lot of love ).

[TomSwede]

That's a really cool set!

Tom

[DCKNIVES]

Very nice Jeff.Your customer should be very happy with that.Nice work on the belt too.I have turned down a couple because of not having a machine.Once I get this old Singer up and running I can do a few myself.Keep up the fine work brother.Dave

[ArtS]

That is really neat work. I LIKE IT!

Art

Edited October 22, 2008 by ArtS

[paris3200]

Am I mistaken or is the sweat shield smooth leather on both sides?

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

It's actually the "rough" flesh side of a sanded and pasted W&C hide, but it smooths out beautifully. I do actually use smooth in on the sweat shields for all of my pancake holsters, but it would get way to time consuming and therefore cost preventative for me to make the smooth in avenger style holsters (I used to make exotics with smooth lining, but they were already expensive and time consuming anyhow).

Thanks everybody for the nice compliments.

[Shorts]

Aw that looks sexy! Nice Nice

[mattsh]

Looks nice.

Is that ostrich backed with any cow hide or is it just a single layer of ostrich?

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

Thanks, Shorts. How's your holster business doing? I've heard some good compliments on your gear in the last month.

mattsh, the holster mouth is backed with 4 oz. leather, but the ostrich on the mag holder and the belt are only a single layer with waxed edges. I usually use a stiffer leather for my avenger throats, but the leather I used for the body was 8.5 oz this time, so I went a little lighter on the reinforcement.

[sodapop]

i really like those little accent touches with the exotics...well done

darryl

[Randyc]

Jeff

As always, your kicking out some fantastic gun leather. Your customer should be real happy and you should be proud!

Randy

[Shorts]

Thanks, Shorts. How's your holster business doing? I've heard some good compliments on your gear in the last month.

Cool

Things are good. I took the last week off from holsters to get my first belt done. I needed that much time to hand stitch a belt! lol I'm going to wrap up here soon before the end of the year, just temporarily until we get ourselves moved and settled in back in the States. I'm hoping by summer I can get going again, with a new stitching machine, new patterns (drawn in these coming months of off time) for holsters, additional mag pouches and now belts. Plus I hope to get a new website up and online.

Needless to say, a lot of things to work on, and I hope to keep rolling forward with the positive responses to my holsters thus far

[Bree]

Excellent. Just excellent.

Question... on your belt did you skive the belt tongue down? If so how many inches up did you start the skive? What is the construction of the belt? Two layers of x oz of such and such leather etc?

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

Bree, I only skive my heavier belts made of an 8/9 oz. top layer and a horsehide lining - when I do skive I start about three inches before the first hole on the belt end, and the same distance before the first chicago screw hole on the buckle end.

The belt you see here is my "Stitched Gun Belt". It has a top layer of 8.5 oz. W&C that has been sanded, pasted and plated (plating is only necessary if you're gonna carry a lot of weight on your belt, like a pistol and magazines etc., and you need the extra stiffness - otherwise I wouldn't spend the extra to have it done on a regular belt). The inside layer is from 6 oz. leather with the same treatment. I don't have to skive the buckle end because I stop the inside layer just before the buckle, so only the top layer folds back over (so it isn't as thick as belts that fold both layers over). I don't skive the belt end because I use an oblong punch that allows the belt to lay flatter even though the buckle tongue is sticking through it. Again,I do it this way because I need the extra strength in a gun belt. I would make heavy duty dress belts much differently, if that was my goal. Making the belt the way I do now does make a nice and sturdy attractive belt, but it is a bit expensive to build this way.

[MADMAX22]

Great looking stuff, would love to have that whole set lol.

On the belt whats the pasted and plated mean?

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

Pasting is where the tannery adds a solution to the rough side of the leather and presses it down so it is smoother than it would normally be. It is very helpful to a holster, as it is very smooth on the inside once the holster has been shaped and boned (without having to line the holster with smooth leather).

Plating is where the hide is put under a large amount of pressure for a certain amount of tiome, until it is denser and therefore stiffer leather.

[Shorts]

Pasting is where the tannery adds a solution to the rough side of the leather and presses it down so it is smoother than it would normally be. It is very helpful to a holster, as it is very smooth on the inside once the holster has been shaped and boned (without having to line the holster with smooth leather).

Plating is where the hide is put under a large amount of pressure for a certain amount of tiome, until it is denser and therefore stiffer leather.

I learn something new every day.

[MADMAX22]

Thanks for the info. Sounds pretty cool.