Matching Leather S&w K Frame Belt And Holster

[zuludog]

stu925 I make knife sheaths. By the time you've got front + back + welt in 3 to 4 mm leather that adds up to quite a thickness. I use a drill with the following technique

Make the stitching line with an edge groover,

Tack all the pieces into position with a few dabs of general purpose glue

Mark the position of the stitching holes with a stitch pricker

Transfer the sheath to a bench vice fitted with padded jaws, Clean the vice up first so you don't get the sheath dirty. Even with soft jaws only close the jaws just enough to hold the sheath

Drill the stitching holes. I use a small hand drill that's something of a family heirloom. You could get a small modern hand drill, but may as well get a miniature drill like a Dremel. I use a 1.5 mm drill.

Transfer the sheath to a sewing pony and sew in the usual way, using an awl to open up the drill holes

It sounds a bit cumbersome, but once you've got a bit of practice you can go fairly well. Obviously it's slower than using just an awl on thinner leather, but keep telling yourself it's a hobby, you don't have to earn your living from it. In fact, once you accept that it's going to be slow, you can concentrate on neatness.

[snubbyfan]

Very nice, I did a holster for a Ruger Blackhawk as one of my first projects. I used a really thick welt and punched one hole at a time with a diamond awl. Stitching looked ok from the front but the back side was damn ugly. Holster is still usable but I need to do another nicer one one of these days. Punching those holes through that welt I found it almost impossible to keep the awl straight, I know there's a few people that use a drill press for this, I may give that a go on the next one.

Stu

I just give the pricking iron a good whack, it helps to align and guide the awl. Make sure that awl's sharp, polished and stropped, that'll help too.

Very very nice - I especially commend the edge work - smooth as a baby's bottom.

Thanks, I take pride in my edges and stitch lines.