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swcr · January 25, 2010, 05:18 PM

The most often used tools include:
leather cutting shears
scalpel
adjustable stitching groover
freehand stitching groover
#2,3 & 4 edgers - depending on leather thickness
1.5" bag punch
coblers hammer

I machine sew my holsters now. When I used to hand sew I would space my stitches with a #5 overstitch wheel and then drill the holes with a 1/16" drill bit in a dremel tool. I then would saddle stitch with Nyltex thread.
After gluing two or more layers of leather together with contact cement I will use a belt sander to sand the edges smooth and even. A dremel tool with a sanding drum can be used in areas to tight for a belt sander or if you don't have a belt sander. After sanding on the belt sander with a 320 grit belt I will edge the holster gouge a stitch channel and stitch it. I then wet form it, let it dry for 20-24 hours, dye it (I use Fiebings Professional Oil Dye) and let it dry for another 10-12 hours. Then you need to buff off the excess dye that dried on the surface, you can either use a rag or I prefer to use a horsehair shoe shine brush. Then you're ready to burnish the edges to smooth them up. There are many ways to do this, the way I do it is to first rub the leather edge with some wax (50/50 mixture of paraffin and bees wax). I have a wood burnisher that is simply a round hardwood dowel with different size grooves in it that is attached to a motor shaft, some people chuck them up in drill presses. You then press the waxed leather edge into the appropriately sized groove in the burnisher while it spins. In just a few seconds who will have a perfectly smooth and slick edge. Here is a link to a discussion on the different burnishing methods.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index...howtopic=16609

As far as where to but leather and leather working supplies there are a number of different suppliers that I use. Some of the ones I use the most are listed below. For someone just starting out I would highly recommend calling Springfield Leather and getting some of the Herman Oak leather that they have on special. You will get high quality leather for a very reasonable price. I would generally recommend 8-9oz. leather for most concealed/open carry style holsters. For IWB holsters you can usually get away with using something a little lighter like 6-7oz. All the holsters I make are lined with vegetable tanned leather so I generally use 5-6oz leather for the outside lined with 2-3oz. For western style holsters and field type I will use 6-7 oz. for both the outside and the lining.

Eugene

http://springfieldleather.com/store/

http://www.zackwhite.com/home.php

http://www.macphersonleather.com/

January 25, 2010, 05:18 PM	#4
swcr Member Join Date: December 31, 2009 Location: Sedro-Woolley, WA Posts: 64	The most often used tools include: leather cutting shears scalpel adjustable stitching groover freehand stitching groover #2,3 & 4 edgers - depending on leather thickness 1.5" bag punch coblers hammer I machine sew my holsters now. When I used to hand sew I would space my stitches with a #5 overstitch wheel and then drill the holes with a 1/16" drill bit in a dremel tool. I then would saddle stitch with Nyltex thread. After gluing two or more layers of leather together with contact cement I will use a belt sander to sand the edges smooth and even. A dremel tool with a sanding drum can be used in areas to tight for a belt sander or if you don't have a belt sander. After sanding on the belt sander with a 320 grit belt I will edge the holster gouge a stitch channel and stitch it. I then wet form it, let it dry for 20-24 hours, dye it (I use Fiebings Professional Oil Dye) and let it dry for another 10-12 hours. Then you need to buff off the excess dye that dried on the surface, you can either use a rag or I prefer to use a horsehair shoe shine brush. Then you're ready to burnish the edges to smooth them up. There are many ways to do this, the way I do it is to first rub the leather edge with some wax (50/50 mixture of paraffin and bees wax). I have a wood burnisher that is simply a round hardwood dowel with different size grooves in it that is attached to a motor shaft, some people chuck them up in drill presses. You then press the waxed leather edge into the appropriately sized groove in the burnisher while it spins. In just a few seconds who will have a perfectly smooth and slick edge. Here is a link to a discussion on the different burnishing methods. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index...howtopic=16609 As far as where to but leather and leather working supplies there are a number of different suppliers that I use. Some of the ones I use the most are listed below. For someone just starting out I would highly recommend calling Springfield Leather and getting some of the Herman Oak leather that they have on special. You will get high quality leather for a very reasonable price. I would generally recommend 8-9oz. leather for most concealed/open carry style holsters. For IWB holsters you can usually get away with using something a little lighter like 6-7oz. All the holsters I make are lined with vegetable tanned leather so I generally use 5-6oz leather for the outside lined with 2-3oz. For western style holsters and field type I will use 6-7 oz. for both the outside and the lining. Eugene http://springfieldleather.com/store/ http://www.zackwhite.com/home.php http://www.macphersonleather.com/