Category: Leatherworking

Leatherworking, leathercrafting, saddle making, etc.

Posted on by

Monday. On the bench. Two florals just oiled…

Gibson leather two floral carved holsters in progress right after oiling 100% neatsfoot oil

Good early Monday morning! The time changed here yesterday–we “Sprang Forward” an hour. The twice-a-year time travel opportunity always reinforces my conviction that our government really is as screwed up as we’re led to believe. Or, I’m a simpleton that doesn’t fully appreciate the method behind Uncle Sugar’s madness.

Anyway, glad I got that outta my system. Here are two 1911 holsters we floral carved a few days ago. Both are for 4″ or 4.25″ Commander-length 1911’s. They were both molded with 5-inch barrels, and the purpose behind that is to keep the toes open. By doing this, they will accommodate a 5-inch barrel leaving 1/2″ exposed. Some like the exposed muzzle, others don’t. Commander-length 1911’s are fully covered.

These two were just oiled with 100% pure Neatsfoot oil and they look like hell. That’s totally normal until the oil evens out and they take on a pretty cool honey-color. Unlike the college students we’ve got down here these days that burn to a crisp and look more like lobsters splayed out on Panama City Beach.

It’s supposed to hit a high of 81-degrees here in sunny Florida today. These two, and a few others will get to hang out in the sunshine for a few hours and get their tan on. It’s like Spring Break for gunleather without the tan lines.

These two will be finished and on the websites later in the week. Neither are spoken for, so if you want one, shoot me an email to BruceGibson@aol.com. The price is $150 each plus $10 for Priority Mail shipping. Sales tax if you’re in Florida.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Thank you for reading.

From what’s left of America …

Posted on by

On the bench…

Working on a half-dozen or so for inventory. I thought I’d shoot a few progress photos for the blog and give you some idea of the process, and the steps involved in making a 1911 holster. These will all be natural, with no stamping or carving, white stitching, outside-the-waistband, high-ride, pancake-style, detailed molded, etc. These are my favorite to build, so that’s the reason you see so many of them.

The photo above shows a couple of my favorite tools–they’re both stitch grooves for cutting stitch lines before sewing. The general purpose is to recess the thread into a channel to minimize wear on the thread. I’m a clean-stitching freak, so anything I can do to make my stitch lines as neat as I can I’m in for. The tool at the top of the photo is one made by Bob Douglas up in Wyoming. The other is made by Jeremiah Watt. You can reach Jeremiah at www.Ranch2Arena.com and order one if you’re in the market. Jeremiah calls it a Gum Tool, and you can find it on his website at this link: https://www.ranch2arena.com/collections/horse-shoe-brand-tools/products/67-5200-gum-tool?variant=20123771011185 I don’t get a commission/reward for recommending the Watt/Horseshoe products–I just like to brag occasionally about the stuff I use and like. These come in two sizes–the #1, and the #2. For little stuff, like holsters, I only use the #1.

That’s about all I have for today–we rockin’ along and staying about as busy as we want to be. Thankful for great customers, and a fun job. Be sure to head over to our other website at www.GibsonLeather.com to check out the holsters we have in stock. We’ll be listing them here as time permits, but for now, they’re all over there.

Questions and comments are always welcome, so feel free!

From what’s left of America …

Posted on by

All in the details.

stamping, basket, basket stamp, detail, tools, leather, belt, gunbelt, border, half flower, Hermann Oak, premium, leather, process, leathercraft, leather work, trade, craft, craftsman
You can click on the photo for a larger view in a new tab. This is stamping, as opposed to embossing. Each segment of the pattern is “set” as deeply as possible into the leather using a stamping tool and a maul.

“It’s all in the details,” is a pretty common statement, but it’s critical to making leather products one piece at a time. I thought I’d show a photo of a gun belt being hand-stamped with a basket stamp and half-flower border. This is the cleanest, longest-lasting way of putting a design on the leather.

There is another way I know of to do this. It is by embossing or pressing a design into damp leather using a press or a roller/wheel with an embossing machine. This is the mass-produced, inexpensive way of doing it. It also results in a fairly shallow imprint that is subject to fading away over time. It can be done quickly, whereas hand-stamping takes more setup, and much more time.

Embossing can be done in seconds. Stamping can take hours.

An embossing machine for straps or belts.

Here’s a video from Tandy Leather and George Hurst showing you some of how it’s done.