Tag: left hand

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Buck Knives. California’s loss is definitely Idaho’s gain.

Wikipedia says Buck Knives were founded in my old hometown of Mountain Home, Idaho, back in 1902. They also give credit to San Diego, California. Rewriting, or completely eliminating history is the flavor of the week in what’s left of America, so I choose to stick with the Idaho origination story. It’s my Blog.

Several weeks ago, my friend Gerry at Dakota Defense announced on Facebook that he had a few Buck 112 Ranger Autos available, and I got one. It arrived in record time, which is one of Gerry’s trademark moves–you order, he ships. No playing around. I was blown away by my new knife–my first Buck, and my first lock blade. I was so impressed with this Buck 112 that a few days later I ordered one of the classic Buck 110’s. Then, I got to thinking–rarely a good thing, but I got to thinking as a holster-maker, why not make a sheath? I’m left-handed, I have thousands of dollars worth of equipment, hard-won experience making gunleather, stress, blood loss, pain, scars, etc. Hell, I can make a knife sheath. It’ll be easy! One week later, after a half-dozen or so failed attempts, sure enough, I had one. But wait, there’s more.

Since I’m happy with the plain, left-handed, beautifully conformed to me leather Buck 112 sheath I have painstakingly created for myself…why not make a few more? As a holster-maker, pain, frustration and expense are my stock in trade. What could it hurt?

To wrap things up, I managed to finish a couple I’m happy with. Both for the Buck 112. Both for you majority right-handers. One is a hammer stamp design I adopted after seeing a holster that Mike Barranti built. The other is a simple basket stamp. Both are made from premium Hermann Oak leather, and lightly antiqued in mahogany. The borders on both of these are a little half-flower Barry King stamp that I’m partial to. Neither one’s on the website yet, but I’ll try and put them both up some time today. These are both in the Shop now. Just click the link up top.

Thanks for reading. Happy Tuesday–I hope you’re having a great week.

From what’s left of America…

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On the bench.

Gibson natural 1911 left hand carry OWB basket

This one’s sold, but it’s an example of what a natural basket stamped holster looks like right after a massage of 100% pure Neatsfoot oil. They don’t always look all that great, but after a few hours, or overnight, things tend to even-out and give us a head-start on patina, and the ultimate honey-gold finish. This holster was for a 4″ or 4.25″ Commander-length 1911 for a fellow left-hander.

Natural Hermann Oak, premium American-tanned leather and heavy white machine stitching. The Blue Gun in the holster is primarily for shaping, and the actual hand-detailing that is done on the back panel for retention.

Typically, a plain (un-stamped) holster will be placed in a press with a Blue Gun and squished with around 6-tons of pressure. After the “squeeze,” the detailing is done to both the face and back panels. With a stamped or carved holster, you can’t use the press because it will destroy the stamping or carving.