Leather Question

[Shadi Khalil]

Hello all,

I was wondering if anyone knew when carving occurs on holster embellishment. Can a decorative carving be done after the holster is complete? Is that when its normally done?

I ask because I recently bought a holster and now I want to add a floral carving. I'm kicking myself for not adding it to the original order (the maker, Rick Garcia offers it) with a belt. I could just email Rick but I won't be ordering my belt for another couple weeks and There is also the possibility I find something local, so I don't want to bug him quite yet. Can anyone answer my question?

Thanks.

Shadi

 

[Rembrandt]

Usually done before forming & sewing when the material is a flat sheet whether hand tooled or machine pressed. I suppose a person could do it afterwards, but you'd need a dummy gun to add support, would be difficult but not impossible.

 

[Dfariswheel]

It's usually not possible after the holster is finished.

Carving and stamping is done when the leather is in a flat piece, before any assembly.
Once the leather is dyed, oiled, and finished, the leather will no longer take carving and stamping very well.
Also, if the holster is assembled, there's really no way to stamp or carve it, since there's no way to get good support for it.

 

[aarondhgraham]

Too late,,,

Once the leather has had any oils or finish applied to it,,,
It will not absorb water well enough to hold stamping.

The exception to this is when the leather is "embossed",,,
That's like a printing plate applied with very high pressure.

You can certainly cut a design into any leather at any time,,,
But any leather other than raw vegetable tanned leather will lose the relief very quickly.

Aarond

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