ltwguns.com

Shameless plug of my work to follow:

It's been a while since I've posted anything I've made. Not that I haven't been busy. Quite to the contrary; I've been too busy to sit down and do a lengthy post. Anyway, it seems like recently throughout this past year the vast majority of my work has been exotics, so here are a few:

A full-coverage shark-skin P229 rig:



P229 Enforcer holster with elephant mouthband:



A Commander Enforcer in full-coverage black stingray with alligator mouthband:



The rear of the above holster, in black shark because no-one wants stingray against their skin:



Burgandy/wine colored full-coverage stingray with matching grips:



The rear of the above holster, in sanded-smooth stingray. This unique variation of the hide was discovered after the black one was made with shark on the rear. The color is much truer in this pic:



Full-coverage elephant In-Cognito IWB with hornback alligator mouthband. I had bunches of hornback top-knots laying around and finally figured out what to use them for:



Two of the more rare exotics combined - black shell cordovan with pangolin (African anteater) mouthband, with HK P7 PSP:



Thanks for looking!

_________________
http://www.garritysgunleather.com
"He who works with his hands is a labourer, he who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman, he who works with his hands, his head, and his heart is an artist."
(St Francis of Assisi)

Those are some amazing holsters Mark. Very outstanding!

I once saw a link posted on one of the forums to an essay of sorts you wrote on exotics. Do you have that posted somewhere? I just purchased a custom 1911 and think I would like to go with a holster done in an exotic to complement the gun. I'd like to refer back to that in order to help me select the best fit for me.

Rob

Sweeeeeeeeeeeett!!! What a sight! Those are fabulous Mark. Just beautiful craftmanship. Thanks for sharing.
By the way, I'm enjoying the double pouch.

EricO

As usual, very nice work Mark!

I agree with Matt. Simply put....very very nice.
Shoot well and god bless.

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice....Rush.

The classiest exotics I've seen. Expect another order!

_________________
Redeemed

Mark, Beautiful !!

_________________
Desbiens Gunleather
http://www.desbiensgunleather.com

Mark -

Nice looking stuff - I am sure the owners are quite pleased.

John

_________________
I will never forget you Lou......February 21, 2009

John Ralston
5 SHOT LEATHER, LLC - Finely Crafted Custom Handgun Leather

http://www.5ShotLeather.com

OMG!

That sure is some incredible work Mark!

Beautiful stuff. Though I wish you hadn't posted it because it is making the wait for my order that much harder to endure! Hope all is well with you.

Wow, I really like that, Mark. Beautiful stuff. Are the exotic leathers easier to work with?

Thanks for the compliments folks!
Easier to work with? I wish, but hell no!
They are very labor intensive. Stingray is the worst. Each bead is a calcium deposit, the same as a tooth or fingernail. Very tough to cut and even harder to sew. It has been known to break needles on some sewing machines if you hit directly on a large bead.

_________________
http://www.garritysgunleather.com
"He who works with his hands is a labourer, he who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman, he who works with his hands, his head, and his heart is an artist."
(St Francis of Assisi)

Mark, I'm sending the plans for a sewing machine with carbide-tipped needles. You'll need 440V for this baby to get the needles up to red-hot. That should make short work of those exotic hides! A little stinky maybe.....

... and speaking of smoke......

Holy smokes that is some beautiful stuff!

Thanks for the offer Ned!
Actually, my machine can handle it. It's a hook and awl machine. Basically the hole is punched by the awl first and the needle and thread follow through it. Trying to sew stingray on a typical single needle machine is where you run into problems.
Speaking of smoke and odor though - stingray does stink when you're sanding the edges smooth, and kicks up quite some dust. If you've ever had root canal work or a tooth drilled you're familiar with the odor. It wasn't until a few years ago that I hooked up with a bootmaker who taught me alot about working with it, and he said to always where a filter mask when sanding it. Since it's calcium and organic, if the dust gets in your lungs bacteria can form. Nice, huh!

_________________
http://www.garritysgunleather.com
"He who works with his hands is a labourer, he who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman, he who works with his hands, his head, and his heart is an artist."
(St Francis of Assisi)

Mark -

Ned has the right idea, and I have used it myself. I took a bunch of my awls in and had them heat treated. I lose a few to warpage, but it is worth it in the long run. I have used the same awl for about 9 months, and it goes through Stingray like butter. I still don't care for working with the Stingray, however.

I actually tried to have a saw shop make me a carbide tipped one, but they didn't think they could do it and declined to try it.

John

_________________
I will never forget you Lou......February 21, 2009

John Ralston
5 SHOT LEATHER, LLC - Finely Crafted Custom Handgun Leather

http://www.5ShotLeather.com

That would be interesting to try... this could help solving problems of bending the needle when working on intrincated patterns which use to pull my needle sometimes.

Mark. Really nice work!!! love that Stingray rig matching grips.

Alex.

Very nice!

WOW !!!!!!!!

Your gonna be hearing from me !

Beautiful