Slotted conchos

[Graveyard Jack]

I'm about to start on a Johnny Ringo rig for a customer. I've never done a slotted concho. Is the thong the only thing that keeps it in place? I was going to follow Ghormley's tutorial on doing it. How tight and secure does that hold it? Any tips or tricks?

[Camano Ridge]

Craig, I have done them many times it is a fairly simple process once you get the hang of it. THey hold well ,remember that these are primarily decorative so there is no rea lstress on them. They will be tight if done correctly. Watch where you are making your slits to pull the leather thong through. The furthe away you make your slits the looser it will be, also watch how large you make your slits.  Wills tutorial on doing it is pretty good. I think there are a couple of you tube videos that also show how to do it.

[Graveyard Jack]

Sounds good! I reckon I need to practice on some scrap to make sure I get my slits in the right place for the hide I'm using. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious. 

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Craig C,

I made a duel set by turning the holster pattern backwards ... then I used the belt pattern to make me a shotgun cartridge belt;here are pics of it:



Here is a pic of one I made for my friend's 1883 Colt:



The blood knot is pretty forgiving; I used an old set of hemostats to do the final tweaking ... I would wait until you are satisfied with the final look before making the final cuts on the two ends of the blood knot ....