After some experimenting. This edge loop method works best because putting an extra edge loop next to main edges reduces smoothing errors. This is working out fine now.
It's too hard edge for a sand bag.. I just can't imagine anything holding sand to be that hard edged and crisp. Add some more edges to it to round it out... it will help a ton.
One thing I ran into while working on the mesh was connecting pieces together and not having the edges line up. Are there any suggested methods for bringing edges together across pieces or collapsing edges when merging?
This gun looks sweet! I've only got one critique; You went a bit crazy with the edge wear. The wear is really prevalent on every edge, even edges which aren't very exposed to wear.
Edit: SOLVED. It was a problem related to the hard edges and UVs. The edges shown make sharp angles and they should be hard edges and not soft. Also, they must be separated in the UVs. Thank you anyway because without some Q and A in this forum I wouldn't have known how to fix it.
Flat areas like that will still try to smooth with the edges that start to curve around the sides. You would need to either weight the edges or add an edge loop along the end of the flat areas.
Ah, that'd explain it. It still has a soft appearance however - your highlight is in the middle of that edge, but there aren't highlights at the endpoints of the edge - which will cause the edge to look round instead of flat and sharp.
Hey Komokc, Thanks for the feedback, could you indicate which edges are too tight? If I make the support edges any further from main Edge the corner looks too smooth?
If you mean to edit, you can split an edge by selecting it and hitting V on the keyboard. This will split the edge and you will hold an edge on a grab selection that was on the side closer to your mouse at the time of the keypress.