Old Timer New To Leatherworking

[BobH]

Howdy,

I'm a retired geezer who tries to learn new things. Where I live (Temple, TX), there are no classes available within a reasonable travel distance; and I've not found anyone around to be my mentor.

I've got a ton of tools given to me by a brother in NC who has been at this for quite some time. I've bought the books and read them, but a lot of what I need to learn doesn't come easily from books. I bought a few pieces of leather hoping to be able to make a holster. I dove right in and cut several pieces. I cut them over-sized hoping to form the leather to the handgun itself (which I put in a plastic zip loc bag to keep dry).

Apparently I didn't get the leather sufficiently pliable to form because boning with a deer antler or sharpie only yielded very uncrisp outlines. So, my first question is about how to wet form. I've found posts on casing which I understand to be a different process for a different result, ie, tooling.

In trying to overcome my first failure to get a good crisp outline of the gun, I bought a 2' length of 4" PVC pipe and sealed one end with a cap and glue, placed the pieces in it, and poured in boiling water. I have no idea whether this is valid procedure or whether I've damaged the leather, but I used cold water and a long soak on my first attempts. The leather is of 2 types. One is what I'd estimate to be about 7-8 oz (which is probably too thick) and the other is a hard horsehide. Remember, I'm teaching myself from books and the web and using the trial and error method, mostly the latter.

For my next attempt, I'm going to try to cut a pattern from poster board and make a pancake style holster from two pieces.

I found a thread here yesterday, which I cannot find today and did not tag, that showed how one craftsman does this. The most significant thing I remember about his post was that he had the pistol canted in the holster so that the barrel pointed slightly rearward. I've tried searching for "cant" "canted" etc. but found no hits.

I would really appreciate any pointers to tutorials or threads that will help me in this 2 areas. I want to master the molding and wet forming process as a first step, then proceed to pattern making for my specific pistols. If I can get those 2 steps accomplished, I think I can put something together and then post pics for critiques.

Thank you for any help you can give me.

[Tree Reaper]

Bob;

I usually start with a paper trace of the gun until I get the fit I want, trace that onto cardboard and then trace that onto the leather.

Stitch the holster and welt, soak it in warm water for a few seconds, put the gun in a plastic bag, put it in the holster and form it around the gun.

If you plan on making several holsters get a machine press, some foam and blue guns.

Boiling water will damage the leather.

Kevin

[BobH]

Bob;

I usually start with a paper trace of the gun until I get the fit I want, trace that onto cardboard and then trace that onto the leather.

Stitch the holster and welt, soak it in warm water for a few seconds, put the gun in a plastic bag, put it in the holster and form it around the gun.

If you plan on making several holsters get a machine press, some foam and blue guns.

Boiling water will damage the leather.

Kevin

Thanks, Kevin!

I learned by trial and error that boiling leather turns it into something entirely different.

Several layers of it would probably make passable body armor.

Oh well! It's part of the learning curve acquisition pain.

When you say that you trace the outline of the gun on paper, I assume that you do one side, roll the gun to its other side and complete the trace (for a traditional holster) and leave some perimeter allowance for stitching. How much allowance do you leave? An inch seems to be too much and a half inch seems to be too little. I could use guidance in this area. Likewise, for a pancake holster, I've downloaded an image that shows the process, but it gives little help with dimensions.

I should have asked this question in the OP, but I need to know what weight leather to buy for making holsters.

Again, thanks for helping a geezer. I do not plan to make holsters other than for pleasure and the fun of learning; so I'll hold off on buying blue blanks and a press.

[Tree Reaper]

Stohlman suggests 3/4" outside the gun and that's a good starting point.

Don't forget the thickness of the welt will add space to the fit.

What I do with the paper is fold it in half and then trace the gun plus 3/4".

Put the gun inside the folded paper to see how it fits.

The paper will give you a good idea how close you are to what's needed.

When you cut the trace mark and open up the paper you can then transfer that to the cardboard.

Check out the gun holster forum and search for patterns to see what the other makers are doing.

8-10oz. is a good weight for a holster.

Kevin

Edited June 5, 2013 by Tree Reaper

[BobH]

Thank you, Kevin!

I have done some reading in the holster threads but there are so many that I get lost. I'm gonna have to figure out tagging.

Thanks again!

[Tree Reaper]

Hi Bob;

pancake style holster

That didn't register with me when I read it, it's been a while since I made a pancake but I'll try and put something together tomorrow to give you a better idea.

Kevin

[eglideride]

There are some really good videos on u tube....

[Tree Reaper]

For sure look on u tube.

This is how I would start a pattern for a pancake.

Fold a piece of paper down the middle and scribe a line on it.

Place the gun on the paper with the center line running down the center of the slide or barrel.

Trace a 3/4 outline around the gun using a compass.

Draw the design YOU want on the paper with pencil and use a marker on the finished design.

Cut out the paper and lay it on the gun for a fit and make necessary adjustments on another new sheet of paper if required.

[BobH]

Thanks for the YouTube tip. For some reason I have a mental block about looking there for educational stuff.

I'm watching a series done by a fellow by name of Eric Adams. Good Stuff! Will watch others too.

[Tex Shooter]

I don't have any pointers as I am not that great of leather craftsman myself and joined to learn more. Having said that I will wish you a big welcome to the forum and I am sure there is a great deal to be learned here. -- Tex