2Nd Holster

[doug1221]

OK so this is my second attempt at making a decent holster. I snapped both my awls trying to make the first hole and the leather factory is a pretty good drive away so ended up using my dremel to make the stitch holes. Got some bad marks on the leather from screwing up on my stitching layout. Still need work on my edges but all in all I think it's an improvement over my last attempt, we will see what Katsass, Big O, and the rest of you all that can spare the time to critique it think. Oh and I can't forget the belt tunnel welt design was influenced by "Lobo Gun Leather" and my thanks go to him for allowing me to borrow the concept, hopefully I didn't make it look too bad lol.

[Lobo]

For a second project I think your work is looking pretty good.

Doing the welted seams can be a bit tricky and requires careful use of your pattern as a template to locate the stitch-lines accurately. When I make this style I try to allow a bit more width to the loop under the belt, typically locating the slot about 1" from the stitch-lines around the weapon and allowing a full 1" width for the loop. Also, I find it helpful to contour the holster to approximate the body curve during the forming process, which makes breaking the holster in considerably easier. I use wooden mandrels in the shape of the belt (1.5" X 0.25", 1.75" X 0.25", etc) inserted through the tunnel loop, then forming the "wings" inward in a curve and stretching the belt loops into final form.

Best regards.

[katsass]

OK so this is my second attempt at making a decent holster. I snapped both my awls trying to make the first hole and the leather factory is a pretty good drive away so ended up using my dremel to make the stitch holes. Got some bad marks on the leather from screwing up on my stitching layout. Still need work on my edges but all in all I think it's an improvement over my last attempt, we will see what Katsass, Big O, and the rest of you all that can spare the time to critique it think. Oh and I can't forget the belt tunnel welt design was influenced by "Lobo Gun Leather" and my thanks go to him for allowing me to borrow the concept, hopefully I didn't make it look too bad lol.

Well, what is there left to say? You already know where you need work, and LOBO has explained where you missed the idea a bit with the belt tunnels. Allowing the minimum of 1" width of the tunnel is what makes LOBO'S design really work. He did a lot of research and testing to perfect the design, so it's worth going with the design as intended. Keep at it, you are doing better. And. to LOBO ..... thanks again, your design has garnered a lot of interest by virtue of the holster I did for the little SIG. Mike

Edited May 25, 2011 by katsass

[Big O]

Looking better.

I like the notch in the top edge of the holster where the top front corner of the grip scale is.

With the Dremel, you're just about always going to have visible holes. I tried using a 3/64 bit, which minimized the size of the holes, but I broke a lot of needles that way.

You should get another awl blade and give that a try again. The shorter the blade, the better. Less flexing, which can lead to snapping. The blade needs to be SHARP. If you have to apply a whole bunch of pressure, it's not sharp enough.

I wasn't really satisfied with my stitch holes until I started using an awl.

I like the symmetry of the stitch lines - the way they look the same on the forward and rearward halves of the holster.

As previously stated, the belt loop section needs to be wider. It occurs to me that the slots need not be vertical. They can be slanted, Doing so would allow them to be closer to the pistol pocket.

Edges: you're probably not too keen on spending a whole bunch of money on equipment just yet, so here's a tip: a Sharpie marker works better than you'd think as a burnisher. You wet the edge of the leather and then just rub the SIDE of the marker body (the plastic) rapidly back and forth along it, to press down the fibers and shine them up.

[doug1221]

Lobo, thank you for taking the time to look at this. Who better to get feedback from on a design element than the person that inspired it. I will be trying to remake this again but better and will definitely take your advice into account while doing it.

Mike your input is always appreciated.

Big O, I put the notch at the top partially to make it more visually appealing and also because I have a couple other holsters made by another company that come up and go across that corner of the grip and it drives me nuts. I started off with the 3/64 bit but it kept getting all fouled up and I had to clean the leather off of it on every other hole. When I went to get a different type of bit none of the stores had bits that small (kinda a bad string of luck with this holster). As far as spending money on this, well a little late for that lol I have already put more money into it than I care to think about but it's more than worth it. I did order a burnishing bit for my dremel from someone on the site here but I wasn't thinking and ordered the one that is just for doubled up edges which made it about useless for this project lol.

As always I greatly appreciate all the feedback from you guys on here, I'm gonna get this stuff down if it kills me.