Firing up...

[ttownfire]

Howdy all!

Well my dads b-day is coming up and I want to make him a holster for one of his newest purchases. He bought a Kahr MK9 recently and it lives in a lonely little box. He wants it molded and tight fitting OWB. I'm thinking regular veg tanned shoulder with a stingray inlay or a stingray/leather strap across the breech or both.

How should I go about molding the leather? Should I wrap the thing in plastic wrap... I already looked for a blue gun and no luck for that model.

Can I use the regular shoulder from Tandy?

He wants it black so I need any advice y'all can give for dye.

Style... Admittedly, I don't know much about the different styles other than what I've read here. So I'm thinking pancake with slots. We talked about a slight cant for the way the gun sits in the holster and I think he called it FBI. However, I can't find anything on it so far.

I know I'm missing a bunch.. so please fill me in.

Edited November 1, 2008 by ttownfire

[Shorts]

A veg tan piece ought to work just fine. A 7/8oz or 8/9oz would work for OWB. I prefer 8/9oz on the 8 side. But for a first holster, a 7/8oz is easy to work with, not too thick and not too thin.

Be forewarned, exotics are a little more difficult to stitch, but it can be done. I'm not doing them until I have machine. But if you want to, go for it.

Shoulders from Tandy are fine for starting with. Don't get the cheap cut, it'll have too many blemishes and stretch marks that will show up in the end, even causes some heartache in the dye department.

For black dye, I use EcoFlo dye since that's all I can get here. But Feibings has a variety of other dyes that'll work. I'd actually go elsewhere and find Angelus dye.

As for cant I've seen FBI referred to a 15*. But "FBI" is not really a set term and its just used cause it sounds cool So "FBI" means different angles to different makers lol I like to keep my holsters about 10-15* for an easy draw. Extreme cants I use a 30-32*

[Tac]

ttownfire,

I make a "pancake" style holster for that type of pistol and it works well. I will post a pick of it, so you can have a visual. It's not hard to do. The one I have a pic of has a small amount of basket stamping, but it is optional. This style of holster is great for open or concealed carry, and I wear this holster daily.

For my holsters I use 7/8 oz. leather for the "face" (outside portion of the holster) and a heavier 11/12 oz. piece of leather for the "back" of the holster. This allows you to wet mold and bone the face of the holster to the gun with good detail, and back portion adds rigidity to the holster. I cut my belt loops to 1 3/4 inches, so they fit well on a 1.5 to 1 3/4 inch belt, which is the width I wear most oftern and helps in supporting the weight of the gun. I also cut the back piece large enough to cover the slide of the pistol and rear sights, as a sweat guard. This also helps keep any sharp edges from digging into the wearer's side, making the holster more comfortable to wear.

For dye, I use the Fliebings oil dye in black. I usually dye my holsters after they have been sewn, edged, wet molded and boned. I burnish the edges while they are still wet from the molding process. Once dry, I dye with a dauber using a couple of coats to get an even color. Once dry from dying, I seal the edges with Gum Tragancanth and apply a finish. Most often, I use a spray on finish in a can.

Here is a pic of a holster for my Kahr Arms CW 45, which is just slightly larger than the K9/P9/K40/P40 series of guns.

http://s83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/Tac...nt=100_0844.jpg

Let me know if you have any questions.

-Good luck

Edited November 11, 2008 by Tac

[ttownfire]

I just saw that this message had replies!!!!

Thank you for the help, I sure need it. I think I have enough information to get going... now I just need to start. Thanks for the info!!!!

M.

[RustyPhillips]

love the kahr's

a MK or PM is on my list to get

my stuff isnt as pretty as Tac's, but see the last two pics in my thread http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=5633

theres a LH pancake/slide for a K9

and a RH pancake/slide for a CW45

both cut from same pattern, inside and outside pieces are identical.

quick / simple / dirty / cheap

the MK being just a bit shorter than my K-9 - would fit rather nicely in the belt slide holter

if you want I can scan the pattern & email/post it on Monday

also - you might want to consider making a pocket holster for your dad too.....

Edited November 15, 2008 by RustyPhillips