My Latest Holster

[SooperJake]

I made this one for an XDM 4.5BBL .45ACP I've ordered an oblong punch because I'm not happy with punch/knife cutting. I just can't seem to get a clean look.

Hand stitched Hermann Oak with neetsfoot oil/ tan kote finish. I finished the inside with Resolene .

Crummy cell phone camera...I need to shop for a good camera.

Jake

Edited August 13, 2012 by SooperJake

[TwinOaks]

Looks very nice! The only 'structural' thing I would alter is the amount of leather on the outside of the belt loops. A thin section there might be subject to more stretching than a thicker piece.....probably would depend on the circumstances.

[katsass]

I made this one for an XDM 4.5BBL .45ACP I've ordered an oblong punch because I'm not happy with punch/knife cutting. I just can't seem to get a clean look.

Hand stitched Hermann Oak with neetsfoot oil/ tan kote finish. I finished the inside with Resolene .

Crummy cell phone camera...I need to shop for a good camera.

Jake

From the grump: Well, I use the punch method, but use a set of inexpensive wood chisels from Harbor freight to cut between the punched holes. They go from about 1/4" up to 1 1/2" in width. One whack with a suitable mallet, hammer, large rock or Ma's kitchen mallet on each side works well. Nice clean cut, and perfectly straight. As to your loops I'd move them in a bit -- that skinny chunk of leather on the outside of each loop is all that holds the weight of the gun, and in this case, more is better. That skinny strip will stretch out in a hurry. Mike

P.S. Round that stitch line under the trigger guard -- it'll look a pot-load better.

Edited August 13, 2012 by katsass

[SooperJake]

Yes, I agree...I altered the pattern to add leather to the outside of the loops. I punched an end hole and then it dawned on me I was too close to the edge, so I made it look balanced anyway. Thanks TO! Thanks Mike!

Jake

Edited August 13, 2012 by SooperJake

[KAYAK45]

STOP YOUR BITCHEN. No need for a camera. Just keep makin good stuff. Looks good to me.

[SooperJake]

The left hand picture is more true to color BTW...It is a nice fawn brown color.

Jake

Edited August 13, 2012 by SooperJake

[SooperJake]

LOl Thanks Kayak! Too late though..I just order a Canon S100. I want my damn Nikon back, along with the rest of my stuff some mofo stole from me back in 2010!~

Jake

[renegadelizard]

LOl Thanks Kayak! Too late though..I just order a Canon S100. I want my damn Nikon back, along with the rest of my stuff some mofo stole from me back in 2010!~

Jake

Hey Jake, 2 things for whats it worth...watch your tool marks when molding...if you slip and get a line thats not exactly right, rub it out with your fingers until the leather is smooth again or use a modeling spoon to smooth it out, and fingernails are hell on wet leather, so trim them stupid close to the quick...the second thing is the stiching groove...ive played with making the stitching groove all the way around the holster, and it just looks odd to see a groove with nothing in it...even if its nonfuntional, throw some stitches in there to make it look finished..

[SooperJake]

Thanks,Lizard. On some of my earlier holsters I did just that...stitch all the way around. And I agree. Without that little bit of stitching it looks "unfinished". But there is a reason why this time I didn't do it. I've been trying to come up with a way to get a more accurate stitch line on the first try, and I think I may be on to something. Normally I would make the pattern in the usual fashion, just like you would see in Eric's AWL videos, for instance. But every time I made a pattern I seemed to lose the crispness of form in the stitch line along the trigger guard. In particular, the area at the front corner of the guard where it transitions back to vertical. It always ended up with too much space left over.

Which got me to thinking " How can I make this mimic the gun lines better, and make the pattern a little easier than guesswork?".

So what I did this time was to trace the trigger guard area with a .5mm mechanical pencil lead extended out far enough for the pencil body to clear the gun. Just the pencil lead touched the gun. Very carefully trace around the lower area without breaking the lead. Then, I marked the upper slide line in the same way. Next I added the full gun width plus 2 leather thicknesses to the upper slide line, shifting over that distance. Pretty darn near perfect fit. Almost too good, as Mike points out on the unrounded corner at the trigger guard in that stitch line. I even fudged out a lot of the detail I had traced to get the current line. Like the rail mount area, which all showed up on the pattern.

It may not be revolutionary, but it worked for me. So I didn't stitch those areas at the mouth and toe, because I was anxious to see if my idea would work. Now, there is no need to adjust the curved stitch line which mimics the gun's line well. You just tweak the straight line on the other side for fit, except I need to round that one corner.

Jake

[D Fingers]

I like the stitching groove without stitches I do it on all my holsters now. I might be more inclined to stitch it if I had a machine but I don't. It looks more finished than if there is no groove at all that is for sure.

[katsass]

Sorry - I did -- and I don't know how.. Mike

Edited August 14, 2012 by katsass

[SooperJake]

D fingers and Kats...I think both of you mistakenly got in the wrong thread, maybe? Has the forum gone wacky on us?

Jake

[katsass]

I like the stitching groove without stitches I do it on all my holsters now. I might be more inclined to stitch it if I had a machine but I don't. It looks more finished than if there is no groove at all that is for sure.

From the grump: Fingers, IMO, if you run your overstitch through that un-stitched groove, it improves the line even more --- usually. Mike

[D Fingers]

1344952053[/url]' post='260397']

From the grump: Fingers, IMO, if you run your overstitch through that un-stitched groove, it improves the line even more --- usually. Mike

Katsass

That is an interesting idea I will give that a try.

Edited August 14, 2012 by D Fingers

[SooperJake]

TO, how much leather do you typically leave outside the belt slots?

Jake

Looks very nice! The only 'structural' thing I would alter is the amount of leather on the outside of the belt loops. A thin section there might be subject to more stretching than a thicker piece.....probably would depend on the circumstances.

[renegadelizard]

I leave 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch...1/4 moreso on mag holders and such, but ill do 1/4 on smaller holsters as well...

TO, how much leather do you typically leave outside the belt slots?

Jake

[SooperJake]

The angle of the picture is an illusion.. The slots leave 3/8" of leather outside of the slot. Is that sufficient or still too thin?

Jake

I leave 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch...1/4 moreso on mag holders and such, but ill do 1/4 on smaller holsters as well...

[renegadelizard]

3/8 ths is plenty..when you wet mold, do you put a belt blank in?...typically, i will mold the back and then put a belt blank in anf flatten out the belt slots to relieve any pressure points and set the curve of the wings, then ill mold the front

The angle of the picture is an illusion.. The slots leave 3/8" of leather outside of the slot. Is that sufficient or still too thin?

Jake

[TwinOaks]

I build to allow at least 5/8ths, preferably 3/4" outside the slot, and around 1/2" above and below the slot. For my 'standard' 1911 OWB, the wing is 2 1/2 to accommodate a 1.5" belt slot, with 3/4" on the outside. I cut the slots 1/4" wide, rounded at the end. (1/4 punch connected by a chisel-like tool)