Some Holsters And Awls I Been Working On

[Nooj]

I made a few awls during some rare downtime I had at work. The first was the 'trial run'- I used drill rod for the blade, which I found was too soft (as you can tell by the bent up tip). The second was made with machine tool stock, but was a lil too short. The hole on one side of my work big, and the other side was real tight. The third I made from some thinner tool stock, and made the taper much more gradual. It worked fairly well for a home made awl, made by a guy who's never used a real one. All the handles were broom handles I shaped with a belt sander, or on the lathe with files and sandpaper.

This is the second holster I've made. It was for a friend's Taurus 1911, and it's my first attempt at using an awl & two needle stitching. I was pleased with the stitching around the trigger guard- it was nice and tight. I just eyeballed all the stitch spacing, even though I have an overstitcher to mark 'em with. Much room for improvement- but considering I haven't had any time to practice, I guess it's a fair job. I used "Omega" brand nylon thread (said #5 on the package... not sure what size it really was). I'm not sure how I like it, but it was the best option I could find at any of the local retailers.

And this is a hoster I'm making for my wife's Ruger LCR. This is the first one I've done with a reinforcement around the mouth, and the first fold-over style I've done. I still have to even the edges, then I'll start on some stitching.

Comments on my designs, techniques, or obvious mistakes are always welcome :-)

Thanks for looking!

Nooj

[marine mp]

Nooj, Nice work indeed. Stitching and forming seem to be "top shelf". Semper-fi Mike

[amuckart]

Did you heat-treat the steel? Drill rod should be plenty hard for awl blades.

[yepod]

For 'eyeball' spacing and first time hand stitching this holster looks great! I wished my hand stitching looked nearly this good.

Can't wait to see your next effort!

[mntnbkr1968]

Looking real nice! Been wanting to try my hand at the "two-tone"

Again +1 on the free hand stitching!!

Monty

[Nooj]

Thanks for the positive words, yall.

Amuckart- I may have overheated the drill rod when I was grinding it down, and that possibly softened it some. With the machine tool stock I ground with short swipes, and cooled it often. Took a long time to get it ground down all the way.

This hand stitching stuff is a lot of work! I can't really get a good momentum going... I have an idea of how my technique should be- I just haven't found my groove yet. I have to set my awl down a lot, or risk poked fingers, lol.

Thanks for looking guys.

Nooj