Reinforced Throat Iwb

[Steven Kelley]

After reading through this post/tutorial by woolfe on making a reinforced band IWB holster, I decided to give it a try. http://leatherworker...=1

I really had to scratch my head a bit trying to figure out how to assemble it. If I ever make another one, I'll most likely change the reinforcement band a bit. I don't really like the way it wraps to the back of the holster. I was thinking of making the sweat guard part of the reinforcement band, so that both halves of the holster would be identical. It seems that might make assembly easier, but I'm not sure. The finish came out ok I think. I used Eco Flo Bison Brown dye and Resolene. I dyed before forming. After forming, the dye really took on sort of an antique look, with dark and light tones. Using the advice given me in my thread on Resolene, I diluted it 50/50 with water and used a damp sponge to apply. That worked much better than my past attempts with it. This was the first holster I've made for a Glock, and will move the stitch line in a little tighter, if I make another one.

[TexasJack]

Nice job on the construction.

Terrible color, IMHO.

[Steven Kelley]

Nice job on the construction.

Terrible color, IMHO.

Thanks, and I think I agree with you on the color.

[Dwight]

Just a quick couple of comments, . . . Steve, . . . and we'll start with the color. I love it !!!!!

It looks like a holster that is a holster, . . . that is used by someone other than the Governator or Bradd Pitt.

On the construction, though, . . . I'd make a couple of changes if it was mine.

1. Take the reinforceing band all the way up the sweat sheild

2. Cut some off both ends of the reinforceing band, . . . get it out of the trigger guard area, . . . stop it while it is still on the frame.

3. Consider reversing the back side so that the back is "rough out". That helps a little bit in keeping it from sliding around on you, even if you have two straps, they kinda like to move.

I made one of these holsters a few years back, . . . it is a copy of Spark's VM2, . . . and it is a great holster, . . . but they're just too much of a pain for me to mess with, I do simpler designs.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Steven Kelley]

Thanks for the comments Dwight, all excellent points. I agree with you on the reinforcement band and sweat shield. I'm not very happy with the way it turned out and like your suggestions there. If I do make another one of these, I'll shorten the band and take it all the way up the sweat shield. It's definitely a lot of work putting one of these together. A lot more than I realized!

My wife absolutely loved the color, but I'm still on the fence. One minute I like it and the next I hate it. Under certain lighting, it has a very light green tint in certain areas.

[katsass]

After reading through this post/tutorial by woolfe on making a reinforced band IWB holster, I decided to give it a try. http://leatherworker...=1

I really had to scratch my head a bit trying to figure out how to assemble it. If I ever make another one, I'll most likely change the reinforcement band a bit. I don't really like the way it wraps to the back of the holster. I was thinking of making the sweat guard part of the reinforcement band, so that both halves of the holster would be identical. It seems that might make assembly easier, but I'm not sure. The finish came out ok I think. I used Eco Flo Bison Brown dye and Resolene. I dyed before forming. After forming, the dye really took on sort of an antique look, with dark and light tones. Using the advice given me in my thread on Resolene, I diluted it 50/50 with water and used a damp sponge to apply. That worked much better than my past attempts with it. This was the first holster I've made for a Glock, and will move the stitch line in a little tighter, if I make another one.

Steven, from the grumpy old man; looks to me that your construction and workmanship is pretty damned good. I like seeing it...not the design particularly...nor the dye job. That dye, in my opinion, is not your fault.......that comes from the tree huggers trying to sell the public on a substandard product that is not the quality and/or is not suitable for the job it is intended to perform. I also would suggest that you do not mold inside the trigger guard......it's just a poor idea. JMHO Mike

[Big O]

I like the design. It occurs to me that if you had a "wing" at the rear, like you do at the front, it'd be a "tuckable" IWB.

The grip clearance right at the rear of the trigger guard looks a little tight to me.

[dickf]

I agree with Dwight that the mouthband should stop short of the trigger guard and follow the sweat shield up the back. I'm not a big fan of the color, but as stated, it's not your fault at all. That Eco Flow dye is garbage and I agree with katsass - it simply isn't capable of doing the job right. My advice would be to ditch it and get yourself some Angelus dyes next time. You can dip dye with them or shoot 'em from the airbrush.

I also agree that the grip clearance is tight and could use some relief. I don't agree, however, that molding the inside of the trigger guard is a bad idea. You'll get a lot of retention from the trigger guard on most guns, and yours looks good. If you start to see the trigger profile come through the leather, then it's too thin and becomes very dangerous. For most leather that's 7oz+, this is a non-issue. Finally, a personal preference would be to narrow the width of the loops to reduce their footprint.

Keep it up!