Lining For First Holster

[glockanator]

Just like the title says should I try and line my first holster? If so what's the best thing to use?

Thanks

[Haystacker]

Generally speaking, no. What weight or thickness of leather are you using? A grumpy old guy on here uses two layers of 4/5 oz leather glued and stitched rough side to rough side. Gives him a lined holster with the leather thickness he likes. Most cowboy style holsters I do are also lined but concealed carry holsters are usually not lined.

I always use veg tanned leather for the lining. Depends again on what you are doing. For western style holsters John Bianchi videos recommends 1 weight thickness less than the outside for leather weight. Example 7/8 outside would be lined with 6/7 inside.

I have used whatever for the thickness that i want. Example for concealed carry 6/7 or 7/8 outside lined with 3/4.

Hope this helps.

Edited October 28, 2011 by Haystacker

[Lobo]

Holster linings have long been popular as a means for protecting the finish of polished and blued handguns from excessive holster wear. Many modern handguns feature exterior finishes that are far more resistant to abrasion, so holster linings are less frequently requested than in years past.

Both suede and smooth leathers have been popular for holster linings. I have quite a few customers who will not consider an unlined holster, and many have strong preferences, so I offer both options. My personal preference is for a smooth lining which does not share the tendencies of suede leather to collect dust, grit, and debris in use.

For most holster applications I use 7/8 oz. veg-tanned for the holster body. When a lining is requested I will usually drop the holster body weight to 6/7 oz. and line it with 2-3 oz. leather. Linings are cemented to the inner holster surfaces, then exposed edges stitched down, then assembled and stitched as usual.

It is best to work on a stable flat surface when lining. The lining leather needs to be laid out and fully relaxed, and some stretching can help to avoid bunching and wrinkles while forming the holster. Contact cement, such as the Barge product, will work well; or Fiebing's Tanners' Bond is very usable for the purpose and a bit more handy as it requires only coating one surface. A roller is handy for bonding the newly cemented pieces firmly together, or a board or book can be applied and weighted down while the cement cures.

Further assembly, and especially wet-forming, should be put off for sufficient time for the cement to completely bond and cure, which might take a couple of hours or more depending on temperature, etc.

Some lining leathers may not react as expected upon application of dyes and finishes, so experimentation with scraps should be done prior to proceeding with a new project.

Our friend and resident expert Katsass likes to use two layers of 4/5 oz. veg-tanned cemented flesh-to-flesh, and that is probably a very good combination (total finished weight of 8 to 10 oz., very sturdy and a smooth interior surface). My typical 6/7 lined with 2-3 has a total weight of 8 to 10 oz. as well. Once the two layers have been firmly bonded together they should function very much like a single solid piece during further assembly, stitching, and forming operations (the principal exception being poorly cemented or loosely bonded linings, which tend to wrinkle badly and separate at open edges).

Best regards.

[katsass]

My suggestion is; learn the ins and out of basic holster construction first ..... then go on to things like lining, inlay etc. Too much too soon usually becomes frustrating .... and often ...expensive. Mike

[particle]

I agree - if you've never made a holster before, stick to the basics to make sure your pattern works. No sense wasting leather if your stitch line's off. However, if you're going for a loose-fit Western style holster, and you're using someone else's pattern for a specific gun, you can probably feel pretty comfortable with the pattern and go ahead and tackle lining it since the workflow is pretty much spelled out in Stohlman's holster book.

[glockanator]

I agree - if you've never made a holster before, stick to the basics to make sure your pattern works. No sense wasting leather if your stitch line's off. However, if you're going for a loose-fit Western style holster, and you're using someone else's pattern for a specific gun, you can probably feel pretty comfortable with the pattern and go ahead and tackle lining it since the workflow is pretty much spelled out in Stohlman's holster book.

Thats kinda what I was thinking. I bought some books of an old timer that had a bunch of patterns. The one I chose is a simple pancake style. As far as what leather I am going to use. I am not sure how thick it is. I have been to busy to measure it.

Thanks