401mikepapa

Thanks everyone for your input. I have gleaned (sp?) some good ideas from your processes.

Very nice work!

Steven, really appreciate your input. If I may ask, what temp do you set your oven on and have you compared stiffness between using the oven and just air-drying?

Good Morning All I've been lurking for weeks now and have been so satisfied learning from all of you that the forum is my first stop in the morning after reading the news. I ordered 2 holsters on April 13th (Don Hume / US Galco) and was disappointed to discover a 6-8 week back order. That's when I decided to try making a holster myself and became familiar with this site. I wanna thank Lobo, Monica, Hidepounder and countless others for shining some light on the mystery of leather work and specifically holster making. I've put together "My Method" (aka your methods in your own words at times that I've put numbers by cause I'm a paint-by-numbers kinda guy) and put it in the procedure listed below. Any recommendations on changes, improvements, omissions, etc. would be very welcome and appreciated. And again, thank you all for stepping away from the "Holster Maker Knowledge Proliferation Treaty" and helping us newbs out. We are very thankful. 401MikePapa DAY 1 1. Outline Pattern w/ Scribe 2. Cut out pattern 3. Glue w/ water-resistant cement 4. Wait 15 minutes 5. Quickly dunk in water 6. Dress edges with drum sander 7. Hand sand w/ 220, 320, 400 8. Cut stitch grooves (top side only) 9. Saddlestitch by hand 10. Clean up edges with beveler 11. Cut belt slots 12. Bevel back of belt slots 13. Wet mold 14. Air Dry Over night DAY 2 15. Dunk in dye for 10 seconds 16. Hang to dry for 12 hours 17. Buff off excess dye 18. Burnish all edges with water / beeswax 19. Neats foot oil to outside only 20. Wait for 12 hours to allow full absorption DAY 3 21. Seal w/ acrylic sealant (Fiebing’s Leather Sheen) (dip in pail and drip dry) 22. Wait 12 hours for sealant to dry 23. Apply final exterior finish (Fiebing’s Tan Kote) w/ 1” foam brush