First Leather Craft Product In The Books.......what You Think?

[DevilDog04]

I finished my first FINAL product. I did some practice on coasters and such but this one I actually finished the edges, dyed the leather, etc. I didn't have a holster for my ruger 357 so I decided to make one. It turned out OK, I can see room for improvement, but hey, it's functional. Love to know what you think....I could always use some pointers being new at this.

http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr252/csnider1/leathercraft/B9592A89-1E6B-4F9B-B6B7-A872FC9E2B92.jpg

Edited January 5, 2016 by DevilDog04

[stu925]

A far sight better than my first holster. Nice work for a first attempt and I'm sure it won't be your last project.

Stu

[Halitech]

It looks like you got a good deep impression on your stamping but you can see a few places where you got out of alignment, especially right below the concho and snap. What did you use to make the holes for your stitching? They almost look way too big for the size thread that you used. And while I'm no expert on holsters only having made a few myself, but the trigger should drop down in farther to prevent it from getting hooked on something and accidentally causing a discharge. Maybe rohn will chime in now that pics have been loaded

[snubbyfan]

With a strap across the hammer on a single action revolver, the chances are that it'd be pretty much impossible to have a negligent discharge.

Exposed trigger holsters go way back. The most popular being the "Threepersons" design.

I would've cut the front down a little lower to get a better fit on the retention strap.

The stamping does seem to go a bit wonky around the concho area. Can't really tell that much from the pictures.

Is that a Tandy holster kit? That'd explain the big round stitch holes.

[Halitech]

Thanks snubby, as I said, I don't have much experience, just going on what I've seen with others. That does make sense that the strap should prevent an accidental discharge but still usually better to be safe then sorry

[snubbyfan]

That being said, all my holsters have covered triggers unless otherwise specified.

[DevilDog04]

With a strap across the hammer on a single action revolver, the chances are that it'd be pretty much impossible to have a negligent discharge.

Exposed trigger holsters go way back. The most popular being the "Threepersons" design.

I would've cut the front down a little lower to get a better fit on the retention strap.

The stamping does seem to go a bit wonky around the concho area. Can't really tell that much from the pictures.

Is that a Tandy holster kit? That'd explain the big round stitch holes.

yes I got off quite a bit on the stamping, in more places than that. lol Takes quite a bit of practice.

I did want the open trigger design, mainly because it it a revolver and it would almost be impossible to discharge it in the holster with the strap locked down. But it could be done I guess. I did try to wet form it to the pistol. Again, I need more practice. Wasn't wet enough, didn't dry long enough, etc, etc. I've found that it really needs to dry over night.

The leather came from a Tandy leather kit which does explain the holes. But I decided to use a different belt loop setup and different thread. I also put a liner on the inside after I set the concho and snap. Don't like my guns getting scratched up.

I appreciate the responses, and I'm very open to any tips and tricks. Gonna start another one this weekend for my 1911. We'll see if that one is any better. I've got some more tools on the way so this one should go a little better. Still not sure that I'm ready to put any tooling on one yet. I've scrapped quite a few pieces of leather because my tooling skills are far less than par!

[snubbyfan]

Lookin' forward to seein' what ya come up with.

Whenever I get new tools, I wonder how I ever got along without it.

On my holsters, I either design them with a void for the back of the snap or I'll stitch a separate piece on the front.

Don't give up on the toolin', It does take lotsa practice.

[Rohn]

Looks like you did a good job on a first holster. I make a lot of holsters and line very few of them when requested by customers. To keep the snaps from scratching the gun I try to position them in a place where the gun will not rub on them when inserted in the holster. Between the cylinder and the trigger guard seems to be a good place to place the snap.

Also I do try to cover the trigger but just because I like the looks of it better that way.

[DevilDog04]

preciate that. I made it to Shreveport yesterday and ran by the Tandy leather store. I left after spending about $350 but I got some new tools that i NEEDED, some books and patterns, and some leather and dyes. Started practicing a little more with the tooling last night. This swivel knife is kicking my rear end along with beveling.

But now that I think about it, I think I didn't have the leather wet enough. The knife was dragging a litttle causing gash marks. When I tried to bevel some areas it wasn't too pretty. Very un uniform and ugly. But i guess it'll take practice. I bought some scrap veg belly to practice tooling on.

But I plan on starting my next holster and belt with a tri-basket weave. We'll see how that turns out. Stamping isn't too hard doesn't seem like, but that tooling is a whole different story.

[stu925]

It looks like you got a good deep impression on your stamping but you can see a few places where you got out of alignment, especially right below the concho and snap. What did you use to make the holes for your stitching? They almost look way too big for the size thread that you used. And while I'm no expert on holsters only having made a few myself, but the trigger should drop down in farther to prevent it from getting hooked on something and accidentally causing a discharge. Maybe rohn will chime in now that pics have been loaded

The only way that revolver could discharge is if the hammer were cocked when it was put in the holster. That would not be a safe way to carry any revolver and most everyone that deals with firearms should know that. Even on a double action a discharge would be highly unlikely as the weight of pull would be so heavy as to make it nearly impossible for it to happen without knowing something was hung up. I would not have an exposed trigger with a single action semi-auto however because most people carry them in condition 1 (round in the chamber, hammer cocked, safety on) thereby making a negligent discharge much more likely in the even the safety were to get bumped off. A lot of early revolver holsters were exposed trigger holsters making it faster to draw and fire.

Stu