Holster Making Procedure

[401mikepapa]

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

[Steven Kelley]

I'm far from an expert on this, but here is my procedure. I have dyed before and after assembly and think it's a little easier to dye after, but that's just my opinion.

1. Cut out pattern

2. Mark glue/stitch lines using pattern and an awl

3. If there is going to be a reinforcement piece, sand & burnish it's edges, glue it, then stitch it.

4. Sand and burnish edges that will be 1 layer of leather (or hard to get to after assembly), like the mouth of holster

5. Glue together and allow to dry for about 15 mins

6. Sand edges to make even

7. Cut stitching groove on front

8. Run an overstitch wheel in the groove to mark stitch pattern

9. I use a drill press to drill stitch holes

10. Cut stitch groove on back

11. Stitch

12. Mold - dunk in warm water for about 30 seconds, allow to dry so that the outside of holster appears dry (maybe a couple of minutes), insert gun, mold with fingers, detail bone, remove gun, insert in low temp oven for about 30 mins to stiffen

13. Allow to dry overnight

14. Sand and bevel edges. I use a sanding drum on my drill press, then 220/320 grit sandpaper by hand.

15. Dye - Using Fiebing's pro dye, I like to use a foam brush and put a couple of heavy coats on. It soaks in pretty fast so you get good penetration of the leather.

16. While the edges are still wet, burnish.

17. Allow to dry for several hours

18. Buff dye residue off with an old dish towel or cotton sock

19. Apply Resolene - 50/50 mixture with water, using a damp sponge. I put 2 - 3 coats on and allow to visibly dry between each coat. Then allow to dry overnight.

20. Install any hardware, belt loop snaps, etc, if there are any.

21. Done

I probably left something out.

As far as dyeing and edges go, there are lots of ways to do it, and hopefully other members will give you some ideas there. I "like" dip dyeing, but I also prefer to dye after assembly for most things I make. The problem that creates is I would need about a gallon of dye to be able to dip a finished holster into, and I can't justify buying that much dye right now, so I brush it on heavily. It seems to work well, but takes longer.

I will also be changing my edge finishing technique soon, as per the other thread about using wax and a felt wheel. I have the wax, and am waiting for the felt wheels to arrive. You just need to find the method that works best for you and the tools you have to work with. After making a few, you'll understand the basic process and will be able to adjust the actual steps to suit your needs, as there are many ways to get from a piece of leather to a finished holster.

[401mikepapa]

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?

I'm far from an expert on this, but here is my procedure. I have dyed before and after assembly and think it's a little easier to dye after, but that's just my opinion.

1. Cut out pattern

2. Mark glue/stitch lines using pattern and an awl

3. If there is going to be a reinforcement piece, sand & burnish it's edges, glue it, then stitch it.

4. Sand and burnish edges that will be 1 layer of leather (or hard to get to after assembly), like the mouth of holster

5. Glue together and allow to dry for about 15 mins

6. Sand edges to make even

7. Cut stitching groove on front

8. Run an overstitch wheel in the groove to mark stitch pattern

9. I use a drill press to drill stitch holes

10. Cut stitch groove on back

11. Stitch

12. Mold - dunk in warm water for about 30 seconds, allow to dry so that the outside of holster appears dry (maybe a couple of minutes), insert gun, mold with fingers, detail bone, remove gun, insert in low temp oven for about 30 mins to stiffen

13. Allow to dry overnight

14. Sand and bevel edges. I use a sanding drum on my drill press, then 220/320 grit sandpaper by hand.

15. Dye - Using Fiebing's pro dye, I like to use a foam brush and put a couple of heavy coats on. It soaks in pretty fast so you get good penetration of the leather.

16. While the edges are still wet, burnish.

17. Allow to dry for several hours

18. Buff dye residue off with an old dish towel or cotton sock

19. Apply Resolene - 50/50 mixture with water, using a damp sponge. I put 2 - 3 coats on and allow to visibly dry between each coat. Then allow to dry overnight.

20. Install any hardware, belt loop snaps, etc, if there are any.

21. Done

I probably left something out.

As far as dyeing and edges go, there are lots of ways to do it, and hopefully other members will give you some ideas there. I "like" dip dyeing, but I also prefer to dye after assembly for most things I make. The problem that creates is I would need about a gallon of dye to be able to dip a finished holster into, and I can't justify buying that much dye right now, so I brush it on heavily. It seems to work well, but takes longer.

I will also be changing my edge finishing technique soon, as per the other thread about using wax and a felt wheel. I have the wax, and am waiting for the felt wheels to arrive. You just need to find the method that works best for you and the tools you have to work with. After making a few, you'll understand the basic process and will be able to adjust the actual steps to suit your needs, as there are many ways to get from a piece of leather to a finished holster.

[Steven Kelley]

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?

I preheat the oven to 150, as that's the lowest temp setting it will take. When I put the holster in, I turn the oven off. My limited experience says that putting it in the oven will make it stiffer. I read a good scientific description somewhere about how the heat causes the tannins to move or disperse in some way causing it to stiffen. I don't remember much about the scientific jargon but I do know it seems to work. Since I live in the desert, once it heats up outside I'll most likely just put the holster on my back patio in the shade for a few minutes, since it will be 120 degrees and 5 % humidity, but summer hasn't really started here yet. Hopefully someone else will chime in on the oven thing as well. I think most people seem to like the 120 - 130 range for about 30 mins. That will most likely be the exact temperature in my back yard by next month.

[Denster]

Heat drying to increase rigidity has nothing to do with the tannins in the leather. What happens when you heat a damp piece of leather to over 120 degrees is that collagens are released from the leather. Think liquid hide glue here. The fibers of the leather are glued into place. Best temp is between 120 and 130 degrees for at least 30 minutes although longer doesn't hurt. Above 150 and you will damage the leather. I use a cheap convection oven from Wal-Mart with a cooking thermometer inside because you can't trust the dial. You can build a simple drying cabinent out of insulated board and a rheostat controlled 75watt bulb for a heat source and just stick a cooking thermometer through the wall.

[Steven Kelley]

Heat drying to increase rigidity has nothing to do with the tannins in the leather.

Thanks for clearing that up Denster. I was never very good at remember names of people or anything else for that matter.

[Denster]

Thanks for clearing that up Denster. I was never very good at remember names of people or anything else for that matter.

Boy do I resemble that remark Steve. Somtimes I think I need to write my name on thre back of my hand so I don't forget it.

[Big O]

I dye before stitching or molding, and use a hair dryer. 3 feet from a cardboard box for drying.

[billymac814]

My process is similar to the other ones with slight variations in the order, I've tried dying after and before and I find when I dye before things seem to go a little smoother, plus when doing browns with white thread it has to be done that way anyway and I do usually do batches of about 10 so it's more efficient if I do everything the same and I usually dye them in advance then work on the previous batch while they are drying.

1. Trace pattern onto leather then cut out the pieces

2. Dip dye, let dry

3. Mark glue line

4. Bevel and burnish the mouth and parts that will be glued to the holster.

5. Glue on any reinforcements or attachment points that need done and stitch them on.

5. Glue, wait, stick together

6. Sand the edge with a belt sander, there's usually not tight spaces but if so I use a drum in a mounted drill press.

7. Mark the stitch line

8. Stitch together, I use a Boss

9. Bevel and burnish the edge

10. I spray my holsters down with my casing solution which is the lexol, water, baby shampoo and listerine. I found I got less dye transfering onto the white thread doing this over dipping and I have a little more control, I can't justify why I use my casing solution other than it what was in the spray bottle the first time and I had good results so I continued to do it, that was when I used spirit dyes though and dye transfer happened more, I just haven't went back to water.

11. Stick it in the press, then to the final molding and makers mark, or do it all by hand, I just started using the press and it was the second best money I've spent.

12. Let dry, I've used an oven before but I just hang them in front of a space heater in a very small room, I'm getting ready to get a larger work area and I'll make something better as soon as I have room.

13. Oil with neatsfoot, let sit 24 hours

14. Apply final finish, I have a few I use depending on which holster I'm making, Bagkote gives me the best feel and look, I use Resolene on occasion but I don't like it that much. I also touch up the edges prior to this if need be.

15. Attach any clips or hardware.

16. Bag it and ship it out.

This is usually all done spaced out over the week.

[401mikepapa]

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