DoubleKCustomLeathercraft

This is designed to fit two firearms. The ruger super blackhawk 44 mag and freedom arms 83 in 454 casull. The customer has both handguns with scopes. The super blackhawk has the largest of the two scopes. I made it to hold my SBH without a scope so the holster will work with both models he has. It took me awhile to decide where to go at this build. I looked into the archives here and found one that a gentleman made in 2021. Little longer barrel. I was torn between trying to make a flatback pancake style chest holster, or this style where it wraps around the entire firearm and score in one piece. I really like the way that other one turned out (sorry I can't recall the name of who posted it) but it was so much more leather used and my customer wanted it to be more of a cross draw rather than on the chest since he carries his binos in a chest pack. I don't have a handgun scope at my disposal but that's a fairly easy prop to rig up. I wrapped a piece of broom handle in some leather to get the right diameter of the objective bell and length of the scope. Then I taped a piece of folded up cardboard to my SBH as a "mount" followed by taping the broom handle to my gun also. I'm pretty happy with this, and how well everything came together. I did go to hobby lobby and buy some of their "cosplay" foam rubber in the thickness of my leather with lining. Made three different holster designs before I cut any leather. It's a big chunk of to take a risk of making a bad design. In the end, that $8 roll of foam was well worth the investment. The first design would've been a catastrophe. Holster- Hermann oak holster side 9/10 lined with Water Buffalo 3/4 Harness- Hermann oak holster side skived to 5/6 Shoulder strap- Hermann oak holster side skived 5/6 with 3/4 Water Buffalo lining Feibings Mahogany pro dye with dark brown antique finish. Copper rivets and burrs for added strength pinged over by hand Miniature cobra style quick release buckle Always, with everything I make- hand stitched with ritza tiger thread

Dwight, Maybe it's only happening when he moves a certain way. It's not that I didn't put a hole where it's necessary. The very edge of the sweat shield is hitting it. My pattern is off by like a 1/16 of an inch. But then there's also the corner that is pinching his left side a little. I should've put a larger radius on it. I should mention that right now he doesn't actually have his light yet, and I made a leather block to fill the void knowing that he's getting the light soon. I've done this a few times very successfully. Now that I think of it. I should ask him if he's tried the holster with a light attached. Since he works behind the gun counter it wouldn't be too big if an issue. 🤔 I'll have to mention that to him Monday. I appreciate everyone's feedback and insight. I know I still have a lot to learn

I wish I could buy one of every gun, but that gets too be expensive, not always available and I have a really small shop. 100sq ft floor with benches, a desk and cabinets. Not a lot of space available to hold on my prop guns. I started out with that idea, buy one of every gun in commissioned to build for, but that bit me hard. And I would love to pass the buck and charge the customer for the prop but then that's another $50-$60 on top of what they're already paying. I have quite a few prop guns that I've only used the one time. Ruger 5.7 comes to mind, and I have a couple that's never been used. Coming from CA to Montana changes what's popular or not. I have several for more popular models. I will eventually buy one for the p365 macro since it's becoming a more popular weapon in my area. For the time being tough, the wooden one I made is exact size, width, length, even down to the trigger guard and the angles on the slide and frame. I was a woodworker before I was a leathersmith. That really helps me save a lot of money so I can keep my prices more affordable

He sent me the picture this morning just after I responded. It's kind of what I thought. The sweat guard on the backside is just wide enough to catch the mag release button. You can see it in the picture. (I can't get the right picture to upload) It's really a simple adjustment on my pattern, and the problem is fixed. I'll also make both top corners where the clips are a larger radius so he's not feeling the pinch from such a sharp corner. I based my pattern off of the pancake style holsters. What I didn't take into consideration is the fact that the OWB pancake holsters are...outside the waist band. They're flexing in a completely different manner. If this holster was made to be a pancake style it most likely wouldn't be hitting the button since it would sit a little flatter, and tighter to the belt. Hope this helps. Show us some pics if/when you get one made.

I've asked him to send me a pic of the gun itself in the holster so I can see exactly what's going on. I didn't have any cell service yesterday since I went fishing. Hopefully he sends me one. Then I can get a better idea of what is causing the mag button to be pushed. My wooden mold gun i made for the project fits right and the mag release shouldn't be getting touched. When I find out more, I'll post it.

This is my first IWB appendix carry holster. Sig P365 X Macro with a foxtrot 2R light. In the three years of don't business here in Montana, this is only the second IWB holster I've been commissioned to make. The first one was a beautiful single clip for a fullsize browning high power to carry in the 4 o'clock position. This one came out looking great, but.... IT'S A FAILURE. Yes I'm posting my fail in showoff to make a point. The gun, and light combo fits great. The holster is comfortable except for the left side (right side in picture). Apparently I make the corner a bit too sharp. That's not where the real failure is though. Today I got a dreaded text. The magazine button gets pushed and his magazine popped out in front of customers. He works behind the gun counter at a big retailer. There's two things wrong here. First, that's definitely something you don't want to happen in front of someone, especially in a retail setting. It not only tells everyone "Hey, I'm carrying a concealed weapon!" but it also looks bad on the company that employs him and the maker of the holster (me) Secondly, and this is the most important part of being a holster maker, failure such as this cannot be tolerated. That could end up extremely bad in a situation where he may actually have to protect himself. The mag could be in the gun, but not in battery and if he had to defend himself, it could be a death sentence. As a holster maker I have to take into consideration that this holster may have to save a life, it must function 100% correctly. It's a crushing feeling, but a good lesson. I'm glad it's only been a day and he figured it out before he actually needed his firearm. I will be making adjustments to the pattern and of course making him a new holster. Its unfortunate that this does happen occasionally. Especially when is outside my specialty. I'm not experienced in IWB holster design. 65% of my business is shoulder and chest holsters, with 20% pancake style holsters and the last 15% misc holsters, knife sheaths and other projects. I'm sharing my failure for others to understand. We're not perfect all the time and we have to fail to learn. I have about 4 or 5 holsters that were just not the right fit, either too tight for the weapon, or the wrong balance. This though, is my first actual failed design. I've already discussed with him where the flaws are. I'll make it work right, and I won't be charging anything extra. This is 100% on me and not the customer's crazy ideas.

I don't know the actual weight. It's close to 12oz thickness. Leather isn't all that heavy. I don't think any dog would notice the difference between a thicker leather collar over a thin nylon one. Unless you have one of those reincarnated devil dogs (chihuahua) 😆

Thanks. Ya the buckle is something else haha. It's my aunt's dog. She likes to dress her dogs up so it kinda works. 😁

Well technically it's not my first, it's my second. But I haven't made one in years. I decided to to a smaller piece for the dogs name, mainly because this was the first time I used letter stamps. It worked out great since I stamped that name 3 times, using a solid jig I set up before I realized the I stamp was not lined up with the rest. I had to file a small amount off the stamp so it would line up when I bumped it against the jig. Then I messed up two more times 🤦 I don't typically paint leather either. It really helps the name pop though. Hermann oak 9/10, 16"-19", 1¼" tapered to ¾" strap. Hermann oak 4/5 (probably) out of my scrap bin on the name tag. Some fancy looking buckle that's been in my shop since I built it years ago. Edit: Forgot to mention. I also lined it with water Buffalo from weaver. I blurred out the number.

That's sweet.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I see I'm not alone in this. I think I'm gonna have to give it a try. I might try with did cheap dollar store readers first. But I've been looking at the headband type with a light also, since I use a headlamp a lot. I have plenty of light in my shop, but I find having a headlamp really eliminates the shadows. Thanks again everyone.

Although I don't think I'm losing eyesight I'm curious if some kind of jewelers glasses or readers might improve some of my tooling. I do occasionally... miss the mark. Is there anyone here that's used jewelers/dental style loupe glasses? Or does anyone have any suggestions? Just picking brains right now, but I've been considering giving something a try.

I'm glad you didn't get offended. I think people are afraid to give out advise these days because people get their feelings hurt. I'm impatient myself, but I'm forcing myself to be more patient with the processes, which has benefited me. But it's hard to wait for the finished product to appear. Keep practicing and you'll master it all eventually.

It looks to me like you didn't case the leather correctly. By the looks of the beveling impression it was either still a little too damp, or dry. I know a lot of people will only dampen the leather with a sponge or spray bottle, then go to work 15 minds later. From my experience, it works and is satisfying but when you case the leather overnight in a plastic bag, then let it dry for (x) amount of time (back to near original shade) then dampen it again, and let it come back to original, the impression from the tool becomes neater, crisp, deep burnish, smooth (like butter) swivel knife cuts and you'll have more time before the leather gets to the too dry point. Don't always case this way, sometimes I'll only leave it in the bag for a couple hours. It just dries a bit faster A little bit of bevel chatter around the curl. I dunno what the correct term is because I rarely tool floral or scroll work anymore. And on the veiner, give it a bit more tilt so the impression fades a little faster as it goes towards the center. The basket weave looks near perfect, the stitching is just as good. Couldn't ask for a better finish. Things we've all had to go through. I didn't know about this site when I first started, and it would've been nice to get advise. Could've saved some time and leather.

Oh great! Now you got me wanting to get a beaver tail to work with. That bag looks pretty damn awesome!