zaptoid

Old thread, but for what its worth here are a couple pics of my edges. I do a pre-dye burnish with water, followed by a final Burnish using Gum Tragacanth.

Thanks Jim. Very well put together. You have put some time into this tutorial. I do mostly concealment type holsters and have always wanted to do a cowboy style holster for my Ruger, and this tutorial will help me a bunch. Barry.

Congrats on taking the plunge. You will most likely learn the what and what not to do's on this first holster, thats how it was for me anyways. I haven't ended up with any coasters yet, but, my dog has aquired a couple toys here and there. It will come with each one you do. Good luck.

Happy Holidays all. Heres a pic of my first Holster shipped with my makers stamp. Sorry, pics a bit blurry time for a new camera.

Nicely done. Stitching look good to me as well as the dye job very classy looking.

Wonderful. I always look forward to your posts and this is no exception. Thanks for sharing. I am presently stuck in the conceal type holster box but soon hope to break out with a more traditional western/field type holster and this is inspiring me to do just that.

Looks great. I also like the mahogony dye. I always seem to graviate back to it for some reason. It just has a nice rich look to it.

I started a trucking business out of high school. Got a two year electrical degree at 28 and started my electrical Apprenticeship and now at 44 Im back to school going for a degree in autocad but If I had my choice I would be making holsters. getting to old to be changing careers every decade or so. If you can do what you love that would ideal. Good luck!!!

Thanks Twinoaks. I agree with you on the edges possibly being an issue. I think on the next one maybe going with a more pronounced bevel on the edge with out losing the shape of the mouth support.

Thanks Lobo.

Hi all. Its been a while since I posted anything so I thought Id share my latest. This is the third one of a new design I did using a french curve for the shape. This one will also be my first one sold which happened to be at the local gun range last week. Crits welcome and appreciated.

I like the textured look myself but thats just me.

I let it dry out natual like.

I am using tandy for starting out. Im not looking for soft. I am however looking for a little more flexibility.

I am trying to achieve a soft plyable holster but still rigid enough to keep the shape of my gun. I tried neatsfoot oil after dying and after two coats my holster is still pretty rigid. I read here on the forum to not over do it but two coats didnt seem to make a diference. My question then would be would is it because of the dye im using which is a water base dye or do I just need to give it more time to soften up? I put the coats on heavy a couple of days ago. Any help would be great.

Just a note for the folks finding their way around this craft like myself. I have found that the neatsfoot oil in pure form is the way to go. I just tried the neatsfoot oil in compound form and I cant even tell its been applied.

HI ALL. WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST APPROACH FOR WET MOLDING THE FRONT OF A HOLSTER AND LEAVING THE BACK FLAT? I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT CUTTING A BLANK OUT OF SOMETHING THIN AND RIGID TO THE SHAPE OF MY POCKET AND THEN INSERTING IT IN THE HOLSTER PRIOR TO INSERTING THE GUN BUT IM NOT SURE IF THAT WOULD WORK. THANKS IN ADVANCE.

I am going to use a dremel for burnishing but I did this with number 2 pencil edge just to see the result. Came out better than my last attempt. Something to be said for getting the edge nice and square first.

Super idea. I imagine you could pick one of them up second hand for a good price?!?!

Hey Tac. Thanks for your input. Also nice to see another happy XDm customer mine is a .40 as well what a blast to shoot. Im actually gonna give that a go as far as drilling my holes and burninshing via drill press. Actually I will be using my dremel on low speed with the drill press attachment so we shall see how she goes. Eventually I will move up to a real drill press.

The thread color looks fine to me. Does seem a bit shiny more so with the flash I would guess. Looking good to me.

Thanks. It came out well but there are some mistakes here and there that once dyed kinda blend in. Its like the little dent on your truck that no one will see but you know its there and it drives you nuts. Im am definately hooked and cant wait to get going on the next one.

Thanks. I used the single diamond punch from tandy. The back looks fine but the sewing line is a bit sketchy. Making sure Im square with world when I punch is tricky. Im grooving the back also so If Im off just a tad when I go to groove some of my holes are off center of the groove.

This is my first go at a holster. I think I learned everything not to do the first time around. My biggest problem is getting the edges squared up and getting my holes square from front to back. The pattern was drawn based on a tut on the web I posted on here. I think I might set up a dremel in a drill press rig for sanding and drilling my holes next time around.

I have the four prong one as well as the single so I think I will give the #7 a go. Also did a quick search and found something on sharpeining an awl. Hope it helps. http://www.bowstock.co.uk/saa.html Thanks.