JoelR

Thanks. Wish I could take credit for the design but it was inspired by a holster I saw made by one of the big makers. Don't remember who it was at the moment. I'm too new in this game to be very innovative...

Now there's a man with ideas. Just saved me $30+...

Guy I don't know and have never met let me borrow a handgun from him through a mutual acquaintance. To repay the favor, I made him a holster. Cell phone pics don't do it justice...

Got mine from http://www.phillipsengraving.com/. Mine was only $28 including shipping. Maybe the low price was since I didn't stray too much from the stock design. Stamp material is aluminum.

A quick pic for reference. Still needs a sealant and I am trying to incorporate a hold-open strap to the back end: the reason the rear sight area looks unfinished and all the extra leather above the cylinder.

As a follow-up: I took a cotton buffing wheel to the holster and am OK with the results. Turned from a dull muddy brown to a nice mellow brown with some good character highlights. Although some sections are darker than others but I can live with it for a personal holster.

Finally got a chance to make a holster for myself for a newer firearm that was lacking. In the past I have dyed the leather before stitching and molding with USMC black. This has caused problems with the molding as the dye acts as a water barrier so the surface of the leather will not saturate and I get some major wrinkles. I decided to make this next holster Saddle Tan and did a quick test to ensure I could dye before assembly and all looked good so I continued on. Before forming, I wet a small are for my makers mark and that's where the problem started. The leather in the wet area stayed dark even after drying. I've tried wetting the entire project hoping that would even things out, but it did not. The are that was prevously wet now is slightly resistent to water. I've since molded the holster and deglazed (tried both alcohol and acetone) and re-dyed. I eventually got an even color, but MUCH darker then I wanted. The water I used was straight from the tap and we have a softener so I'm wondering if the salts in the water somehow reacted with the oil-based dye. Anyone have any insights. Just glad I found this now and not when I go to apply the same dye to a customers holster.

I've had a simalar experience. I asked the Tandy rep what I could do to better match the samples they have displayed and was told to try misting the leather with distilled water and spraying the dye on with an airbrush. I have not tried this so I don't know how well it will work but the rep states that this is what her husband does with leathers that suck up the dyes really fast.

Great info all around. Thank you everyone. I guess I was looking at the press to assist me and clean up my work to the same extent that the stitching pony did. I have been using all forms of instruments to try with boning. Spoons have worked faily well for me. I have not tried using my bone folder, but will give it a go tonight. Guess this is just something I will have to continue to work on. I'll scale back the detail I have been trying to add and focus on a more minimalistic approach until I feel adequately compentent at this and then advance from there.

Alway a wealth of knowledge and willing to help Lobo. Much appreciated. As part of the boning process, do you also compress the flat surfaces? Many of the boned surfaces I see shown off almost appear as if they were pressed (via a machine and formed plates) that way.

As a side note, I do not currently have a press and am working on getting the finances together to obtain one. I'm sure this is not a silver bullet and am interested in how much this might actually help with seeing the details to be enhanced with the boning.

Well, I've been slowly working on my skills now for about 6 months. I've built my skill level, with all the great help of the forum members, to the point that I am happy with my stitchiing, more confident in my designs, and accepting of my burnishing skills. The last area I am really struggling to be happy with is my boning. Some holsters have turned out really well. Others leave a lot to be tesired. My lines are not crisp and the overall result can look like trying to draw the boning lines with a dull crayon (week-hand-only). I understand that this can be an artform in-and-of-itself. So, anyone out there willing to share their approach to this peocess? Do you create a template to follow or is it a matter of patience and practice, knowing just where to add the line and how much working to do so that you are not overworking the leather?

I've had some inqiries from guys I shoot with about horse hide belts. I see in the bargain roundup that Springfield has the three for $20 deal going and has them listed as between 4' and 5' long. Sounds like a good canidate to me for some belt stips... Anyone get any of these that can attest to whether they will fit this purpose? Are they clean enough?

As a follow-up (as I know that the vinegroon thing is re-visted every-so-often), I have two holsters that were colored using vinegroon. One remains black, the other is more of an antique brown - Can't think of any other way to describe it. I'll have to look at my notes as to what the differences were between the finishing of the two and see if I can get a picture of the two of them side-by-side for others to see. I rather like the brown-ish black of the 1911 holster - Hate the leather though (my first skin and it was a 5/6oz, thin, stretchy belly from Tandy)... I know that both used the same hide and the blacker of the two was the one died first. BTW: Never did get to that gunbelt I had mentioned, but did get to make one for a 4-year-old. Watch out who you show your work to - you may become the building contractor who's own home is falling down around him...

Figured someone would like it... Lobo, Took your advice. Karen at my local Tandy was supposed to be picking through their latest shipment of $1.99/ft double shoulders that she said were 'beautiful' in the first batch but the second were a lot of junk, hasn't gotten back to me in a week so I called up Springfield and asked for half a side of Herman Oak #1 in 8/9oz. We'll see if I can notice the difference. Figure I now have 4 holsters on order (not sure how this is happening really - maybe I'm too judgemental of my work - they seem to be selling themselves) and figure I deserve to give these guys who are putting trust in my craftsmanship to cradle their prized possessions the best leather I can give them.

Yeah, I know the thickness is overkill, but 6/7 is all I have lying around. This is essentially a charity piece - I'm simply charging them for my materials (Merry Christmas) - so I wasn't going to spend the money on a new skin or blanks. I'll pick up an oblong punch today then and have-at-it. Thanks all for the help.

Guy I shoot with asked me to make a belt for his 4-year-old son. I have never made one so said I would provided he understood that he was my guinea-pig. Belt is 1" wide and two 6/7 oz layers thick (1/4" measured) So, I have the belt stitched, burnished, and the buckle holes cut (and a sore butt sitting on the hard seat of my new stitching pony). My two questions are: 1) How far apart is reasonable for the adjustment holes? 2) With the belt being so thick, I assume I should punch oblong holes???

Thanks for the reply Lobo. The bends are listed as 7/8oz, 8/9 oz, 9/10 oz so I assume you get your choice. I understand what you are saying and I appreciate it from a craftsman's perspective, but honestly, I cannot justify to myself spending $5+ a square foot for leather at this point. Once my skills start to outshine the cheaper leather I am working with, then I will consider it, until then buying expensive leather for my projects would be like gold-plating a Hi-Point. I'll be picking up a skin-or-two of tandy's $1.99 double shoulder special today to keep the projects and practice flowing.

For those that get the Seigel notices (or don't), they have been advertising a black single-bend now for a few weeks for $67 - lot 111109-01. I just got an update that they dropped the price to $59 which puts it into my hobby price range. Anyone know if this is usable for holster making? Maybe belts?

I have been waxing the edges after I finish staining and sealing. I'll try the 'more friction' approach tonight and see if that darkens up the edges a bit. They just appear MUCH lighter than the other great edges you guys post pictures of - the edge in the final picture lightened up considerably once the leather completly dried. I have some nylon spacers ready to be cut for burnishing so I'll give them a try. Also thought that maybe the heavy canvas that I am using (a section of drop-cloth canvas) may not be heavy enough to create the friction needed. I have some tent canvas lying around that I'll give a try. Just can't get too much friction with the canvas I am using once the edge starts to smooth out. Thanks everyone for your help.

Oops! A little too quick on the submit button...

As promissed (maybe), here are some pics with of a scrap proof-of-concept I was working with. I have found it MUCH easier to burnish thicker pieces and that may tie into the 'too much pressure' issue I am probably having. in order: rough cut; dremmel sanded; edges trimmed; 240 grit sanded; 400 grit sanded; 400 grit wet-sanded; burnished.

Thanks all. I have been using some contact cement I bought at Home Depot. Sorry, forget the name at the moment (Weld-Wood?). I may have been putting it on a little thick in my initial holsters. With a thin layer, it soaks in a bit and dries slightly darker than the original leather. Maybe I wasn't getting a good even edge with my layers which was causing a depression that the glue was just burnishing into. Once dry, I clamp the two sides in a padded vice for good adhesion. Dickf: I think my process is overkill too but I can't seem to keep from having little strands either sticking up or getting a 'scaley' feal when I rub my finger down the edge opposite the direction i burnished. Maybe I'm just not getting the whole thing... I tried the tara-what's-it (that's it's technical name, right?) but hated that it would paste-up if the edge got wet so I quickly stopped using it. I've tried hard-wood wheels and home-made nylon burnishing wheels on a drill-press but I'm a little heavy-handed and ended up curling the edges which I tried pressing back flat which resulted in a broken look to the finished edge. Seems I spend as much time sanding and burnishing as I do stitching... Maybe I'm just being too heavy handed with my dremmel sanding prep and causing the fibers to fray and leading to all my issues? Maybe I just need to find someone local to sit down with and watch me an slap my fingers when I do something I'm not supposed to. I didn't get a chance to take pictures last night. I'll try again tonight - maybe a series of pictures of each step so someone can say "Ah HA!" and instantly see where my problems are arising from. Lot's of maybes...

I've read many a post where it is recommended not to go all the way out to the edge with the glue and I think I have seen why in some of my work - a line of visible glue. With my latest build, I left the glue short of the edge by about 1/8" to 1/4" to prevent this glue line, but now I am getting separation once the leather fully dries. To add to this, this was also my first lined holster so the thin lining wants to pull away where it is not sandwiched. It's not terrible and I'm not TOO concerned as this is a holster for myself, but am always looking to improve and would not want to make one for someone else with these short-comings. My steps for burnishing the edges: 1) even the edges with a knife. 2) even and smooth the edges with a dremmel wheel (120 grit) 3) bevel the edges 4) smooth with 220 grit 5) smooth with 400 grit 6) moisten the edges with water 7) smooth with 400 grit 8) remoisten the edges 9) burnish with heavy canvas by hand I tried taking some pictures, but the problems are not viewable with my camera phone so hopefully I've explained myself thoroughly. I'll see if I can add some good pictures tonight. In the meantime, for those who may have struggled with this in the past, any advice?

Very nice. I'm thinking of doing something similar for a stingray inlay on a pistol holster. What did you use to raise the inlay?