katsass

From the old grump: They look good - as far as I can see. They appear to be skirt holsters, and if so, I'm wondering what its tying the skirt down. Mike

That sounds a bit like the old story of the guy that 'normally' wore a size 9 shoe, but since a 9 1/2 felt so good he began to wear a size 10. Mike

From the old grump: I like to make mine from saddle skirting of 12/13oz weight - lined with 2/3oz. I have not run into the 1 1/2" problem that Twin oaks describes, although I suspect that there are some folks out there that feel that 'designer' jeans will somehow outdo regular 501 Levi's. I generally use Springfield Leather's stirrup strips, cut to the width I desire, line them so that the buckle end and the bitter end of the belt are left unlined for ease of buckling and wearing. That touch finally dawned on me after wearing out a couple of commercial LEO gunbelts, and seeing how they are constructed. Mike P.S. The commercial LEO gunbelts I have seen and used are not nearly as heavy as 12/13 oz without the lining. . Thinking back, the last LEO rig I wore was a standard (for us out west) 3" belt of 8/9oz leather, lined with about 3 oz. When fully loaded up with holster, a Glock 21, two extra mags, two pair of cuffs, a radio, flashlight, collapsible baton (the ASP) and a folding knife --- we ended up with something over 9# hanging off our A#^%es.

Dave, I build most all of my stuff from two layers of leather - to provide a smooth interior and (as Dwight found out) a much higher rigidity in the finished product. I finish with a 50/50 mix of Mop & Glow and water - two light coats that penetrate, then follow with Kiwi neutral polish and buff. This after a good shot of pure neatsfoot oil. I live in an area of the desert that gets around 7 to 9 inches of moisture on average (rain and snow - such as it is) per year, so we don't worry too much about moisture problems with our leather - just the opposite. We need to keep it conditioned. Mike P.S. When burnishing, I just moisten the edge with a damp sponge and hit it on the burnisher, then wet a finger with water and rub it over a bar of Neutrogena bar soap (glycerine soap) and just rub that into the edge a little - it doesn't take much. Now have a go on the burnisher. It seems to do things so much nicer, and (if you then dye the edge) the dye takes well and also takes any finish, including Mop & Glow. Mike

From the grumpy old guy: The only time that I have used it was when replicating a rig from around the 1860's or so. It was originally put together buy a member of the Apache tribe that ultimately ended up on the White Feather Reservation in AZ. A descendant wanted a copy of it. The original seemed to have been made from an old piece of saddle leather, maybe a saddle bag, roughly cut and stitched up with a whip stitch with true sinew. The thing had dried to the point that it was actually fragile. The big difference we noticed was that true sinew dries like rawhide (basically it is) , hard and inflexible. The synthetic is not. It appeared roughly correct, after rolling it to a round shape, but didn't really give the true look. IMO synthetic sinew is more for an aesthetic appearance, but is not as serviceable as waxed linen. Wish I had a picture of that thing, but that was long ago, and I didn't even think of pics of my work back then. . Mike

From the grump: I use only denatured alcohol. Mike

From the grump: The belt loop is just an extension of the back side of the sheath, with the 2/3oz lining on it ( lining id dyed dark brown and produces the smooth exterior). Folded over and cut in what ever design you want.

Dave, from the grump: I use a home-made wheel for waxing. Made from a 3/8" stove bolt and a strip of denim from an old pair of Levi's. I used contact cement to adhere the cloth to the bolt - just watch the direction that you wind it on. I use a 3/8" variable speed hand drill set horizontally in a vice so that I can see both sides of my work while standing. To me it's easier than working with the tool vertical. I use my burnishing wheel in the same rig - for the same reason. Mike P.S. I also use a touch of glycerine soap (Neutrogena) when doing my initial burnish - for me it work better than any other stuff I have tried.

From the grump: I see your point, and think it may have merrit, but, you might do some rock climbing and deep squating as part of your tests. Let us know how it works out. Mike.

It's 4/5oz, lined with 2/3oz. The snake stands about 3/8" above the shell.Welts are 8/9oz. Here's the back side. Have fun. Mike

From the grump: Fingers, IMO, if you run your overstitch through that un-stitched groove, it improves the line even more --- usually. Mike

From the old grump: Renegade - they look good, and if you decide to do some inlay for the ladies, I found some PINK snake skins without too much digging around. But remember, too much girly stuff and your 'man-card' begins to fade. But on the other hand, an XDM .45 ain't too feminine a shooter IMO. Mike P.S. I've been looking around for a real nice grass-green (scales removed) snake skin to replicate a Green Mamba (many are brilliant green with the black mouth) for a sheath similar to this (done with vinegaroon)

Sorry - I did -- and I don't know how.. Mike

From the old grump: Sometimes to looks better with stitching -- sometimes it doesn't. It's all in the eye of the maker. Mike

From the grump: Well, I use the punch method, but use a set of inexpensive wood chisels from Harbor freight to cut between the punched holes. They go from about 1/4" up to 1 1/2" in width. One whack with a suitable mallet, hammer, large rock or Ma's kitchen mallet on each side works well. Nice clean cut, and perfectly straight. As to your loops I'd move them in a bit -- that skinny chunk of leather on the outside of each loop is all that holds the weight of the gun, and in this case, more is better. That skinny strip will stretch out in a hurry. Mike P.S. Round that stitch line under the trigger guard -- it'll look a pot-load better.

From the old grump: All I can say is that I just don't understand how you break a needle. I use number one sized needles, been using them for years, and have yet to break one --- and I use pliers!. Mike

From the old grump: They look pretty good --- but --- you still need to get your stitch lines closer to the shooter. Mike

From the old grump: I make very few true pancake holsters anymore, however, here is a pic of a little pancake I made some time ago for an old Llama .380 which is a mini-clone of a 1911 auto, so the only difference is size. . The mag release is free and the sight covered, The customer demanded the safety strap. Hope this helps a bit. Mike

From the old grump: Looks like you did a good job, your workmanship is pretty damned good, but two things pop out at me. First, it appears that the mag release is covered - which ain't too good a thing. You can end up with a missing mag, or, as you draw, the mag can decide to hit the floor, dirt, gravel, or roadway, leaving you with one round in the shooter and egg on your face -- if on the range. But if in a personal defence situation, things can get real icky-poo in a hurry if that happens. The other thing is that the rear sight is quite exposed - allowing for dings, bangs or thumps resulting in damage to it, just from walking around. Also, being exposed, it will provide for a lot of torn shirts, and/or jacket linings when worn concealed. The sharp corners sticking out there seem to like to tear stuff up pretty quickly. Overall, not a bad go at things, just a little tweaking of the pattern and you have a winner, JMHO. Mike

From the grump: In the around 50 years of building holsters, I have built one, and only one holster such as you describe. This for a very good friend and avid outdoors man. Even if asked, I don't believe I would make another for anyone that I don't know VERY well --- just don't know just how they are going to end up using it. A pic of that rig. The holster has to be located properly because it has to be attached to the gunbelt in some way (this one is stitched down) or it kind of flops around. Mike

From the grump: I always cut, DYE, glue up, stitch, edge, and finish. After dying, allow to dry thoroughly --- like 12 hours as a minimum. Solvent based dyes will feel dry in short order, but stitching into leather which is not totally dry can easily discolor the thread. In essence, take your time. I believe it was Sylvia that said something similar to "leatherwork ain't an instant gratification thing". A very true statement. Mike

From the old grumpy guy:: Sylvia has it right, except that I use Kiwi Neutral shoe wax. If you use colored shoe wax, it will rub off and dsicolor that which it touches or rubs against. Mike

From the old grump: Well guy, you did damned good for your first, but more importantly you looked, saw, and understand where you need to do things a bit differently. That, IMO, is the most important. Since you have covered every detail that you found to be not quite right, I have no other comment, other than to say that damned few folks starting out do as you have done --- understanding where, and how to make the next one as perfect as one can. Because of that, I consider this better than a good job, to me it's one hell of a fine job overall. Mike

From the old grump: Twin Oaks has it right. When using an inlay, you are not going to be able to bone the front side - just the part that ain't seen. That bumply skin just won't take it. Mike