katsass

Charles, hereis the result of the very first avenger style holster pattern I drew. Go for making your own - just takes a bit of effort. Mike

Charles, I'm afraid that the only books no leather work I have are "Packing Iron" and "How to Make Holsters" I have no patterns or pattern packs -- I bought Stohlman's book way back in the early '60s, subsequently I was taught how to stitch, (properly, according to the old WWI cavalry soldier that taught me)and how to draw my own patterns. I still draw a separate pattern for each client and/or each firearm he wants a holster for, even if they are the same model. Sometimes I do kick myself, but I just toss them after I complete a rig. I just do not want to rig up an alphabetical file and mess with it for all the patterns that there would/could have been over the years. Mike

Charles, something has continually bugged me about your holster design, and I think I finally figured it out. (being old I guess - things seem to take a while to ease into my consciousness) After I took a good long look at your rig, I think that you have tried to modify a revolver holster pattern into a holster for an auto pistol. I may be wrong, but I don't think so. Also, you are using an old Stohlman carving pattern that is adaptable to a pot-load of wheelgun holsters, but not so much for an autopistol rig. JMHO. Mike

Charles, as to thread I use only waxed linen thread. I also use #1 sized needles and my stitch holes are no bigger than 3/64". Been using that stuff for 35+ years. You are using the Eco Flo dyes which, if I'm not mistaken, are water based dyes. When you apply a water based acrylic finish such as Super Sheen with a wool dauber, shearling swatch, foam paint brush, or a chunk of an old T-shirt, you are re-moistening the dye(?) and moving it around as you do your best to apply an even coat of finish. I only use a solvent based dye - Fiebing's or Angeles dyes are most likely the best. It appears that you are stuck on Tandy's for the purchase of your supplies. A suggestion, Call or e-mail Springfield Leather and get one of their catalogs. Then you can see what a true leather supplier looks like. Mike

Charles, ditto to what GrampaJoel has already said. To it I'd add that you need to REALLY learn to stitch. You don't just poke a needle in from one side and then the other. As said by camano ridge, your tooling produces a (more or less) 'western' flavor , but in a way that does not set well with a 1911 type shooter and/or the holster design you have chosen. When building a holster, it's my feeling that the style must coincide with the firearm's vintage, and do the job that it's intended for in a pleasing way. Now, I definitely am not trying to put your effort down, nor am I trying to show off, but I'm including this pic of a 'western' style 1911 holster for you to look at in respect to what has been mentioned by those on this forum. Take notice of the edges, the hand stitching, the dye job and the lack of a 'plastic' appearing finish. Finally, a symmetry to the design which fits the gun. Keep at it, but work slowly and pay attention to the basics. Mike

Ray, As a rule, in general, etc. etc. I just don't care for overlay work -- this is an exception, but I'd not expect anything else from you. Mike

Matt, you done good on this rig --- as long as the toe is open (it looks like it is to me) --- BUT If the muzzle is resting on a stitched, closed toe, that ain't too good. I personally dislike a closed toe holster because NOBODY will ever clean out the crud that ends up down there, and stuffing the muzzle of your shooter in it is bad form. The only thing I'd like to see is your stitch line a bit closer to the trigger guard and front of the frame. But, I had to look hard to find such a small thing to grumble about. Keep at it. Mike

Kitch, From the grump, I like it, however I think that the top corner(?) will fray at that point. A general rule of thumb is to keep away from sharp corners when working with this type of leather. BUT, it's there and there ain't a damned thing to do about it. It is nice work overall. Mike .

Longtooth, that isn't all that bad. The biggest mistake for folks starting out is trying to moving too quickly. Waaay back, once in a while I'd get a bit carried away while working out problems with an exciting new idea or project,.and take a sip of my favorite Bourbon County nectar -- it just seemed to help me think (ha). A little later, It would seem proper to have a drop or two of the Maker's Mark, do a bit more, try another drop or two, and so one for not too much longer. More than once I have awakened just to fearfully head to the shop to see just what the hell I'd done. I quit that long ago. Mike

Charl, yes they are collector knives. Don't know the exact price of each, but if you Google 'Herman Schneider knives' you can see some of his other work and the prices -- which I (in no way) could afford. Mike

From the old grumpy guy; I( usually cut out the area to be inlaid from the outer piece of the project. It may be large enough to form a frame, or just enough for the back side of the inlay to rest on the backing, and leave the inlay standing proud by a small amount. I then apply a piece of 1/64" plywood on the back side of the cutout and then apply the lining of the project. When all else is done. I apply the inlay with some good epoxy cement. Some pics

From the old grump: I do (and have done for years) just as George B indicates. One suggestion though, since most patterns can be used for either a left or right hander, mark which side is up for a lefty. I have a good friend that is left handed, (as am I) and over the years he has received two 'freebies' for handguns I don't have. It's easier than you may think to move right along, fat, dumb, and happy only to realize too damned late that that real nice left handed holster is supposed to be right handed, and vice - versa. Mike

Boriqua, You holster looks a hell of a lot better with the belt slot cut in. I always make my belts (and ultimately slots) a minimum of 1 1/2", and the following is just one of the reasons why, that when carrying a sidearm, (especially the weight of the 1911 Colt) wider is better. Waaaay back when, I worked with a Detective level officer in the Dept. I was in at the time. He (in his own mind) was a total cloths horse and was a slave to all of the most current fads in the clothing field. We were both in 'plain clothes'. At that time (back then) narrow,(VERY narrow) belts of 5/8"and narrower were the fad. He carried one of the early S&W .357 pistols with a 4" bbl. in a belt holster. After a few months of carrying that shooter on the skinny belt, he began to have gastric problems which got worse and worse over time. Finally he became ill enough to make a run to the local emergency room where they discovered that when wearing that heavy shooter, the belt has a tendency to climb up over his hip bone and rest against the softer area above. This ultimately caused irritation on his innards which finally turned into peritonitis. He was sicker than hell and off duty for a couple of months as the result. A wider, firmer belt would have precluded this, and would have been more comfortable. A double layer 1 1/2" is the minimum width I will make or use myself. Wider is better (in many areas) and firmer is better as far as belt go. Of course these are my feelings - others may vary, but I try to rely on prior experience - be it mine or other's. Mike

Boriqua: Now, I'm not trying to chew you up or beat you down, but here are a couple of things I'd think you need to look at prior to building another holster. First off, since I (basically) quit tooling leather many years ago, I do not offer any sort of comments along those lines. My statements go to design and construction of your piece. I'm not going to get overly technical nor am I going to nit pick, I'll give you some of the BIG things that jump out at me. First, you have a 'wing' or something out there on the side of your holster, as if this were an avenger style rig. BUT there ain't no belt loop cut in. As it is, it serves no useful purpose at all and is just flying along out there all alone. Of course you used it to add more tooling, but without a useful purpose, it leaves one scratching their a--- uh, head wondering what the hell it's there for. The next thing is your method of hanging the rig on a belt. I sincerely hope, pray, and trust that you friend WILL NOT try to hang ANY firearm from this rig -- IT AIN'T SECURE!!. There are many ways of attaching a belt loop - I personally believe that your choice is one of the poorest, and remember, in any applied belt loop, wider is ALWAYS better, Yours WILL stretch,; the stitching will (in time) give up if worn or used as anything else but to stick the shooter into and set it on a table. . You comment on your edge finishing, such as it is. All it would take is a bit more sanding, a finger moistened with water and rubbed on/in some glycerin soap or saddle soap, then on the edge of your piece. Then, with a piece of canvas or denim -- rub the hell out of the damp leather edge. All it takes is a little elbow grease,and some - no special tools. (I personally use Nuetragena (sp?) bar soap on my edges). The result would perk things up a bunch for you. I don't hold myself out to be an expert, I firmly believe that many a self proclaimed 'expert' is just that, an EX - a has-been, and a SPURT - a drip under pressure. I am including a couple of pics of one of my avenger style rigs so that you can see one way of affixing a belt loop on the back of your rig that IS SECURE-- and --- just what the hell that 'wing out there is for. Now please don't think that I make fun of your efforts in any way, we all have quite a few projects. each of which turned into one hell of a fine bad example. Keep at it, you are showing better stuff than most of us did early on. Of course you can take from my comments what you will, after all, you didn't pay anything for them. Mike [/b]

Well, that's the type I use also, BUT, not knowing how long that stuff has been sitting in the can at the warehouse. or been bounced all over hell and half of Texas being delivered to the store, I turn the can upside-down on my bench as soon as I get it home .I leave It that way for at least 12 hours (overnight) before opening. That's to allow any semi-solids to remix. After that I've never had a problem. Mike

FWIW, I've used Weldwood contact cement for at least 35 years and have never experienced the situation you describe. If I were to guess, I'd say that you may have gotten hold of some of their 'environmentally friendly' concoction which I tried once and tossed. Mike

Well Charles, as I said before, the first thing about making a holster (for auto pistol or wheelgun) is to stitch that puppy up so that it takes some effort to insert it into the damp holster when molding. One thing to remember is that the stiffness, rigidity, firmness, or whatever the hell you want to call it, is created in the top layer of the grain (smooth) side of the poor dead cow's skin. The stuff forms up when warm water is used to moisten the rig for molding, followed by SOME heat (NEVER more than about 140 degrees) to dry it back out. I usually use old Ma Nature's smile -- unless it happens to be in the dead of winter. Now, I make my holsters from two layers of leather which provided for twice the firming up action, and it also lines the rig with smooth leather. Firmness is critical in the retention of your shooter, but NO, I do not form the holster tightly enough to view the entire outline of the shooter as many do, but in my holsters, almost all places that the leather touches the firearm provides friction and the shooter stays where it needs to be. Here's a pic of one of my avenger style rigs. Mike

From the grumpy old fa --- guy, tcs77: First off -- everyone that has responded did so to assist you -- your attitude is showing - and you have no reason for it to be so. Now, for those that jumped in and asked for a list of the 'absolute bare essentials' for leather work. I wrote this a bit over a year ago - it seemed to assist a few folks back then. Mike I see on this forum, a goodly number of folks deciding that making their own holster as the way to go to save some $$, start a new hobby, get a hand-made useful item for their personal use, or, for whatever the hell reason they have decide to go this route. Always, the first question to come up is “what do I NEED to make a holster?”, and I see a pot-load of individual’s differing ideas of the necessities. Now, I AM a grumpy old fa, uh -- man - - at times, I admit that, but I do have to shake my head at some of the ‘necessities’ I have seen listed, and the cost associated therein. What I am about to describe are the ‘tools’ and method I used in the construction of my very first holster, made in the early 1950s, for a .22 pistol given as a gift for my birthday. Done mostly with what was on hand, readily available to most folk, or easily obtained at small cost. I bought two items, other than leather; needles and thread - - that’s all I had the money for. I do here include a book (which I didn't have at the time) which gives a comprehensive description of the construction of a holster, written by a true expert. That book is ‘How To Make Holsters” by Al Stohlman. At only $12 or so, it IS a necessity IMO. OK, after getting the book, you need PATIENCE. When starting out on a new project we all want to get it finished as quickly as possible so as to hold, observe, cuddle, treasure and show off out new masterpiece. Ignore that desire - - as a very nice lady once said on this very forum, “leatherwork is not for those seeking instant gratification” - - - I say it more pointedly. Slow the hell down, and take your time! You have your book - - have READ it, and now NEED a pattern. You may have decided on one from the book, or you will be able to draw one for yourself from the instructions in the book. You are smart enough to NOT try to come up with a super-dooper inside/outside, cross-draw gizmo to carry your favorite shooter in, knowing that that sort of thing will take more expertise and ability than you possess at this time. A simple, one piece, pouch type holster will provide you with the experience needed to progress to more complex designs down the road, and you know that this type of holster has served the gun toting public very satisfactorily for well over a century. Now you NEED leather. There are all sorts of dead cow skin; latigo, bridle, chrome-tanned, oil tanned, tooling, rawhide, etc. Tooling, (or veg-tanned) leather is what you want, the others are generally tanned with chemicals, the residue of which can damage the finish of you shooter, or, for other reasons have proved unsuitable. How thick or how ‘heavy’ a piece of leather is need? For most handguns, 8/9oz leather is quite satisfactory. Leather is measured by the ‘weight’ of the stuff - - in ounces (oz). Each oz of weight is equal to about 1/64” in thickness, so you want a chunk of dead cow skin, vegetable (veg) tanned, about 8 to 9 64ths of an inch in thickness. You can do the math to convert to decimal designation or the metric system, but it ain‘t necessary. Leather also comes in differing qualities, and from different parts of the poor deceased critter’s hide. For holsters I recommend (as most makers do) shoulder leather. I also recommend that you look around as to suppliers.. There are quite a few dealers that advertise on this website. I personally use Springfield Leather. They’ll sell as little as two square feet of what you want. Many use the Tandy Leather Factory because of the availability of their stores - - (disclaimer here) I refuse to use their leather because IN MY OPINION they sell rather low quality stuff (to put it nicely). You have your pattern and your leather, now you NEED something to use to cut out your pattern - - a damned sharp knife. One that is controllable enough to cut nice smooth curves, so your favorite chef’s knife from the kitchen ain’t going to work. A razor knife works well, a heavy-duty X-Acto knife, or even a box cutter with a new blade will do. Most homes seem to have something along this line that will work. Just make sure it’s SHARP. After your (soon to be) masterpiece is cut out, you’ll want to smooth out those cut edges. Sandpaper will do the trick, so that’s another NEED. About 180 grit initially, will knock down the rough stuff, and a follow up with about 220 grit will smooth and round-over the edges well for burnishing. All you need for burnishing is a little water and a piece of coarse denim or canvas type cloth. A piece of smooth wood, or the smooth edge of a plastic pen will also help. OH, some elbow grease is also needed, but that doesn’t cost you anything. Your first step in construction (after cutting) will be to fold the belt loop over and stitch it down. You should thin the bottom of the loop to blend it in to the back of the holster. It isn’t absolutely necessary, but makes for a more professional appearance. That can be done with your coarse sandpaper, and, again, elbow grease. You’ll NEED something to stick the belt loop down and hold it in place for the next step. I suggest a small bottle of contact cement to do the job, and for another step later on. With the loop stuck in place, you now should stitch it down solidly. First, you’ll NEED something to punch holes with. For nice stitching you’ll want to mark stitching holes evenly, and an easy way to do this is with a table fork. Moisten the back of the belt loop with a damp sponge, and carefully press the tine-points of a table fork around the lower perimeter, about 3/16” in from the edge of the loop and across the loop, leaving about 1 ¾” open for a belt. The holes are marked by indentation in the leather, and can give you about 5spi (stitches per inch) depending on how close the tines of the fork are to each other. The closer the better. Use of the same fork later will give you an even stitch length throughout your project. You can purchase all kinds of punches, chisels, awls etc. to make holes, but we are talking about doing this on the ’frugal’ side, without the purchase of anything other than that which is absolutely necessary. SO, lay that chunk of leather down on a piece of scrap wood, preferably smooth and clean, and drive a small diameter nail, carefully, into the center of each dimple. (I used small finish nails) ’Whoopee! Holes for stitching - - done. For stitching you NEED needles and thread, and it is well worth getting the proper type for the job. Two harness needles (you’ll have to buy a ten-pac most likely) and a small spool of waxed LINEN thread is what you want. All leather supply outfits have them. I suggest size #0 or #1 harness needles. Again I suggest against using that “T” place, as many have experienced broken needles from them, and thread that decides to break at the least opportune time. Stitch away as described in the book you bought. Many will like to have a nice, even dark tan color to their holster, and all that will require is to raid Ma’s kitchen larder for some olive oil and a little time. Dampen a clean rag with the oil and apply a light coat to the smooth (grain) side of the leather - - as evenly as possible. Lay it out in bright sunshine for a couple of days and the leather will tan up nicely and evenly (bring it in at night lest dew form on it). Remember that I initially indicated that patience was a virtue?? This will darken the leather just like a guy getting a suntan - - more time, darker tan. Also, this will allow your project to take on a wonderful darker patina as time goes on, one that cannot be done as well with dye.. If you take your time and work carefully, this holster is going last you many years and the older it gets, the better it will look, so time spent now is well worth the wait. You can, however, bypass this step and go on to the next. At this time you want to make the pouch by folding over the front side and aligning the front and back edges Wet your leather down well under running water in the sink. Lay it down on the counter top with the inside (rough or ‘flesh‘) side up and wander off and ignore the fool thing for twenty minutes or so. This allows the water to uniformly penetrate the leather for ease of manipulation. Now fold the front over and align the edges as well as possible - - they most likely will NOT align perfectly - - and press down well at the fold. If you can find something smooth and with some weight (maybe an old telephone book?) sit it on top of the folded leather and chase mama around the house, brew some beer, milk a cow - - do anything to keep your mind off of it ’till tomorrow, when it’s dry. When fully dry, apply a line of the contact cement along each of the two (roughly) matching edges, allow to dry for a bit and stick them together, Press them down well, put the .phone book on that area for an hour or so to bond well. Sand those edges ’till they become one, even edge. Find your fork again and make an even row of dimples about 3/16” in from the edge of the front, all the way down the side of your rig. I personally leave the toe open on most of my holster because all kinds of stuff ends up down there over the years if it is stitched shut. Well, it kind of looks like a holster now, so lets make it fit your shooter. Wet it down in the sink again and set it aside ‘till it begins to become lighter in color. That may take an hour or so, so do whatever you need to do to stay away from it for that long. I like to place the gun that the holster is made for into a plastic freezer bag before placing it in the damp holster. Stick that shooter in the rig and force it in as far as it will go, and by hand, mold the leather tightly around the gun. Place the rig in a place where warm air can flow over it to dry. After an hour or so, carefully remove the gun and replace the empty holster in an area to dry thoroughly - - like over night. In the morning, if dry (not cool or damp to the touch) apply a light coat of the olive oil from Ma’s pantry, and put the thing away for another 24 hours. (kind of difficult to do isn't it?) Now it’s time to apply a finish, and since we are working in the frugal mode, a hand rubbed coat of neutral shoe wax will work very well for fair-weather use. Rub it in all over, allowing the warmth from you fingers to get the wax into the pores of the leather, then buff the snot out of it with a soft cloth. FINISHED! You should be proud and happy as a witch in a broom factory. Now, you have purchased an inexpensive book, leather, needles and waxed thread. You have made a useful item.You may have had to also buy some contact cement and sandpaper, but costs are at a minimum, you have gotten your hands on the leather, and know what to expect and what you can do with it. You now can make a knowledgeable decision as to whether you want to go on working with leather and spend the money to get the tools that make things easier. Hope this helped. Mike Edited by katsass, 07 October 2012 - 04:50 PM. .

Well, I guess that I'll jump in and probably irritate a few here. First off, I think that we must determine what is expected from your forming/molding procedure. If you are expecting to end up with a holster that is so closely formed to the shooter that you can read the cartridge designation in the ejection port, and you rely on this and a deeply molded trigger guard to provide the major portion of the holster's retention (as so many do) -- you are wasting pot load of time. If you want a god, properly molded and useful holster, use your hands. I say this not just because I don't like the appearance of an overly molded holster, but because retention must be realized from the friction of the leather in relation to the majority of the shooter and not just a couple of places that will give up in a short time, If you consider the situation, you can see that a deeply formed ejection port area MUST loosen up in rather a short time. Every time you draw and/or holster the shooter, the leather in that area is pushed out of the way, and will shortly soften to the point that it no longer has any retention value - and on top of that, in time, it also begins to look kind of ratty. The same goes for the trigger guard area. So, I mold holsters this way, just as I was taught by a pretty decent holster maker, from times gone by. First, wet the thing down - I don't care how much you put in, on, or around the thing - just get it wet. Then, put it somewhere and wait. You can work on another project, watch the idiot box or, (possibly my favorite) locate an adult beverage and relax for a bit. When the holster seems to be almost dry - showing a uniform color but being just cool to the touch, it's ready to work, it's 'cased'. Stuff the shooter (covered with a plastic bag or two), blue gun, or whatever into your masterpiece. If it goes in easily, you have a problem that only a closer stitch line will cure. If you need to force the gun a bit to seat it in the rig - so much the better. Now, the finest tool for this work is readily available to all of us - our grubby, stubby mitts (if too dirty wear gloves), Work,push, cajole, and even caress the leather around the shooter until it forms tightly to the said firearm. Now, put it somewhere that warm air will flow over it, and leave it alone. Go finish your adult beverage, chase mama around the house, try milking a duck - just do anything but mess with it. When you think it's good and dry, wait another hour or so. Gently ease the artillery from the leather pouch and ------- because the interior is NOT dry, replace the holster to it's original position so that it WILL dry --- ie. put it back and leave it alone 'till tomorrow. From there on oil (and wait) and proceed with your favorite finish. Just a long story from a grumpy old guy that learned from another old guy way back when, and one that doesn't have anything better to do at this time.. Mike

FWIW from the grumpy old guy: Of course I'm guessing, however. your problem sounds as though the two layers of leather went together when the cement was too wet. I make almost all of my holsters from two layers of dead cow skin. I have only had that problem rear it's ugly head when (long ago) I got in a hurry and stuck the pieces together almost immediately after applying the sticky stuff. The way I do the job now is to cut the outer shell, either from 4/5oz veg tanned, or 5/6 veg tanned. The inner liner is (usually) cut from another piece of 4/5 oz of veg tanned -- cut a bit larger to preclude alignment problems. I then slather my Weldwood contact cement (the version with solvent in it, NOT the "environmentally friendly" stuff that has far less holding power IMO)) all over the flesh side of each piece. THEN -- I go a procure some form of adult beverage, and relax while consuming about 1/2 of it. NOW I go stick the two pieces together and apply weight to assist the chemical bonding to take place. Then leave it 'till tomorrow. Of course as Bronson correctly states - DON'T COVER THE MAG RELEASE WITH ANY PART OF THE HOLSTER!! The reason for this that it is far too easy for the mag release to be inadvertently pushed when holstering or drawing your shooter. The final result is that (at the range) you look rather foolish trying to make your firearm go BANG without any ammo in it. If it happens to be a personal protection piece and the need for it actually arises, you are then in deep ka-ka. Just my couple of pennies worth. Mike

OK Dave, you seem to have received a pot load of instructions, guidance, ideas etc. from a bunch of knowledgeable craftsmen. but no one has mentioned the reason for a close line at the front of the trigger guard. The fact is that on a holster for an auto pistol the stitch line at the front of the trigger guard IS THE SOLE LIMITING FACTOR that setts the depth that your shooter will sit in the leather. That stitch line, in front of the trigger guard is critical, Many make the mistake of using the rule of "1/2 the width of the gun plus the thickness of the leather" for the distance around that whole lower side of their holster pattern --- it don't work. That portion at the front of the trigger guard must be brought in closer to the it, or the gun will slip deeper into the holster than you wish. Being an articulate old fart, this statement is most likely clear as mud, but just look at the stitching in the first pic of your holster. Just extrapolating distances, I'd say that over time, your shooter will slip down in the rig about another 1/2". Does that make sense now, looking at where the stitching is? Lots of things to think about when designing a holster - and then you get in a hurry. I always (sometimes) draw up my design, then let 'er sit for a day or two and take a fresh look at it then. Usually there is a little tweaking to do. As a sideline, on a holster for a wheel gun, the limiting point can be the front of the trigger guard, or the front of the frame. It's one, tother, or both. On an auto pistol -- it's ALWAYS the front of the trigger guard. Hope this helps. Mike

From the old grumpy guy: The first thing that jumps right out at me is (are) the two pointy extensions for the belt loops. Points like that are something to steer clear of in any leather project. They may look good at this time but they WILL fray and end up looking poor in a reasonably short time. Your stitching needs to be much closer to the gun, which probably fits nice and tightly right now especially with the (IMO) over molding in the ejection port AND the trigger guard. As it stands, the gun WILL begin to move around in the holster sooner or later. The heavily molded areas will smooth out and retention will go to hell. Think about it -- each time you pull that shooter out of the holster, you push the leather out of the way at the two spots mentioned. It only takes a short time for the leather to begin to soften up and you lose the retention qualities that you have worked so hard to achieve and count on. Good retention can (and is) obtained by molding along the longer lines of your shooter. I always mold after stitch the thing up, and make sure that the stitching is tight enough to almost need to use substantial force getting the gun into the holster. It's obvious that you need to uncover the mag release button. It' very embarrassing to be on the line on your local range and as you draw the gun -- have the magazine end up on the ground in front of you -- and everyone else that may be watching. In the instance that this is to be used as a personal defense rig - it's downright spooky. I most certainly am not trying to dissuade you nor am I knocking your effort, but in the construction many factors must be considered, and better to learn now than find your work lacking at a place and time when it may REALLY count. Keep at it, we all started somewhere - and personally, my first tries were something that I hid away many years ago. Mike

I sent a few pics. Check your private message. Mike

OK, the most common spacing is 6 inch per inch -- ie. a number 6 overstich wheel. If you are planning to get such a thing, get the single wheel style rather than the one with interchangeable wheels. I feel that the most common and universally used holster is the pouch style. . After all, it has been in use for more than a hundred years - I try to build them whenever possible. As long as the integral belt loop is as wide as you can make it, it holds your shooter in as close as damned near anything else. I like to think that I'm very much a traditionalist in my designs, so I do try to make them fit damned near everything I come across. As to Avenger style holsters, I make them, Here is one as an example. Notice that my overlay piece is much smaller than many. That's because it's only there to reinforce the mouth of the rig - not some kind of accoutrement, although many use it as such without understanding it's true use.

AH Dwight, You always do such nice work, even though you stitch with a machine. Mike