katsass

As Rayban says, you'll get six different answers to your question. None are the "right" or "wrong" way, and as long as they work for you, it's good. That said, I, of course do it differently. This is how I make my patterns for auto pistol holsters. Wheel gun holsters I do a little diferently. I lay out my patern on an cheap manilla folder by laying the firearm down with the sights alligned with the center fold, lay the gun to one side, and trace around it with a pencil held vertically. To the trigger guard side, I follow the contour of that outline wth another line equal in distance to 1/2 the thickness of the slide, plus the thickness of the leather to be used, plus 1/4 inch. This is my cutting line. My stiching line is about 3/16 inside of that. My stitching line is done with my gouge, not drawn on the patern. From there the rest is dependant upon the style of holster being designed. For me this produces a nice tight holster. Probably clear as mud to you. Here is a pic or two of how I start anyhoooo. Mike

Joel, something just dawned on me......(hell, I'm a little slow anyway)..........IIRC, in Al Stohlman's book on how to make holsters there is a pattern for a long barreled single action wheel gun. It exposes a portion of the muzzle of the gun by cutting away from the full length of the tip of the holster, in a sort of spiral cut, tapering back into the welt. This way there is leather protecting the back side of the barrel, but showing most of it to the front. It might well work for what you did in your rig, with somewhat less probability of the sight catching. If you don't have the book, let me know, I can dig it out and photo it to show you what I mean. Mine is in my stuff somewhere and about 20 years old. Mike

Joel, I don't think I would lower the gun in the holster, I'd redesign slightly to raise the belt loop. Remember that on wheel guns, the center of gravity is around the (loaded) cylinder................In an auto pistol the CG is much higher because the weight is in the butt of the gun. We try to do as our customer's wish, and that may not always be as we feel is proper. There have only been a few customers that I have turned away because their wishes were so contrary to safety in my opinion..............more, because I just felt that they would be more trouble than they were worth. As to odd requests, here is a rig I did for a customer that got exactly what he wanted........a horizontal cross draw for a custom Ruger Vaquero. The holster is sewn into place, but it ain't my cup of tea. BUT, he's happy and payed well. Mike

Well Grampaw, I'm damn near 70 and have made holsters for a while, but take from this what you will, it may only be worth all that you paid for it. I am usually leary of comenting on the work of others, however, I am in no way demeaning your work. Each of us do things our own way and see things with our own outlook.......right or wrong. To me the gun seem to look as though it sits a little high. That may cause the butt to lean out away from your body and/or the muzzle to rub against your hip. By raising the belt loop some, I think it will keep the gun in closer to the body and your 'chubbies' (if you have some as I do). I personally never like to expose the muzzle of the firearm..........with a pretty square sight, it may cause the gun to do strange things during the draw. It also removes some of the protection that the holster is there to provide. There seems to be no cant on your rig. I generally put some forward cant on my holsters. As most people draw their weapon, their arm starts forward, the cant assists in a smoother draw. In your design it seems as though are trying to stay away from curved lines. Straight cuts are a lot easier to make..........but to my eye, less appealing in your final product. You might try to round things out a little as well as move the belt loop in toward the gun a little also. Finally, I think you might move your stitching closer to the gun, this way the holster will not loosen up as much as time passes. All that said, please don't take these comments as 'knocking' your work. I'm enclosing a pic of my first holster of the style you have done........just to visually explain what I mean by rounding things out. For years I made all holsters from a single thickness of leather.........as most do. One day I had a (more or less) rush order, and found I was short on 8/9 oz leather. I took two pieces of 4/5 oz leather, glued them up flesh sides together and went to town. I found that it seemed to mold into a more firm and rigid finished product, and had the benefit of being a lined rig. I do almost all of my holsters that way now. Hope this gives you a few thing to think about and consider, but as I said, take from my comments that what you feel worthwhile. Mike

Tina..........Very much like your stylized Raven head...........(I don't personally like the birds themselves though).

More than once........

******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Since it was mentioned, Here is the 'Katsass' Mike

I never understood how a behind the back draw with the butt pointed north was handy,,it just seems unnatural,,so mine was butt down...Guess the further you move to front of body the butt needs to be up. still drawing or scratching on paper for a design on the six shooter carried that way,,lol good thing i am on no SCHEDULE..have a good one. **************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** jc3: I no way am I saying anything about your design or your preferred way of carry. That, to me it is a personal preference, and if it fits you, and you function well with it, so be it. This is just an observation and a recounting of a personal experience with the "Mexican" carry: A number of years ago, when I was the head firearms instructor/armorer for the dept. I worked for, I was conducting an 'off duty' firearm qualification exercise. Each individual was required to bring the firearm he had designated as his off duty weapon, the normal holster he carried it in, and sufficient ammo for the exercise. (we didn't provide off duty ammo) One individual arrived with his issued duty weapon (an S&W 39/59 series auto) and no holster. Upon questioning, he explained that he carried the same weapon on duty and off. When off duty he stated that he carried the weapon in the Mexican carry.....without a holster. The gun was just stuffed down the back of his trousers, butt of the weapon facing down. I asked him if he was SURE that this is how he carried it off duty, and his response was adamant and affirmative. The exercise required the shooter to draw his weapon from his normal carry position, fire, move, and fire again. The exercise was timed, so that speed and accuracy were both factors in the qualification. I suggested that we give it a 'practice' go, with an unloaded weapon prior to a live fire run. Upon my signal to commence the exercise, the shooter reached back, got a fist-full of firearm, quickly started out with it and, as his hand rotated, (as it must from that position) the front sight caught in his underwear. His continued draw put a (painful, I'm sure) deep scratch in his butt and tore his shorts as well as giving him a pretty severe 'wedgie'. At that point we stopped the exercise. I explained that the Mexican carry is nothing more than a strong side carry moved around to the rear. The butt of the weapon faces up. It is very comfortable to place the firearm into the waistband of your trousers with the butt downward, however, it (obviously) causes problems with the draw. He later returned with a brand new hi-ride strong side holster, and qualified.

Dave, I like the way you 'framed' the inlay.........with this piece it works better than a straight cut 'picture frame'. As always, great work. Mike

jc3, For years I carved it into my work, but about 2 yrs ago Ma Kat got me a stamp for my B-day. Got it from a young lady that was recomended here on the forum..can't remember her name, but am very happy with her work. ...search Maker's Stamps.......Mike

Mark, It's a good design..........here is one I did about 20 years ago for a little drop point Schrade and it's still in decent shape. Mike

I draw my pattern on inexpensive file folders.........cut it out with scissors..........transfer to leather with a ball stylus............initial cut with a swivel knife (this gives me a distinct and smooth line to follow with the final cut)............final cut with a 'dedicated', very sharp, knife (this knife happens to have been in my family for 70 years at least, but any good SHARP knife that you are comfortable with should work)...........smooth edges with drum sander if necessary. Hope this helps. Mike

FEELS PRETTY DARNED GOOD, DOESN'T IT?

As always Lobo, your work is great, and an inspiration for many. Mike

For holsters I keep a lookout for the Tandy sales........single or double shoulders. BUT, since their hides that are on sale are imported (I believe, and are of lesser quality) I try to always personally go and select my skins. For belts I get a back.........also personally selected. Backs work out well for belts and you can easily cut a belt strip without much worry about varying quality. You can get a lot of belts from one back so it'll last you quite a while. Keep an eye open for a sale on them also. I don't do much (if any) carving at all anymore, If I did, I would opt for a higher quality of leather because the better qualities of leather carve sooo much nicer. When doing historically accurate holsters I usually use a single thickness of heavy (10 oz +) back. This is primarily because the holsters are generally for larger and heavier firearms than more modern guns. If there is a slight surface variation it doesn't matter as it frequently adds 'interest' to the end product. After wet molding, proper (and thorough) drying allows for a very solid and rigid holster, apparent to a greater degree in the two layer holsters. JMHO Mike

Lurker, I have made a few 'bucklelss' belts with Velcro fastening. The only way to unsure that the Velcro remains in place is to stitch it in place after cementing. I use 'Weldwood' contact cement........the solvent based version..........you can get it 4 oz bottles. I tried their water based stuff but wasn't too happy with it. JMHO, Mike

A drying cabinet can be as easy as a fair sized cardboard box with a hole in it to allow a blow dryer or heat gun (on low heat) to put hot air into it. You want the air to circulate so a couple of small holes to allow the air to exit is a good idea. Just don't direct the hot air directly on the project. You can go from there to as fancy as you want. Mike

BIGGUNDOCTOR: I had to dig around a bit, but here is a pic of a 1911 speed holster (under construction) showing a welt of right at 1" in thickness. Hand stitched. Mike P.S. The holster is 6/7 oz veg tanned shoulder leather lined with 3/4 oz. The welt spacer is three layers of 9 oz. Mike

jc3, I don't know about your cutting problem unless there was a spot that was thinner or some defect (unseen) in the hide. For holsters I always use shoulder leather. I'm a little different in that I generally use two layers of lighter leather bonded together flesh side to flesh side to build up the thickness of leather that I want to work with. That said I use 4/5 oz shoulder primarily, ending up with 8 to 10 oz. in the final product. I feel that the molded holster retains it's rigidity better than a single thickness of leather, and you also end up with a lined holster. It requires more stitching however. For cartridge loops I use 2 oz calf skin and actually thread the leather strip thru 3/4" slots cut into the belt, forming a loop for each cartridge. For necked rifle cartridges I'll run two separate loops, one below the other. Top one is made to fit the body of the case, and the lower one to fit the (smaller) neck. Hope this helps, Mike

BIGGUNDOCTOR: Many of my speed holsters for 1911's have a 1" or almost 1" welt on them.......but I saddle stitch my stuff. 'Tain't that uncommon. Mike

Gotta agree with gregintenn. Shoulders or double shoulders. Bellies are too flexible and will not form up and mold well, and backs are generally too heavy. Shoulders work out perfectly and, if on sale at Tandy, you get a lot for your money. Mike

FWIW, I use TWO layers of lighter leather (bonded together so that the inside and outside are both smooth) for almost all of my holsters. Basically, almost all holsters are then lined. You end up doing a bit more stitching, however, I feel (rightly or wrongly) that the final molded holsters are firmer, and retain that rigidity longer, than a single thickness of heavier leather. That said I probably use more 4/5 oz leather (shoulder) than anything else. Mike