steelhawk

Interesting design. It's kind of like a Supertuck, only with leather. Is the back side lined? One thing you could change would be to use less leather around the grip area so you can get a good grip on the gun when you draw it.

Good job on the sheath. Can you post a side shot showing the welt?

I used a drill press for mine, but I turned the 1/16 bit upside down and pointed it with a grinding stone. I chuck it, turn the drill press on and drill the holes. With the bit upside down, it doesn't remove any leather.

What color thread are you using? I had a fraying problem with my Cobra 4 with the black thread I got with it. The white thread was fine. I bought a different black thread from Springfield and have no problems with fraying now. The black thread I used originally is a bit stiffer than the new stuff.

It looks good. I can't tell from the picture is there is a welt to prevent the blade from cutting the stitches. Do you have a pic of the knife itself? It looks unusually shaped.

I got a dummy gun for the Bodyguard 380 from Rob and now I'm wondering what to do about the laser activation button. It is down near the end of the gun, just above the trigger guard. My concern is that after the holster is formed that inserting the gun would turn on the laser due to the tight leather pushing on the switch. If anyone here has made a holster for it, did you have any laser activation problems? I'm wondering if I need to cover the buttons on either side with tape or something so there is clearance for the real thing inside the holster. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks. That means a lot, coming from a great belt maker as yourself.

Here's a pic of the finished thing. I has posted it earlier in the holster forum.

Very nice. I was planning on making one similar to your second one, but now I will also make a round one. It solves the problem of storing creasers and groovers quite nicely.

It is a very nice holster. I haven't used that particular belt clip, though. I have used the plain one. I have thought about getting some kind of nylon washer and see if it is better at preventing wear. I suppose you could always got some kydex clips from Com-tac, at $8 apiece if you don't make your own.

That is simply great.

I have used both the PTD snaps and Line 24 snaps from Tandy and one other place. The snaps from the other place were junk. The Tandy ones were far superior. I have a knife case for a Buck Folding Hunter that is quite old. I made it many years ago. The leather is worn out from years of wear, but the snap still works. On a few rare occasions I have bumped my holstered gun on something and heard a snap pop off, but it was a pretty substantial impact. I just re-snapped it and all was well.

I use manila folders, but I like the idea of using something clear that allows me to see bad spots on the leather.

Thanks, guys. I will probably have to do some hand stitching if I want to make some of these smaller items. Trying to adjust and re-adjust the machine will just aggravate the heck out of me.

So far I have only used my Cobra 4 to sew holsters and double layer gun belts, but I want to make some other things like a wallet, checkbook holder, notebook cover, etc that will be out of thinner leather. I use 277 size thread but figure that I will need to go smaller, maybe down to 207. I don't know what adjustments I will need to make to the machine, if any, when I go from holsters, to smaller projects, and then go back to holsters. I would appreciate any advice from the experts here.

I will consider buying a new dummy gun if it is a popular model. I just bought two last week, from Rob, here on the forum. For a new gun, I draw out a pattern then take some less than perfect leather and make a test holster, just a bit bigger than the stitch lines. I sew it up and wet form it to see if it needs an adjustment. I make an adjustment, if needed, then go ahead and do the real one. I've made about a dozen holsters using the customer's gun. One guy drove 90 miles twice to get a holster for his gun, since he couldn't find one anywhere. I didn't know he had driven that far until he came to pick up the finished holster and belt. When Ruger came out with the LC9, I bought one to make holsters with since no dummy gun was available. I also wanted it.

Thanks for replying back. You have a lot of great looking items in you gallery.

Thanks. I was planning on using Resolene. I used to hate Resolene because I ruined everything I used it on. Then I read about diluting it 1:1 with water and applying with a wet sponge. Now I love the stuff and use it on all my holsters.

Great work, Eagle. What method did you use to finish it? I'm working on a stamped belt now and will be ready for the finish tomorrow. So far I have only put a coat of Neatsfoot oil on it. I'm planning on a trip to Tandy tomorrow to buy a few items. It's 50 miles away, but I will already be over halfway there for something else, so I figured I would go the distance.

I like it. I get inspired by all the great stuff posted here. I need to make a sheath for my Grandfather's Bowie knife. I got it from him many years ago. The one it came with wore out . I think I will use the Caiman tail I got from Springfield as an inlay.

I ordered 84" belt strips from Springfield Leather. During checkout I told them in the comments section that I wanted 7 to 8 oz thickness on the strips.

It looks good. The pic is a bit dark to see details, but it looks well made. It does look like your stitch lines are in a bit far fropm the outside edge.

Rayban, I'll try the "both ends" approach next time. I have been doing it by eyeball.

I got a request to make a holster for an H&K P7 PSP. He sent me a pic of his gun. It looks like it may be identical to a Rings gun for a P7 M8. Before I accept the order, does anyone know if they fit in the same holster? I would need to order a dummy gun to make this, and since this customer has bought four holsters from me, I will go ahead and do it. This is a pic of his gun:

I think I would turn this one down. I had someone want an IWB with a thumb break back in November because the wife was afraid it would come out of the holster in her purse. After explaining that it wouldn't, they decided to go somewhere else. Another time I turned down a job for about $200 because I had never built anything like it and they wanted it in 4 days for a hunting trip. There was no way I could deliver anything that fast anyway, even if I had a pattern.