Colt Hammerless

Thanks everyone!

I remember you telling me about that 1903's history, and remember thinking you should tell it's history on here. So many of us on here make pancake holsters, which makes that a really neat story. Paul

I just finished this one recently for my cousin. It's the first Avenger style I've done, as well as the first crossdraw. I made three prototypes before making this one. The third turned out well enough, that I'm going to keep it for myself for when I'm hiking (my backpack gets in the way of my normal strongside holster.) It's made from 8 oz. Wickett and Craig russet saddle skirting, 15 degree rearward cant, for a 1.5 inch gunbelt. The main holster body is Angelus Spice, while the reinforcement/belt loop tunnel is Spice cut 5 to 1 with denatured alcohol. Neetsfoot oiled after wet forming, and the finish is Angelus 600 cut 50/50 with water, which I dipped the holster in (twice.) Paul

Wow! I had no idea the EMP was so different from other 3 inch 1911s. I have a Duncan's EMP dummy, but looks like I'll need to get another dummy to do regular 3 inchers.

Do you have any plans for making dummies of the railed Sig 1911s? I would imagine those would be very popular. Paul

It was one of their "10 Day Deals" videos from a couple of months ago. You won't find it on there any longer, you'll have to ask them (either the owner Kevin Hopkins, or Rusty, as they were the ones in the video who mentioned it.) Paul

Ask Kevin at Springfield Leather Co. On one of their deals videos, they announced that they were going to start carrying Chromexcel. They were talking about how much oil there is in it, and how it's hard to cement because of that. They mentioned something that one of their customers used to attach it to a motorcycle seat, but I don't remember what they said. Here's the link to "Ask Kevin" : http://www.formstack.com/forms/?669123-wcA3Djo4P2 He's usually pretty quick at answering. Good luck! Paul

From what I've read, the best angle for a round knife is 15 degrees on either side, for 30 degrees combined. That's what I was aiming for when sharpening this. After looking at it next to a protractor, I think I had it at 20 degrees on each side. I went back to the belt sander, at a more shallow angle and this time wound up with 15 on each side. It's cutting better now. I did the same treatment to a couple of old Osbornes, and a Theo Harrington, and an unmarked head knife that looks like an Osborne. These knives are roughly half the thickness of the Abetta. It seems the Abetta is doing a fine job cutting with the tip on a cutting board, but when holding the leather off of the board and pushing the knife through, it requires more pressure than the thinner knives. I sharpened the thinner knives at the same time, and at the same angle, to the same grit, so the only thing I can figure is it's simply a difference of pushing a thicker blade through. I'll continue playing with it. I just came back from the shop after cutting the handle down a bit so I can palm the knife. Paul

I use neutral shoe polish over my 50/50 Angelus 600 finish. It won't soften your leather. Paul

I got mine off of Ebay. It also comes from "HorseloverZ" and was $8.95 with free shipping. The auction said expected delivery June 14th to June 21st I believe. I got it on the 10th. The blade has no markings, but the handle has a sticker on it that says "Made in Pakistan." The handle is kind of a pretty wood. If you tap the blade, it has a nice tuning fork ring to it. Like yours, it had a joke of an edge. I sharpened it up on my belt grinder with finer and finer grits, eventually finishing on a leather belt I made for the grinder, to use as a power strop. I loaded it with green compound. This is the first time I've sharpened on a belt grinder, which is why I got this knife to practice on. It seems like it takes a fine edge. It cuts fairly well, but not as well as my antique head and round knives. I wasn't really sure why, as the edge looked pretty good. I could understand if it cut well for a short bit, then needed stropping again, but it didn't cut as well even from the outset. I think I know why though. The blade is REALLY thick. Around .090 thick almost all the way to the bevel where it's down to around .085. In comparison my older knives are around .045 thick and go down to about .040 near the bevel. So this bugger is twice as thick. The edge goes into the leather just fine, but when pushing, you have to use a bit too much force. You're trying to push some thick steel through the leather, and it drags because of this. That's my theory. When I get a chance to play with it again, I'm going to thin the blade on the grinder (being slow and careful to not get it hot) and then redo the edge. I think that may turn it into a pretty nice knife. If not, I'm out 9 bucks and got to practice with it. But I think it has potential. Paul

Absolutely wonderful! I hate the new Photobucket as well. I call it "New Coke." Paul

A Ruger SR1911 Commander should fit perfectly in a holster made for a Colt Commander. I've made a holster using a 5 inch Colt 1911 for a customer's Ruger 5 inch SR1911, and it fit perfectly. Paul

Just ordered it yesterday. Very interested to see how it works. It said June 14th at the earliest for delivery. Hope they're just padding the delivery time. I have my sharpening belts on the way, and would like to try them on this before using them on my antique knives. Paul

That's very interesting St8LineGunsmith. I'll definitely snag one, and give it a whirl. Paul

AODfan, how are you liking that knife so far? Have you got it sharpened up yet? I'm going to start using my belt sander to sharpen my round/head knives, and was thinking of picking up one of the Abetta knives off of Ebay ($9 plus free shipping) to practice on before using it to sharpen the Osbornes, Harringtons, and Gomphs. After reading the reviews on Amazon, I'm wondering if I might actually have a fairly usable knife when I'm done practicing on it. Paul

They're from RMB Custom Leather. Got them while ordering a blue gun from him. I'm almost out and need to get some more. I know Tandy sells some that are similar, but I've never used them. Paul

And here's another.

Finally got a pic. I took it myself in the mirror, hence it looks like a lefty holster. Paul

Olds Cool, I don't have a pic of me wearing it. I'll try to get someone to snap a pic of me with it on in the next day or so. Paul

I carry my 5 inch 1911 with 30 degrees forward rake. It is slower on the draw than a 15 degree but not by a lot. It's the only way I can conceal the grip on that thing. That 30 degree rake is the difference between having the gun and not having it, which is the slowest draw of all. I have a holster for a Colt 1903 that has about 35 to 37 degrees (I meant for it to be 30, it was the first holster I made) and it draws faster than the 1911, so the barrel length does play a role to be sure. It also makes a difference where you carry it. If you carry it at 3:00 it's going to be a more awkward draw than if you have it at 4:30,(with a lot of rake.) If you have 10 to 15 degrees of rake, it will be a bit more awkward to draw from 4:30 than it will be from 3:00. I also made a holster for a 4.5 inch XDM, and set the rake at 23 degrees. It was a bit slow, but not too bad. The grip on that thing is pretty big, and this was a convertible IWB/OWB that the customer was going to use for concealed carry, so it needed to be hidden. Unless your body type allows you to conceal a big gun with less rake, you're going to have to accept a slower draw, or wear bulkier clothing to hide it with less rake. I'm in AZ (not the cool parts) and can't wear heavy clothing. Everything's a compromise.

Wow Craig44, those are REALLY nice! What did you dye them with? I'm particularly curious about the color of the 60' Army with the Concho. What finish did you use? Paul

I love the color, and that big well burnished welt. That's a neat idea with the resist! Paul

Longtooth, it looks like you dyed the edges of the ostrich/reinforcement black. What did you use on it? Did you have any problems with it bleeding further into the ostrich? Paul

Big River, Please tell me you were able to find someone who could use that right handed one. I sure hope all of that hand stitching was for nothing! Oh, and he's probably hunting deer or elk with it now. I've never seen or heard of an armadillo in AZ Paul

OP, I noticed you mentioned peanut oil in your brainstorming. With so many people allergic to peanuts, you may want to forego that one. Maybe I'm being overly paranoid, but maybe not. Paul