woodandsteel

Until recently, I had been adding a leather washer between the belt loops and the holster body on my IWB holsters. I've decided to quit using them, though for several reasons: First, The spacer takes extra time and work to cut, punch, dye, edge and finish. Second, it makes the snaps stick out further, which can "print" more under a shirt, and requires a longer (and usually an odd length) screw. I've found that it works fine without the spacer with the pull-the-dot snaps, which have a taller post anyway.

Nice work! I'd like to see details on the attachment method as well.

Rats! And here I am without the money until Thursday! Good luck to you! Hopefully I can catch one in stock later.

Yeah, I've been making holsters for just under a year. I know I'm still pretty green, but I too am appalled at some of the holsters, belts, and leather work I see being sold at shows and boutiques. Just awful workmanship. I've thought about selling my screw-ups as well, but on the other hand, do you really want those pieces representing your name, brand, and workmanship? If someone sees one of those pieces, would you want that to be their impression of your work?

I live in the humid South, so air drying takes a looong time. I've had the best results with a countertop convection oven, set between 125 and 150 degrees for 30-45 minutes. It dries the holsters firm and hard for good retention. I tried using alcohol to mold one holster and it didn't end up as hard as I can get it using the convection oven. After the oven-drying, I give it a coat of neatsfoot oil to condition the leather and darken/even the color.

Good advice! I've been thinking about doing some kydex down the line as well, because I've had a lot people ask for it or tell me they've switched to it exclusively for holsters. Did you wet the leather when you molded the kydex, or did you mold it dry?

A friend of mine makes a rig like that. He's on the forum here, but I don't know his screenname. http://www.magnolialeatherworks.com/#!__steampunk/productscarousel4=2

Didn't see that! Sorry to resurrect the thread.

I've got a 5 and a 6 for my handstitched holsters. Lately I'm using the 5, but I might go back to the 6.

I like this idea, in theory. But doesn't it get tight with four lengths of thread squeezing through a hole at a time?

Here's a high-ride, snap-on holster I made this week. It's the first time I've made one like this, and I wasn't sure how well it would work. I dyed it with dark brown Fiebings Pro Oil Dye, then Neatsfoot oil, and finished with two coats of resolene and then Sno-Seal to cut the gloss. I sanded and burnished the edges with water and canvas, then dyed with Fiebings USMC black spirit dye, followed by slicking and burnishing with glycerin soap, and then paraffin wax. I'm not very happy with the finish job on this, but I think I've figure out what to do differently. I sued one coat of 1/2 resolene+1/2 water, and then a coat of full strength resolene. The sponge brushes I'm using with the resolene create a lot of foam, which I have to wipe off, which left the finish splotchy with some satin spots and some glossy spots. I've been pleased with the sort of antiqued, dark-edge effect I've been getting with my dark brown holsters, but i'm not exactly sure how I'm doing it! I suspect some of the black edge dye is seeping into the brown. Also, on this holster, I molded it with alcohol instead of water, because i was in a rush. The bottom of the holster and the edge near the trigger guard stayed darker than the rest. It might not have fully dried before I sealed it. I glued the lizard skin on with barge cement before stiching, but had a few edges separate, so I fixed them with krazy-glue. Anyone have advise for gluing exotics? Please feel free to critique, make suggestions and recommendations, or ask questions!

Nice work! How do you finish the guitar strap? I'd like to make some, but I'm concerned about dye bleed due to sweat.

Monica, are you using the DOT line 24 snap screw studs for attaching snap loops ? 8-32?

Very nice! I was just thinking about trying this style the other day. Could you post a picture of the sight channel from the inside?

I've never used W&C or HO, but the leather I got from RJFLeather was nice, and he was hesitant to send it because it wasn't up to his usual par. http://rjfleather.com

I bought a nice piece for $10 from a construction surplus store. Plus they had jars of local honey.

Faster than a dremel? Oof. I'm still using a paint stick wrapped in sandpaper.

Very nice work! Are those handstitched? How are you attaching your snap loops... with T-nuts?

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have a question about Horsehide for you IWB holster makers. I've heard horsehide holds up better to sweat than cowhide. Is this without a finish like Resolene? How do you finish your horsehide holsters? I live in the humid South and sweat A LOT. I'm wondering if horsehide would have any real advantage over cow once both are properly finished.

I've been trying to figure out pricing for my holsters. I decided to set prices slightly high, and had several interested customers not respond once I gave then a price quote, so I figured my prices were too high, and decided to lower them by $5. Yesterday I was showing a holster to the guys at a local gun store, and quoted a price to an interested customer. The shop employee said, "That's a steal!". Hmm... maybe my prices weren't too high after all.

Triple C's leather looks to be tanned by Chahin Leather in Mexico, for what it's worth, but it looks like a top-notch facility. http://www.chahinlea...mx/history.html Are there other actual tanneries in the US other than Hermann Oak and W&C?

I'm a "new guy" both to carrying and to holster making, so the current trends in carrying are all I've seen. Thus far, I've made all my holsters with a sweatguard, because, as mentioned, it seems to be the expectation these days. I sweat a lot, and have those same dark stains on the sweat guard of one of my holsters that I left natural and didn't seal ( I was lazy, and rushing to cobble together an appendix holster for myself). My gun still gets moisture on it, but not as much as if it was against my skin. I find the sweat guard to contribute to comfort as well, though, smoothing out sharp corners. Katsass, how was that belt sealed? I'm curious to know if it was an acrylic or oil finish.

Really good looking work! My only critique is a slight concern that the leather that sweeps up to cover the trigger area could soften over time and potentially catch in the trigger while holstering.

This, maybe? Can't find a website for them, and one page I saw listed it as a 1-man company. http://www.manta.com...oak-leather-llc

Looks good! I've debated putting the T-nuts between the leather, because it does look better, but I worry that one might get stripped and will be nearly impossible for the customer to replace.