wes

I would like to find and purchase a bluegun or metal replica of a Beretta 1951 pistol. Regards, Wes

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I have not forgotten about my holster, nor have I lost my enthiuasm for this project. I had to stop all of my projects to build and put up an electric fence, which took up several weekends. Then we had the school shooting here at Bailey, CO in the Platte Canyon High School, which cost the life of a 16 years old girl by a sexual pervert. Our little community, population of about 2000, has been shaken quite a bit by this. I had to sit down for a while, drink a few cups of coffee and mull over the state of the universe and our place in it. But next weekend, I will be working on my holster again.

I went to Tandy's today and purchased some stuff: an overstitch wheel w/3 wheels a diamond shafted awl 5/64 th edge beveller contact cement creaser/groover, adjustable gum tragacanth set of tool setter anvils and punches a package of 24 snaps for my thumb snap. (I have obtained an old holster that has a thumb snap. It has a piece of tempered steel as reinforcement for the pull tab. I am going to scavenge this piece of steel from this holster, which will save me quite a bit of searching for another.) This list of items is no where near my complete list of items that are required for my holster project. I will purchase more items as they are needed. Plus I need some information from you folks as to the type of needle that I need to get to do this project. (input wanted!) I have finalized my design for my holster. Thought out the minute details. Created a template of my pistol with allowance for the width of the leather. And am ready to go. Tomorrow I cut out the wood templates of cedar and begin the process of filing the template to the exact sizes and contours of the mould. I will radius the edges of the cutout template, as has been suggested by an expert in a previous reply in this thread. I will sand the surface of this template very smooth, as has also been advised to me in this thread. Then I am going to seal this wood template with polyurethane, so that it does not tear and bruise the surface of my leather. Since this thread has become very long, whenever I begin to post pictures of my holster building process, I do believe that I shall begin a new thread for the occasion.

Johanna, the link that you posted is probably the most powerfully convincing argument for Lexol that I have ever seen. On that site I went to this page, More Lexol Information, and their arguments are well presented. The following excerpt was the argument that caused me to use Connolly Hide Food initially. (I am easily convinced by hype and name dropping, aren't I?)

Another product that I use along with the wax is Connolly Hide Food. I had originally started using this stuff on the seats of my old autos: MGA, Austin Healey, etc. I most probably should have mentioned the Hide Food and not even brought up the name of the Renaissance wax. The Hide Food has lanolin, natural oils, but minimal petroleum based oils. I only put this stuff on whenever I think of it, which is not often enough. I believe that a year has passed since I last treated my holsters. I have several old holsters that were as stiff as an old board whenever I acquired them. The Hide Food put the oils and moisture back into them after a while and they are now pliable. Seems that the holsters that were in need of the most attention were those made of pigskin. I am extremely impressed that you people know your stuff and make suggestions with kindness and tact. Sorry that I did not mention the Hide Food initially.

Johanna, The treatment that I use on my holsters is Renaissance wax. The picture that I posted is of the holster whenever I first acquired it. Since that time I have treated it a couple of times with Renaissance wax and it is a shade richer than that which appears in the picture. And since you mention it, a little bit of time has passed since I have treated my holsters and will do so again this weekend. I live in the Rockies at an elevation of 9500 ft and the area has a very low percentage of humidity; between 10% and 25%. This is wonderful for metal objects but I do need to pay attention to my leather goods. I trust that you are absolutely right about the gage of my hide. If, after completing my holster, it is too flimsy, then I shall purchase another hide of greater weight and will have benefitted by my experience. I am most probably a great fool for not obtaining a different hide immediately.

The very best resource for open source softwares is SourceForge.net The software is written for various OS platforms: Linux, Unix, Microsoft Windows, BSD, etc, These programs are full featured and maintained. All softwares are void of tracking code, adware, external links, spyware, rootkits, etc. (Most free softwares on the 'net extol a heavy price of privacy invasion.) It will take a while to learn to navigate the site but the time spent locating just the right software is very well worth the effort. My computer operating system is Linux and all of my softwares are Open Source. I have absolutely no purchased programs on my computer. I have two daughters at Univ of Colo.: one will receive her B.S. in Computer Science & Engineering this coming May; the other is a graduate student working on her Master's degree in Computer Science & Engineering. Both have Linus OS in their laptops and desktops and use only Open Source software. I do not recommend Linux for the casual user, but I do recommend open source programs from SourceForge.net for Microsoft Windows OS.

I have no problem eating bovines, ruminants, and herbivores. I do not care to eat predators because of parasites and trans-species diseases. Horse meat offers fewer health risks than pork. I remember back in the late '60s and early '70s during the beef shortage that horse meat and earthworms were offered in the U.S. supermarkets and the pros and cons were discussed quite extensively on the national news at the time. There was even an episode on "All in the Family" about horse meat. That was the time that meat substitute soy products appeared on the market. It seems that soy was much more acceptable than horse or earthworm.

Thanks for the titles. I will order those books.

Could you discuss the illustrations a little more? I would like to understand what is being shown and my ignorance is hindering me quite a bit.

Please recommend the best book for dye or staining. I really need to read up on this subject very soon!

Lindsay, is there a particular commercial dishwasher similar liquid that you would recommend over all of the other brands. I read Bianchi's book cover to cover last night and enjoyed it very much. I am a collector of rare European pistols and revolvers. As a peripheral interest I have accumulated quite a few original European and American holsters circa 1900 in excellent condition for these handguns. Bianchi's passion for collecting old holsters struck a chord with me. I have several holsters for which I gave impressive sums. Pictured below are a couple of examples of my collection: 1. Biffar, Chicago 2. an Austrian holster for a 1901 commercial Austrian Steyr Mannlicher

Well, I am now all "booked up"! I received The Art of Hand Sewing Leather by Stohlman and How to make Holsters Book by Stohlman in the mail today. I will spend quite a bit of time this weekend reading those two books and then you will most probably see me in the various sections of this forum asking questions and soliciting advice. By the way, this is an absolutely wonderful forum. From the very first welcome, through all of the expert advice given to me, this has been a very enjoyable experience. Thanks to you all. I will make a wager right now that my first major mistake will be stretching the leather too much and destroying its inner fiber structure, destroying its firmness and rigidity after it has dried. Is this a hazard or possibility?

My book Blue Steel & Gunleather by Bianchi came in yesterday. So I read it. I am now awaiting my two Stahlman books so that I can begin formulating a plan using your suggestions and what I can glean from the books. I am gaining much confidence from the communications with the members of this forum. Please do not think that I have let my ardor for this project wane. It has not. Quite the contrary. Increasing confusion usually cools my enthusiasm and, so far, my understanding of my holster making process has become more clear since joining this forum.

Where may I find these snaps? I really do not prefer the pull through snap and would rather have a stiff thumb snap release.

I have ordered Blue Steel and Gunleather by Bianchi, as recommended by Lindsay. I ordered this book through Abebooks.com. It should arrive 3 to 6 days. Tom, I am very thankful that you mentioned this. My inclination would have been to let the leather soak indefinitely, thinking that if a little water is good, a lot of water has to be just wonderful. Glad you gave a caution!

Thank you gentlemen for the welcome. I am very glad to see that this board is active and full of users who are able to advise me on my project. I do plan to bore you with photos of my project and finished project. I just hope that I do not make myself into a plague to you.

Well, Tandy's Leather locations were closed on Sundays. I tried two locations in Denver. Both closed. That was surprising! I figured that any company devoted to supplying hobbyists would be open weekends when those hobbyists would be off work and out buying supplies for their hobbies. So I, after doing other shopping (purchased a new 27" LCD TV) I came home and ordered two books from eLeather Supply online. The books are being shipped express mail. I ordered The Art of Hand Sewing Leather by Stohlman and How to make Holsters Book by Stohlman. Hope that these two books are the correct ones. Lindsay, until my books arrive and I can educate myself, please give me your opinion of a method of molding which I have been considering. 1. two hardwood boards such as bird's eye maple, rosewood, or ebony wood. 2. cut out a cutout the exact shape of the pistol, but is 5/64" bigger all around to allow for the thickness of the leather. 3. coat pistol with Vaseline, wrap with Saran wrap, wrap with electrical tape (as suggested by Johanna). 4. sandwich the pistol between two pieces of soaked leather. 5. sandwich the leather (with pistol between) between the two hardwood boards with silhouette cutout of pistol. 6. define the contours of the pistol by pressing premade pieces of wood into the trigger guard, along ridges, etc. If the above is nonsense, do not hesitate to state so.

I am headed to town today and will stop by Tandy's and pick up the Stohlman book on holsters and on hand stitching. I live in the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 9500 ft and do not get to town very often. This gives me an excuse to visit civilization. I had seen the holster book offered on the 'net but the front cover illustrated the Western revolver type of belt and holster, so I discounted it of any value. This book may re-establish the value of "You can't judge a book by its cover". Johanna, after your post last night, I could not sleep for thinking of the method in which I could protect my pistol and I am thrilled that my thinking ran parallel with your suggestion of Saran wrap and electrical tape. And your suggestion of Vaseline ads enough extra to give me confidence in using my pistol without reducing it to a hunk of rust. So, I will definitely use my pistol as the mold. I have also dreamed up a way in which to define the contours and edges of my pistol to a very fine definition and detail. Your mention of bruising the leather during molding introduces a variable which I had not considered. What, exactly, is this bruising? Is it the closing of pores of the leather? Creating a "skinned" or torn blemish? Lindsay, I was composing this reply before you posted. You explanation is extremely enlightening and gives me quite a bit of food for thought. Let me consider the method that you have mentioned and I will see what resources I have which might duplicate some of those methods. Right now I am off to town to get some books.

Johanna Please do consider that anything that I say is totally wrapped in ignorance for I have absolutely no experience with leather work. The reason that I chose 5-6 oz hide is that I am going to have to mold this holster by hand without the aid of presses. From all of the information that I have been able to glean from the custom holster makers sites, they use 3/4 or 4/5 weight hide for high definition molded holsters. To compensate for lack of stiffness I plan to install a tensioner screw and a thumb snap release. I have plenty of leather with which to fail. The double shoulder is quite large! I have not drawn my pattern as yet because I do not know how much to allow for the leather stretching during molding. I figured that I would form the outline shape of the two halves of the holster after I have molded it to the pistol. If I need to create a pattern before beginning, I am afraid that I would be at a total loss. I have considered using my pistol to which to mold my leather, but was worried about rust and corrosion. I have access to a manufacturing company which will make an aluminum form to the dimensions of my pistol. If there is a method in which I can use my pistol and still protect it while wet forming the leather, I am very willing to do so, as this will save me quite a bit of money that would be spent in the creation of the aluminum mold. I have absolutely no tools. I hope that this is a good thing, as I can purchase only what I need, whenever I need. The cost of the tools is no concern, unless I have to buy some sort of machine. That would probably give me pause. I will hand stitch this holster. I have an old upholstery sewing machine given to me by my mother, but I am concerned that I would let it get away from me and botch a job that I could have done by hand. I have no hardware yet for this holster and plan to purchase it as it is required in the progress of this project. I know what it is that I want, but have not located all of the hardware yet. Thanks for the quick response to my post on this forum. I am glad to see that this forum is not dead as so many specialty forums are on the 'net.

Hello, I am in the process of creating my first molded shoulder holster. I have purchased a double shoulder, vegetable tanned hide from Siegel of California. It is 5-6 oz. and about .078 thick. Received it yesterday. This holster is for a Beretta 951 which is a medium frame semi-auto pistol. I will need help and advice on molding or boning this holster so that it has fine detail of this pistol. As far as I know this molding is the very first thing that I need to do in the process of creating this holster. Is this correct or do I need to start with something else? Hopefully the holster will look like the image below.

I do not mean to hijack this thread but I wanted to reply to Standingbears. My grandmother's maiden name was Standingbear. Northern Cheyenne.

Hello. I am new to leather work and will need some coaching. I have a acquired a classic pistol (Beretta 951) and need a moulded shoulder holster for it. None are offered by any holster manufacturers. So, I decided to create it myself. The image below is what I want to create. What do you think are my chances of success?