Josh Ashman

That's probably how I'd do it. I'm curious, is it your plan to have the rawhide wet then glue the stitch the whole thing together in one go so you can form the holster while the rawhide is still pliable? What kind of holster are you making? Good luck, Josh

Thanks Frank & Chief Jason! I hand mold, thumbs then a Osborne leather working hammer (the little smooth face one). Sometimes I'll use a modeling spoon but I generally don't. Best regards, Josh

Very nice Robert!

Thanks Bobby and Robert! Similar to a different thread from a few days ago, there are many ways to do the job and all of them are right if you do a neat job of it. Have a great weekend everybody!

Thanks Double H. I like the thought of using chisels to complete slots so I got a decent set and gave it a try then I went back to my head knife. For me the head knife just works better but I also use it to cut all of my patterns and for any skiving that needs to be done. Because of that I'm familiar with it and keep it pretty sharp. Best regards, Josh

Thanks Jack!

Leather is a natural product and each piece can vary quite a bit, even if they are tanned at the same place. Sometimes you find a really nice hide from Tandy and sometimes you run into a not so good Hermann Oak hide. The stiffness is most likely in how the hide was tanned or the nature of the leather itself. In my experience 9 times out of 10, maybe even 99 out of 100 I'm happier with HO over Tandy's products. But that's just me. Best regards, Josh

Thanks Red Cent, that really made my day because I don't have a slot punch I use a 5/16 round punch and head knife (I tried a chisel but liked the head knife more), then I sand with a little piece of sandpaper wrapped around a pencil and edge with a #2 bisonette (sp?) beveller and slick with the wooden Weaver edge tool. Some times it works pretty good and sometimes they're rougher than I want. These ones turned out pretty nice. I'm sure a bunch of folks will chime in with some good slot punch makers,. It's one of the things I have on my wish list but haven't gotten around to buying yet. Best regards, Josh

Red, I also have a hard time ordering leather online. I'm only an hour or so away from SLC so I get most of my hides from them in person although I have ordered from them over the phone when I didn't feel like driving to Springfield. I've also ordered over the phone from Weaver for most of my skirting leather. Both have been pretty successful, I tell whoever is taking the order what I plan on doing with the leather and they generally treat me right. Good luck, Josh

Here are a few recent carry holsters. All for 5" 1911's and mostly all 8 oz HO. The darker IWB is two layers of 4 oz back to back. Thanks for looking, Josh

I put full welts in western holsters and knife sheaths. The reason in knife sheaths is to keep from cutting the stitches and holsters is because I like how it looks, and like Robert, I like that it stiffens up the main seam. There's no "lack of design" or "making up for improper fitting" going on, it's intentional. I don't put welts in pancake holsters although I think Lobo has a design that does this. There's plenty of ways to do the job, just whatever you like. Best regards, Josh

Your work is an inspiration Frank, thanks for posting it! Best regards, Josh

Mernickle holsters notes on their website that the steel lining is to deflect wax bullets only. With that being the case I imagine any thin metal lining would probably work although you might want to do some Mythbuster type testing on something other than your leg. As for forming the metal I'd think it would be relatively easy, basically the same thing as a metal reinforced opening on a carry holster only run it across the back fairly far down. I'm sure the Mernickle holsters are great but looking at the pictures on their site I think there is probably a high level of marketing involved which probably applies to the leg shield as well. There's my 2 cents, it's worth just what it cost you! Best regards, Josh

Thanks Lobo, I appreciate the info. I have a .45 XD mag and wondered if somebody might chime in with the STI double stack thickness so I could feel comfortable using it or maybe tape some heavy skirting to the sides of a std 1911 mag and use that. I've been waiting for a week or so for the customer to send me a mag and I got time to fit the order in. I thought if somebody had the info I needed I could get by without it and button this deal up. Thanks again for your input and taking the time to share your thoughts on the matter. Best regards, Josh

I cut my belts straight with a draw gauge or strap cutter then form them into a curve when they are cased for tooling. I think it helps to get a hide to go farther and keeps thing simpler, but that's just my opinion. A single layer of 10/11 forms into a curve pretty easily. The picture below has buscadero drops so I cut it with the drop loops towards the back off of a new hide. that gave me a straight edge that I cut both cartridge belts and regular belt blanks from until I was down to the belly. As for how to figure out length and placement, I use a 15" tongue billet with 7 holes spaced @ 1" starting 3-1/2" from the end and a buckle chape that measures 6" from the center of the fold to the end, overall length is probably around 8" or so. I place the buckle at about the end of the main belt body and put the 3rd hole of the billet wear the customer currently wears a gunbelt. This works for me to get a balanced looking rig. A rough estimate for sizes is that Levi or Wrangler pants size to a regular belt is about +3" while the same pants size to a cartridge belt is about +6". Everybody is different but that is generally pretty close in my experience. Best regards, Josh

Does anybody happen to know the thickness of an STI 2011 mag? I'd also like to get anybody's thoughts on "shimming" a std 1911 mag out to the STI's thickness and building a mag pouch from that. I appreciate any feedback available, thanks! Josh

That is some spectacular work! Great job! Josh

Awesome work, thanks for posting it! Best regards, Josh

Thanks so much Bob!

Thanks Joe! Good luck Mike, post some pics when you're done! Semper-fi Josh

Thanks Robert! Mike, thank you for your service to our country as well! You're absolutely welcome to borrow anything that looks like it's working on my design. I saw an old Don Hume holster that was pretty much the same general idea and modified it according to what I thought would work. I only have one of these that's being used on a regular basis, it's been somebody's EDC holster for around 8 months and he sure likes it. The 2 pictured above are for buddies of his. Good luck, Josh

Thanks Mike! the spacers are little chunks of fuel line. I cut them a little long and they compress together and put some tension on the screws. The T nuts are sandwiched on the back. I don't use a lot of T nuts but I'd read a post on here by some of the guys that do use them a lot and both sides of the "cover or don't cover" question were represented well. It seems to me like there are valid points on each side, I was fine to cover these up as they shouldn't be getting much playing around with. I did go ahead and clinch the points over as suggested by Tony Kanaley. Semper-fi (B Co. 1st Bn 3rd Mar) Josh

Here are a few pictures of recent projects. Best regards, Josh

I agree with JAM and Ron on the rivet size and length although I don't use burrs when riveting on Blevins buckles. I just peen the rivet on buckle plate itself. You can get #9 copper rivets from most leather supply places (Tandy, Springfield Leather, Weaver, etc) and your local hardware store or feed store might also carry them. Look in the bolt section in the little pull out trays, that's where they usually are. A bulk box from Weaver will be much less money but if you only want to get 4 to 6 of them the hardware store might suit you better. Good luck, Josh

Thanks 451813. Send me a PM with your e-mail and I'll send you a scanned copy of these patterns. They're rough and you'll have to fill in plenty of blanks but they give you a starting point. Josh