Josh Ashman

Thanks again Michael! Leatherwork is full of great debates, if you think holster makers get opinionated check out the saddle makers page! Best regards, Josh

Michael, Thank you for your commets! Safety should always be considered in holster design, I am comftrable with the amount of trigger showing considering the firearm this will carry and the manner it will be worn however I certainly respect that others may not agree with me. For dye I used a mixture of medium brown and british tan Fiebrings pro oil dye, maybe a tablespoon of each, and some pure neatsfoot oil, maybe 1/4 cup. I put all of this in an empty soda bottle, shook it up, poked a hole in the top with a scratch awl and applied it with trimmed shearling. This was followed by a coat of Fiebrings Aussie Wax rubbed in by hand and left to soak in with the rig sitting in a parked truck on a sunny day and then a little glycerine saddle soap to put on a shine. Best regards, Josh

Thanks for the kind words on the rig!, I'll try to fix the pictures

Here's an open carry cartridge belt and holster for a Ruger .44 Mag Super Redhawk Alaskan. Let me know what you think, thanks for looking! Josh

Simple browband bridal with "diamond 4" brand and brass hardware for my son in law. Let me know what you think, thanks for looking! Josh

Welcome to the forum. For some of your first holsters you're off to a great start, thanks for sharing. Josh

I agree with Shooter in that it's personal preference and I can see where the equipment you have would have a pretty big impact on that. FWIW, I build mine pretty much just like Mike, handsewn in the following order, cut, tool, dye, stitch, mold then finish. Best regards, Josh

All great looking stuff Eaglestroker. I especially like the black basket stamped thumb break. Good job! Josh

Dang nice work Shooter, thanks for sharing! Whenever I see high quality work it pushes me to raise my own standards and in the area of thumb breaks you've set a very high bar. Josh

Thank you Mike and JW! Bluesman, thank you and you are correct on the lettering. Just cut with a swivel knife, well, I did also use a "stop" stamp on a few of the ends to clean it up. Best regards, Josh

Thank you Madadh. I do have a pattern for the tuckable, but I don't have it with me. I'd be happy to bring it in to work with me tomorrow and send it to you. Just FYI, it'd probably be just as easy for you to make your own, then you can fit any gun you want. I basically just follow the Al Stohlman holster instructions (you can get his book from Tandy) and tweak it a little to get whatever I'm making. For the tuckable I outlined the pistol on a folded piece of paper, added 5/8" to get the main seam ( I usually go with 3/4", but I wanted this quite snug), sketched in the slide cover and top where they looked balanced then sketched in the throat reinforcement/clip cover and done. I used a 14 oz. welt at the main seam when I put it all together, pretty simple really. Anyway, I'm more than happy to send you my pattern. I'll try to get it to you tomorrow. Texas Jack, you sir are correct! I appreciate your input. That holster happened to be for me and if I make another one I'll refrain from wrapping the throat. Best regards, Josh

Thank you Mike & Texas Jack! Best regards, Josh

Thank you sir! I appreciate the kind words Best regards, Josh

Thank you Eaglestroker! I was very happy with how it turned out. Mixing dye and neatsfoot oil can work out OK, it can also make a mess. I'm still trying to get it figured out a little better. I'm glad you like it. Best regards, Josh

Field holsters with mag pouches for a Walther P22 and Ruger Mark III and a tuckable (is that what other people call them???) for a 3-1/2" 1911 . All made out of 8 oz. HO with Fiebrings Oil Dye mixed with neatsfoot oil and topped with Aussie Wax. Let me know what you think, thanks for looking. Josh

These were made as a surprise birthday present. I had the guns long enough to make paper outlines then I fit the pistols in when they were picked up. The holsters, belt and billets are 11 oz. HO and the bullet loops are 7 oz. HO. They were dyed (stained?) with Fiebrings black liquid antique and finished with Leather Balm w/Atom Wax. Just FYI, if you use LBwAW over liquid antique you'll wipe quite a bit of the stain off and streak it quite a bit in the process. Anyway, I'm mostly happy with how these turned out. Let me know what you think. Thanks for looking, Josh

I thought this turned out pretty nice. The main belt and billets are 11 oz. HO and the bullet loops are 7 oz. HO. It's dyed with a mixture of Fiebings British Tan and Dark Brown thinnned with neatsfoot oil. Finished off with some Aussie Wax and a little glycerine saddle soap to shine it up. Let me know what you all think, thanks for looking. Josh

I've made quite a few western holsters without having the pistol (real or dummy) by having the customer make an outline of the gun per the Al Stohlman holster book and mailing it to me. It wouldn't work for somthing that you wanted tightly molded or boned but typically that's not the case with a western style holster. When I've done this I'll get the outline, make my pattern, build the holster and fit the closest shooter I have into it, a few times I've just had to form the mouth of the holster to what I thought it should look like, then mail it off. I haven't had any come back, although I have walked a few people through wet forming a holster over the phone. Good luck however you decide to proceed. Josh