malabar

I'm not big into making knife sheaths. If you make them really well, they're almost as much work as making a holster, and you can't charge as much. So I have a few regulars I make them for, but don't really advertise. And I don't do exotics. But my son was doing a gun show down in Palm Beach, and an antique dealer commissioned a boot knife sheath for his custom boot knife -- all Damascus steel, rosewood and silver. So I had to make something that would be worthy of the knife. The sheath has six layers of leather -- outer shells, liners, welt and the exotic. I got such a good reaction that I made a similar piece for my big custom Greco Kukri. These sheaths both have quick mounting systems, metal hardware for mounting, and liners to prevent any metal from touching the blade. The retention snap can be easily popped by your thumb when you grip the knife. So thoughts, comments? How to improve them?

Slick. Must be gratiying to see your gear still in use after all that time. many thanks for the pointers. tk

Supercub I really like that. Using the slot method makes it a lot easier to align the top and bottom loops than if you stitched them.

Sorry that no one has responded. I like the design. Good sheaths are more complex to make (and more work) than many realize. The way that you use the attachment loop is smart -- it enables you to keep the snaps from rubbing against the blade without having to line the sheath body. OTOH, it means that the sheath rides at an acute angle. Is that really desirable for your use? There are a couple of reasons why it might be desirable -- to clear a very long blade, to enable it to be worn at the back or midsection, or because the user has very limited arm movement. The rivets add a kind of rustic look that you might or might not want. You typically find rivets on cheaper sheaths that don't have a stitched-in welt. The welt protects the edge and keeps it from cutting through the thread, which is also what the rivets do. You'll rarely find rivets on sheaths for custom knives because they don't want the edge of their expensive custom knife rubbing against the rivet. One last thought: It's hard for me to tell from the picture, but can you easily access the snap on the safety strap when you grip the knife? Keep up the good work! tk

Tony, Thanks for weighing in. You said that you repaired two holsters with stripped t-nuts last year: Would you mind sharing your procedure for replacing the t-nut? many thanks tk

Frank, That's a nice range of work! Are those brands you've carved into that holster? How did you texture the background?

Well done! That is very nice. Is that a Busse? Did you hand-stitch that?

I'm lucky: Rings is a local company, and an acquaintance of mine knows the owner -- so I've gotten a pretty good price in the past, but it ain't much cheaper than the LE Targets price. I just don't have to pay shipping.

I don't do a lot of this kind of work, but I've always done it it the other way -- stitching in the loops. That's probably why I don;t do much of this -- it takes a lot of time and layout (Bianchi makes it look easy in that DVD, but ...). This way looks to be a whole lot more efficient. When you talk about using .5" spacing, that's .5" from the centerline of one slot to the next? Which means you've got about .25" of leather actually separating the slots? I would have thought that this method would be subject to loss of tension on the loops when one cartridge is extracted. But if you're using this technique, it must work well. THANKS! for this tutorial. I'll have to try it. tk

Very nice work. I can;t really tell from the picture, is that horizontal or vertical carry?

Very nice work. And thanks for sharing the technique. tk

Red, didn't mean to be condescending, and I certainly don't see how I assassinated your character -- nothing in my post questions your intelligence, skill or ethics. But this is a board for discussion of holster construction, so you have to expect folks to ask why you do things in a particular way. And concealment rigs for single-actions are very unusual. I have no issues with carrying a 1911 cocked and locked, as long as the safety and trigger are protected. As you say, proper training and habits are essential. What I asked was, why would you choose to leave the trigger exposed? if you don't want to discuss that it's fine. If the answer is simply, "that's the way the customer wanted it," that's fine too. But you're an experienced cowboy shooter, and very familiar with the operation of these guns, so you have plenty of insight into the mindset. But if there is a technical reason for it, related to the use of a single-action revolver for defense, I'd like to understand it. BTW: I like the two-gun rig. Is that for fast draw? tk

Thanks for the kind words. I use 9/10 for the backs and 7/8 for the front. tk

Almost all of my holsters are high-ride and flat-backed. This requires a more rigid body to properly support the gun. I make extensive use of templates, because the front and back pieces have very different shapes. And most of my holsters have a steelband in the throat that is covered by a third piece that joins the front to the back. You can see my designs on my website at www.malabargunleather.com/display-holsters My procedure: 1.) Layout the pieces using the templates and cut them out. 2.) Trim, edge and burnish the reinforcing piece. 3.) Apply glue to the portions of the three pieces that are joined by the reinforcing piece. Also apply glue to the steel band. 4.) When the glue is dry, add the steel band to the reinforcing piece. The join the three pieces together flat, using the reinforcing piece as a guide. 5.) Stitch the reinforcing piece to the front and back. 6.) Using a template, layout the holes for the t-nuts, punch the holes, insert the t-nuts, and bend the pieces of the holster around so that it resembles it's final shape and is no longer "flat." Apply glue to the portions of the body that will be joined together. 7.) When the glue is dry, align the two sides that will wrapped by the reinforcing piece and carefully press them together. 8.) Put the gun in the holster, and wrap the outside layer over top of the inside layer (the part that will become the flat back). Carefully push the layers together. 9.) Trim the sides so that the outer edger match up. 10.) Mark the stitch lines. I used to do this entirely by using a template shaped like the gun, and indexing it from the position of the gun in the holster. More and more often I now wet the leather, and mold it to the shape of the gun, and mark the stitch line that way, using the template to confirm the proper shape. 11.) Stitch the holster, then dunk it and wet mold. Hope this helps.

Interesting idea on the bottom one: Folding out the sides to use as a "stop" for the tool in the loop at the side. It appears that there is a slot behind the main compartment, is that intentional or an artifact of the design?

Yeah, I know it's a single action. And I know that every competitor has their own ides about what is safe and what is not safe. But I'm also the chief instructor at one of the biggest gun clubs in Florida. And because I have to deal with USPSA, IDPA and SASS, I also know that competitors don't agree from sport to sport on what is "safe." But we're talking about concealed carry. And that doesn't have anything to do the rules of any of these sports. Accepted rules for CCW require the trigger guard to be covered because it makes the gun safe. The trigger guard on OWB single-action rigs are exposed because of the old practice of having the finger in the trigger guard from the draw. That's not acceptable today with any style of pistol. I don't want to start a pissing match, but this interests me: Why would you choose to expose the trigger guard on a CCW rig? I will concede I've never made a CCW rig for a single-action revolver, but I've made a bunch for double-actions. One is below. I've posted the pic to show that there are certainly ways to apply modern construction techniques to revolvers.

Turned out nice! I've done a number of concealment holsters for 4-inch L-frames and K-frames. And right now, I've got one on my bench for a snub-nosed X-frame and a six-inch N-frame. Never can tell what people will want <g>

I've only made a couple of hundred holsters like this, so I don't have the extensive experience that Ray does. But I bury the the t-nuts between the layers of leather. On my IWBs, I attach the straps the way that Milt Sparks does -- I have a separate tab and spacer stitched to the strap, and I secure them with a pair of t-nuts. Lobo's right -- you can certainly strip these things out, but my personal experience has been that the only ones I have problems with come out of the box bad. I've never had a client strip them, but then, because they are attached at two points, they never loosen, and the client doesn't have to touch them. Similarly, my most popular holster has replaceable straps that are held in place by a single t-nut, but because the strap threads through the body of the holster before being screwed down, these never loosen, either. Of course, it might be that after a few more years of business, I find out otherwise. Now, I have had clients destroy the one-way snaps from putting them on the wrong way <g> tk

excellent!

Interesting design. If you make another, you might think about sitting the gun into the holster more deeply. It will be a little more stable, and it's always a good idea to cover the trigger guard.

Very nice workmanship. You might try making one with a stitched keeper and see if you like the look. After you've got some more under your belt (so to speak), you might take a look at working with 1.5-inch strips to start with. Reduces the amount of work you put into each belt. Here's my question: How are you positioning these? Are you selling them as heavy-duty gun belts? Because I'm not sure they're heavy-duty enough. We use 8/9-ounce leather for the top AND for the lining, and run a strip of kydex down the center. This makes for a belt that will comfortably support the largest handgun, day-in and day-out. tk

I use a lightly different technique than most of the makers here. I soak my holsters to start to make it easier to stretch the leather. Insert the gun/model into the holster. Cut any slots, stamp the logo Vacuum-mold it. Let set in the bag a bit. Set on wooden drying rack in cold oven. Turn on convection to lowest temp (170). Set for 10 minutes. Take out of oven when alarm sounds. Bone the details. But back in the warm oven for another 12-15 minutes. Check detail boning, make any adjustments necessary. Let air dry overnight. This can make for a very firm holster. I typically use 8-10 ounce drum-dyed Hermann Oak. if you want it harder, bake a little longer. tk

You can do a flat-backed holster by pressing or vacuum. This will do the bulk of the forming work. If you want a really fine, detailed look, you still need to hand detail it. But most ofthe work is alrready done. tk

I make two styles: A double pancake and a quick-detachable double that is joined with chicago screws. Some likeone, some like the other. tk

Here's my rule of thumb: Make a holster as wide as it needs to be, and never wider than it has to be. Eric does beautiful work. He makes a really refined pancake. If you notice, the body is just wide enough to bend the "wings" around to position the belt slots correctly. Other styles might require some additional length to make it easier to thread the belt through the loops. tk