Abram

Thanks fellas. I took the holster and warmed it last night, not to hot just enough to buff the kiwi finish. The white is gone and the overall sheen has dulled down a bit, looks pretty goo . After reading the replies I suspect I was a bit too quick to apply the mop-n-glo and to heavy handed in using the mop-n-glo and kiwi. I am working on another holster right now but I think I will take some of my scrap pieces and work on applying my finishes before I dive into this one. Thanks again for all of the help.

Hey gang got a question. I finished a pancake holster this weekend and decided to try the mop-n-glo top coat. I dyed with fiebings and let it sit over night. I then applied a light coat of EVOO, let that soak in and then applied two coats of the 50/50 mixture of water and mop-n-glo. Once that had dried I buffed it using the kiwi neutral shoe polish. Everything was going okay until I decided to use the holster. Once I removed the holster it had what appeared to be white stress marks where it had flexed from wearing. Now these are are not solid marks but more of a speckled look. Do you think there was some interaction of the various dyes and oils? I may have over done it with EVOO and mop-n-glo top coat. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks folks

If this is the wrong place for this then please move it. Also if this has been discussed, I am sure it probably has, then please post a link to the thread. I am using the stitching needles from Tandy, you know the ones where the eye is oblong and large. I have pretty good results using the 5 cord thread but was wondering if it would be better to get the harness needles as suggested in Al Stohlmans book. Then there would the question of the correct size. For those of you one here that hand stitch your holsters what do you prefer? Again if this has been discussed just point to the thread. Thank you

That is beautiful, I hope some day for mine to look that good, long way to go for me though

Well the holster is not formed so there may be my salvation. I will go ahead and finish my stitching and then work with smoothing them out. I also use a smooth face hammer to lightly tap my stitches, the key word is light. Thanks for the suggestions. Cheers

I had thought about that but figured it wouldn't work. I will try a test tonight.

Well I started a new holster and while sewing it I was pulling my awl back out by pressing my thumb against the leather thus leaving some finger nail marks. Question, can I take some fine sand paper and buff these marks out or will affect the staining and final finish or should I just chalk it up to another lesson learned? Cheers

That is very nice. Would you mind showing us a picture of the back side of the holster?

Okay note to self, do not start your own business, too much hassle.

I just designed my first holster for the XD45 with the 4inch barrel, came out pretty good. The frame size is the same between the two XD45 so you should be good to go. If it is a pancake holster and you want I will send you my template.

That is beautiful and truly one of a kind, great work.

Thank you very much sir

I like that design, looks very user friendly.

Thanks for the reply Lobo. I have been leery of placing stitching grooves on both sides prior to sewing. I tried it once and managed to get the two misaligned pretty badly....lol. I am going to print out your steps and study them, thanks again.

I am attempting to make a western style holster, something like the one shown in the Tutorial on this page. My biggest problem I think is the dyeing and sewing, everything else I can do fairly well for a beginner. I was just curious as to other techniques as I have seen several on the internet.

to making a holster. I have just recently started trying to make holsters and I am having some difficulties. Here are my steps to making a holster, please comment on my methods. 1. I cut my pattern, I am currently attempting a holster for my revolver. 2. I burnish the top edges before I assemble. 3. I normally stain the holster before assembly as it is easier to get the stain behind the belt loop. 4. Once the stain has dried I sand the edges on the face only. I am using welts, I think that is the correct term, to thicken the area around the trigger guard. 5. I punch my holes in the face only. I have found this helps later on with getting them aligned to the holes on the back side and it makes it easier to get through the welts. 6. I then glue the two sides together in preparation for stitching. 7. I reset my stitching groover to match the groove on the front side and I then groove the back side. 8. I then stitch my holster together using the pre-punched holes on the face to guide my awl. 9. Burnish my edges 10. touch up my staining. I have seen others that dip the entire holster in stain once it has been completed. This would seem to be a better way and I may try and invest in a large bottle of dye just so I can do that. any and all help/comments are greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Greetings all. One of my friends has gotten me started in the wonderful world of leather craft and I found this wonderful site. Looking forward to doing some listening, learning and laughing. Cheers