wizard of tragacanth

I am absolutely NOT the person to answer this question because I have ZERO experience here. However, since no one else will answer, I will try. Honestly, I am not sure that you should even continue on this one but if you must, think of a flashing on a roof. Use a long strip of leather, folded down the middle, length-wise. Place it in the inside corner, sew to the side and the strap. Good luck! Hopefully, some one with real knowledge can be of more assistance. You might give it a week. I am here every day but many are not. nick

I use Tandy Harness Needles, Size 0 (zero). Mine measure an average of 1.09 https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/harness-needles-10-pk nick

Confession time: I always sew one-needle-at-a-time. I guess that is kinda amateurish and I may be the only one doing it but it works for me and I doubt that I will change. However, I am open to constructive criticism. nick

Sweeeet!

It's always nice to have a "little helper" around, right? I'm sure that your friend will treasure his gift. nick

Matt, what do you use to cut the Masonite,. a jig saw? nick

Very nice work. Those layers do look nice and clean. What brand of contact cement did you use? nick

Oh yeah... just re-read this thread (haha, there's a joke there) and realized that I did not address your thread thickness. 1.2 mm is just too thick. For me, 0.6 mm is a little thin. I use 0.8 mm Sorry Nigel... I just like a chunkier look on holster. nick

Well, you have definitely cleaned up the edges and have given it a nice contour. The dye and finish are good... and that firearm is awesome! I am a huge Sig fan. Things to consider: I am wondering if there is enough room to get a full firing-grip on the pistol. It looks like the leather comes up a little too high but that could be due to the slight angle of the picture. I am seeing some finger nail marks and the goal is not to have any. I had a huge problem with this on my first few projects. At first you will need to have great awareness every time you touch the leather. Later, it will become totally natural and you will not even have to think about it. The stitching that goes around the trigger guard and under the barrel, needs to be much closer in… as close as you can get it. If your sewing machine cannot get in there, you may have to hand-stitch that line. I only hand-sew so I can’t be of any help there. You could still fix this on this project. Here is an example. On one of my earlier projects, I did not stitch close enough. I went back and stitched closer in. It worked out. nick

I had some kind of problem making this post. The text for this pic is in the next post.

I don't know if I am really helping here but fraying is an unavoidable part of the process. I have used twisted linen thread more than synthetics and I don't know if this applies to braided thread. Anyway, I find it is best when it is moderately to heavily waxed. This keeps the fibers together better and makes it slide through the leather with less damage. Additionally, it is highly advisable to stretch the thread before sewing. Again, this is for twisted linen. My favored way to do this is to hold the waxed thread, one end in each hand, loop the thread over a door knob, keep firm tension on the thread and "saw" back and forth from one end to the other. Does that make sense? Optionally, you can hold one end and run it through your finger tips of the other hand, squeezing and pulling but this can make a twisted thread, bunch up. I sometimes have to use jeweler's pliers to pull the needle through the leather. nick

Jason, thanks for posting that. Looks good. I think rough-out is especially good for a pocket holster, for obvious reasons. I also like the full coverage. That button-tab that you put on it is a cool design element that makes your holster stand out from others. When I made my pocket holster, due to habit, I cut the leather for grain side out. Since it was a slightly asymmetrical pattern, I had to leave it that way. Jeez! Oh well, next time... maybe. nick .

Beautious! Well executed. Must have been a challenge to get through all of those layers. How did you make the holes?

Jason... please do post a pic of the etsy holster. Would love to see it.

Hilarious... and kinda creepy! nick

Looks good Yin. I love the tooling, though I know nothing about tooling... never done it. There is something glaringly missing though... your maker's mark! Try to get that on V3, okay? nick

Jason, that is a real nice looking holster. Hope I'm not repeating myself but the P365 is not too big nor too heavy to pocket carry. However, I guess that depends on the person's build and type of pants that they wear. I made a pocket holster for my P365. The gun and holster fit nicely in the pocket of my Lee jeans (regular fit). I am 5'10" and 180 lbs. It rode comfortably, even when sitting and driving, and it was nearly invisible. I didn't need to worry about printing though because I always wear long, un-tucked shirts. The only problem was... I could not draw from it. The opening of the pocket was too small and made it into a monkey trap. If I had a full firing grip on the pistol, I couldn't pull the gun out. It doesn't work too well drawing with just a thumb and index finger! Carried for 5 years IWB, now 10 years OWB. Thought that I would try pocket carry but looks like I am staying with OWB... unless I buy a different style of jeans. nick

Is the stamp plastic or metal? If it was metal, did you heat it up first? nick

Here is an example of burnishing both before and after assembly. The tan reinforcement had to be burnished on the bottom edge before assembly and had to be sanded and burnished on the top edge after assembly.

Oh yeah... looking much better here. Yes, I said sanding block but of course, a spindle sander performs the same function. I use either one, at different times. The steps for each process can vary depending on several things. Sometimes you will have an edge that is impossible or difficult to burnish if the holster were already assembled. In that case, you have to burnish it before assembly. Any edges that meet should be sanded after the holster is assembled and then burnished together. You said that there is a gap in the leather but I cannot see it in the pic, so I cannot comment on it. Did you use an edge beveler (aka edger, aka beveler) before sanding and burnishing? At the top left of the pic, where the leather goes over the sights, it looks like there is a "burr" there, like when sharpening a knife. Beveling knocks off the corners of the leather so that this doesn't happen. So, edge first, then sand, then burnish. Where edges meet, you will only edge the grain side because the flesh side needs to be flat, to make it look like one piece after burnishing. When sanding two-ply edges, make sure to get all of the glue off or it will spoil the look. It appears that your inside stitch line could/should be closer to the gun, as close as you can get it. After a while, the glue will release and the fit will become sloppy. The glue is really mostly to hold the holster together while it is being stitched and to make the edges a solid unit. The stitching is to keep the gun in position where it should be. You are really doing well... keep it up! nick

This is a very good point that no one had mentioned. For hand stitching, you want to buy waxed thread or wax your own. nick

Hey... that looks much better! I'm nit-picking now but in this pic, the curved edge of the holster, going around the stitching, looks a bit uneven. It's not a smooth curve. You could still fix that. Use a sanding block to smooth it out. Try something in the range of 120 - 150 - 220 grit It won't take much at all, just a few sweeping strokes. You will have to re-dye the area, probably. Use a q-tip. I can't see the edges of the holster but it looks like they may not be burnished. Burnishing is not necessary but it does add a professional touch. Search this site for "burnishing the edges of a holster" for details. Did you put a finish on this holster, or just buff it? nick

Oh... I like that knife. The knife and sheath make a good combo... kinda primitive/barbarian looking. I like that. I'm glad you showed the knife! I really, really like it. nick

So, you need a snap with a longer post that will pass through thicker stock? What are you using now? Are they Line 24 snaps? Tandy Line 24 snaps have a 5/16" post. Is that enough? https://www.tandyleather.com/en/search/?sSearch=line 24 snaps nick

Did you vigorously buff the leather after dyeing to get all of the residue off? That could be a problem if you didn't. For the next iteration, instead of using two pieces of leather, use one long piece and fold it under the knife, then mold and stitch it exactly as you have done here, then trim off the excess. Haven't done this myself but it seems like it would work. nick