Guy W

for the belt loop keeper/straps what type of leather would you want to use? I assume something lighter and thiner than the 6-7oz that you make the main holster out of?

wow thanks for all the great replies, I'll need to take some time and digest all of this. more questions on the way I'm sure. thanks again, ~Guy

thanks for the replies i have a bunch of questions. first, i can't really wrap my mind around the t-nut-screw thing. do you make the keeper belt loops, snaps and all seperate, put the t-nut through the holster and then screw through the inside snap to join the loop to the holster? I just can't seem to visualize it. do you have a picture or link to some instructions on how that would work? regarding the stitch lines. my pistol is about 7/8" of an inch wide. I'm no sure how wide the leather will be, but I'll assume atleast 1/8". So 50% of that is 1/2". Do you mean that I will need my stitch lines about 1/2" away from the outline of the gun in my drawing? If that is the case I made this WAY too small. I don't even have 1/2" of room on the left hand side towards the bottom. Do I need to scale this all up a bunch or am I miss-understanding? Allowing for the gap of the pants, is something I hadn't initially thought of. Thanks for that tip! What exactly do you mean by adding a leather washer? Is that something you buy or do you just mean I need to use a bit of leather to make a spacer or something? I'm trying to figure out what kind of leather to use exactly, and how much I'd need for 1 or 2 holsters (I assume I'll ruin the first one). I was looking at the tandy website and 7/8oz tooling leather is what I was thinking but I can only buy like 20 sq feet and that will cost a lot of money and I assume way more than I need to fool around with and experiment. What exactly should I be looking for, how much, and where is the best place to get it without having to by tons of it? hmmm... more questions I'm forgetting but I'll ask later, Thanks.

Hello, I don't really have any idea on what I'm doing but I figured why not take a crack at some drawing (sorry I can't draw well). Am I on the right track here for designing my 1911 IWB holster pattern? I'm not even 100% sure how this will be assembled once cut out of leather. I assume you have a back piece of leather and a front piece, you make a sort of pocket in the middle for the gun, and then glue and stitch the sides together? Anyway if you can take a look and let me know if I'm on the right track, what I should change, and what not I'd really appreciate it. ~Guy

Thanks for the replies I appreciate the encouragement and welcome. I've been doing a lot of reading and for every answer I find there seems to be 2 new questions but this is to be expected. I'm a self tought computer programmer and web developer for the past 12 years now. I enjoy the challenges and rewards of learning new things and I have a lot of experience learning something new only to find out I need to learn more to utilize the first thing. Some years ago I got into playing poker, hold'em mostly. I absorbed myself in the theory and math of the game, and trying to master the intricate details that are often over looked by most players. I've eventually become a pretty decent player after a lot of years of study. I've had the same obsessive nature for learning things in regards to many of my hobbies. Salt water aquariums and breeding fish, photography, firearms and shooting balistics, among other things. What worries me about getting into leatherwork is that while I enjoy the challenge of learning and mastering things, I am not mechanically inclinded (i.e. building/assembling things, working with my hands, etc.) nor am I very artistic. While I am sure there is a science to working in leather and I am confident I can learn and understand all of that, I also assume there is an art to it which I'm not sure I will ever be able to master. Maybe I'll suprise myself but I am a bit nervous. Not sure why I'm rambling on, guess I'm just looking for some words of encouragement and support from those people that started out and had the same concerns I'm having. Thanks for the help. ~Guy

Greetings, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to the forum and hopefully get pointed in the right direction. I recently got the itch to explore the craft of leatherworking. I had been looking around for a nice quality IWB conceal carry holster for my 1911 pistol and it sparked the idea of possibly making my own. The more I look into the subject the less confident I am about my ability to learn and execute the process. It seems as though it could be a really enjoyable, interesting, and rewarding craft to learn but I am pretty unsure of where to start. I'm trying to discover what the right tools and materials are, where to find a pattern or how to make one for my pistol, how to put it all together... seems a bit overwhelming. Hopefully some seasoned experts can offer up some getting started tips for me. Thanks I appreciate it. Take Care. ~Guy