NoName

Looks like you are off to a good start. Hope you enjoy the hobby for many years to come!

The solid copper rivets I am referring to are sold at Tandy. Size 12 should work.

Top notch!!

The velcro-in lining is a good idea. I prefer solid copper rivets for their strength and be sure to use a heavy duty buckle and D rings that have been welded together. "bound to get dirty"....... nice pun

Couple suggestions: 1. Cut away a little more leather where your fingers go around the grip of the gun. You want plenty of clearance there so that you can get a good initial grip of the gun. 2. Sandwich your T-nuts between the two layers of leather. These type of holsters are not traditional or pretty, but they are comfortable and they work. When forming Kydex, you may have to tape something to the top of the slide behind the front sight so that the Kydex will form with a sight channel.

At first read I thought you were saying that a blued steel gun was staining dampened leather black. Ha ha "Colt Hammerless" has a good idea. Remove as much of the finish as possible. Goof-off would probably work very well without damaging the gun itself. Test it in a small area first.

I understand the customer is always right, but who carries a 1911 hammer down? (Regardless of whether there is a round in the chamber)

Like the parallel stitching on the Glock holster. Nice work.

You might run an adjustable stitching groover 3 to 4 passes deep on the flesh side of the gusset, about 3/8 inch from the edge. Then skive the edge with a french skiver to step the edge down.

The veiner for the leaves is a Hackbarth, but it has no number on it. I believe I got it directly from Ellis Barnes at one of the shows like WESA or the Sheridan Wyoming show The next holster in the works is a plain black duty holster so it wont be quite as exciting to look at but I will probably post it anyway.

Here is an example of a holster that I built that uses a paddle from Reactgear.com (think Blackhawk Serpa) This can be interchanged with their belt loop attachment or a Tech-lock type attachment, or anchored to a shoulder harness utilizing the same hole pattern.

Only for rush items. Not for additional stiffness. I will reinforce with another material if stiffness or rigidity is required. I believe that the leather will break down and soften the same with time and usage whether heat dried or not.

Thought about trying it but I didn't want to break needles and also I didn't know if the perforation would significantly weaken the Kydex

Thank you for the kind words. I thought about a sight channel but I gambled on the gun having a more positive engagement in the holster without it.....It worked out well. It snaps in and out very crisply. I would like to find a better way to put a "bead" border around the leather backer. I used an adj. creaser then a specially shaped Osborne creaser to deapen it, but I still wasn't satisfied. I also cut it lightly with a swivel knife so that the dye would be less inclined to bleed through the crease onto the border. It was to labor intensive. Any suggestions here are appreciated. I also skived the back side of the leather slightly to round it over and make it comfortable to wear. I did not want any sharp or rough edges digging into the wearer. I may try to do some decorative work to the exposed leather on future models but I dont want it to get to gaudy, and I don't want to put so much time into one of these that you are afraid to use it and scratch it up. There is no issue with the laser switch. It takes very firm pressure to activate it. I found those belt clips on TheClip.com. I ordered a variety of clips from them as well as the clips from CrossBreed holsters. I liked these the best. I am also experimenting with using the Tech Lock lock-on belt clips from Blade Tech as well as the paddle attachments from ReactGear.com for my outside the waistband holsters and mag pouches.

First attempt.... Refinements pending.

One of the best designs I have seen.

Nice work. I like the quality tools included in the picture.

Knifekits.com in the sheath and holster / parts section. Also Ohio Travel Bag (around page 210 in their catalog).

Add me as well, and thank you.

Very classy.