BHPshooter

Great post, Josh. It's always enlightening to see how other people do things. I make a similar design, and I haven't ever tried sewing the mouthband first... I'll have to give it a shot! I usually sew the forward wing, spread the assembly open and then glue & stitch the mouthband, and then close it all up and sew the rear wing. It can be a bit of a wrestling match, so I'll have to see if your way is less of a battle.

There is also the new-production Colt Cobra, which is an entirely new design. I have no idea if it will fit in a holster made for an older D-frame Cobra.

I don't mind at all. I have clearly not been on the forum for a while, though -- this was back in October, and I didn't see it until now! I use t-nuts where the snaps attach, and the Chicago screw as a secondary attachment point to keep the strap from freewheeling. The Chicago screws, I believe, have a post that is 3/16" in diameter and 1/4" in length. They work well for the purpose.

I use 7/8 for most things. If you are already using 8/9, I would go with that to start. I started out buying shoulders from SLC, and that worked well for me for a while. You'll have some good, firm leather that you can make 4 to 6 holsters with (per shoulder), and you'll also have some less firm leather at the neck, which can be used for things like IWB belt loops, and some spongier stuff toward the belly that you can use to practice stitching, test out dye or finish, and other scrap-related things -- I see this as kind of a plus, at least when you're starting out. I started buying full sides one or two at a time after a while. The biggest problem I have with full sides is that I'm stuck with a belly. There are some things you can use them for (scrap-related things mentioned above), but now I have so many bellies, I don't know what to do with them all... but I also don't want to throw them out. It seems unnecessarily wasteful. If anyone has cool uses for bellies, I would love to hear them! Anyway, once I started ordering directly from the tannery, I started ordering backs (a full side without the belly). It does cost a bit more per square foot, but it's worth it to me. Wes

Informative as always, Ray. I hope retirement is treating you well!

Yeah, I know... Subtle, aren't I? Might as well follow my obsession, I guess. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but for whatever reason, it fits my hand better than anything else. Anyway, to steer back on topic, I think it's better to see which way the local wind is blowing before you blow a lot of money on molds that you think might be popular. Southern Cross, if you have a particular favorite gun, focus on that while you hammer out the fundamentals. If you're already a fan of Gun X, you probably have some experience using and carrying it, which is helpful when you're testing and evaluating your designs. Wes

I started out buying shoulders, but it seemed that only about half -- sometimes less than half -- of the leather was usable for holsters. The rest was neck or belly, and too spongy to be useful. If you're buying full sides of decent quality, most of the leather (everything but the neck and belly, pretty much) will be suitable for holsters.

Agreed. For me, things definitely come in waves. I can go a year without touching a particular mold, and then suddenly I get a handful of orders for it. It's really hard to predict what will be popular as a holster maker. Even though some guns are indisputably popular, in my experience, that doesn't mean holsters for those guns will be in high demand. Early on, I bought a S&W J-frame mold, and it was almost 2 years before I got an order for a J-frame holster. I've used it a lot since, thankfully, but it continues to be sporadic. It's like that for a lot of really popular guns, like the Glock 19/23, CZ-75, and S&W M&P varieties. For me, the only ones that get near-constant use are the 1911 and the Hi Power. I know the Hi Power isn't popular for everybody... In my case, I think that's because I'm a Hi Power fanatic, and tend to hang out on a lot of Hi Power groups online. If I were to claim to have a specialty, I suppose the Hi Power would probably be it. Wes

Nice work, Josh! I know what you mean about splotches with Fiebing's, but it's not very noticeable on this one, in my opinion. I had the same problem. I still have a bottle of Fiebing's Pro Oil Saddle Tan. I absolutely love the color, but getting it to turn out right happened about 10% of the time. I've switched to Angelus for everything but black, at this point, and I've had far fewer headaches. Wes

It's largely a matter of taste, it seems. I've owned a few flat-backed holsters, but never really liked them. I'm not a fan of the way they feel, and they don't seem to pull the gun into my side the way 50/50 holsters do. I have experimented with making flat-backed holsters for giggles. It was educational, but I don't think it's worth the hassle, especially when I prefer my holsters the other way.

Someone just told me that they have a holster that causes their skin to freak out, and even showed me a picture of the rash. It doesn't look as bad as a breakout of hives, but it definitely looks uncomfortable. They have several other leather holsters -- some even came from the same maker -- and none of them cause any sort of reaction. I have to admit, it has kind of intrigued me. I've never experience anything like that myself, nor have I ever heard of such a thing. It never even dawned on me that such a thing was possible. Anybody else ever heard of this?

That may well be the case. It's understandable if they made that decision. It's not a huge issue, it's just slightly inconvenient. As a side note, if there are options out there that are better than paypal, I'd love to know about them. :D Yes, they have improved a lot in that regard.

For my last several orders at SLC, I've paid via PayPal. It's been a few months since then, and I can't find a PayPal payment option on their website anymore. Am I doing something wrong, or did SLC stop accepting PayPal?

Nice -- thanks for sharing this info!

I can, but if you don't mind me asking, why don't you take a crack at it? From your other posts, it looks like you're already knee-deep into leather working. I don't mean to sound at all critical -- I'm just curious. Wes

Wow. Beautiful work! That is a LOT of saddle stitching, too!

Does anyone know where I might locate a mold for one of these? Wes

That is some good, clean work!

Nope, still looking. If I locate a source, I'll post it here. Wes

I found a 3.5" 1911 mold at www.cooksgunmolds.com . Before I got a 3.5" mold, I used a Commander mold, and just formed the muzzle of the holster as the last step as the mold was being removed from the holster (I still do 4" 1911 holsters this way, because I still haven't found a 4" mold). Wes

I agree 100%. Try to educate, if possible, but if they won't come around, don't go down that rabbit hole.

Nice work! I have been meaning to try W&C for a while now. I guess I need to get off my rump and do it. Thanks for sharing!

I'm one of those people with a gun list. I also have a pretty significant wait time. To answer your question, there have been plenty of times that I couldn't get my hands on a gun, and molds weren't available for that model either. It happens sometimes. Well, you're partly right. It is a way to provide answers that saves time. However, my website also lets people know that if they don't see their gun listed, they can contact me about it, and I can check if there is a mold available. If a mold is not available, I can look into other options. I certainly don't send people on their way. A lot of what you're talking about is very subjective. Lots of people run things differently, but it doesn't make it better or worse -- Just different. If what you do works for you, that's great, but it might not work for everybody. As it sits, apparently there are people who will wait months for a holster. I certainly can't force them to buy a holster from me, so I can only conclude that they like my stuff enough to wait. In turn, I work my tail off to get orders out as fast as I can manage. It's a situation that has worked out pretty well so far. Again, I think it's all in the way you go about it. I specifically state on my website -- on the "gun list" page -- that if you don't see your gun listed, contact me so that I can see if that mold is available. That certainly isn't the kind of offer I would extend if I was unwilling or unable to make a holster for them. Man, I have nothing against you, but it's pretty hard to miss the contempt in your original post. Then, when someone joins the conversation and offers their valid observations, your condescension doesn't really help your case. [emphasis mine] Here's the thing -- my time is valuable, and I assume that my customer's time is also valuable. I'm a one-man operation. I don't have employees, helpers, or elves to do any of this for me. Every minute I spend on the phone or answering email is a minute that I'm not fulfilling orders. That's kind of the point of putting information on a website -- to provide answers to common questions, and save everyone time. It's more efficient both for me and my customers, and if there are still questions (and there frequently are) I have no problem answering them. That is something I can completely understand. I've thought about "thinning the herd" a time or two myself.

I need a mold for the Ruger Security Six family (Security Six/Service Six/Speed Six). Does anyone know where I can lay my hands on one? Wes

I'm sure it depends on what finish you use. I prefer Resolene, which is pretty darn moisture resistant. I'm not sure if that saddle soap slurry would make it through the finish... but if it did, I'm sure it wouldn't be good for it. Either way, it makes me cringe.