chiefjason

8-9 oz will be fine. I used to order by the square foot from there and you don't really get much control over what you get. You may be able to ask them or tell them what you want. Now, if you order a shoulder or back then you have control over where you get the leather. Stay away from bellies, they are too soft. If I stopped ordering sides I would problem go to ordering backs. Belt bends would work too.

I have used the same cross draw to mount to a chest strap for a chest rig. I can actually conceal that one but you have to button the shirt up. Wore it to my LGS and around for a little but just for giggles. Actually was not that bad, even driving with it on.

Good work. I despise thumb breaks and revolvers. And looking at yours, I think I'm setting the snap too deep and it's catching on the cylinder. Note to self........

Yeah, I've made about 6 of them so far. And used the same pattern for a stealth hunter too.

After talking to him it was too crazy not to give it a shot. Seems the crazy ones are the most fun. This one. The S&W 500 cross draw. And one odd SOB holster I made over the summer. The normal stuff gets a bit boring and these mix things up.

The French skivving knife looks a lot like a chisel. Mine is 1.5" wide. I keep it sharp enough to just press it right through 2 layers of 8-9 oz leather. Either would work great, Japanese steel is usually very good stuff. To the last question I use a #3 for general use on 2 layers or 12 oz and up single layer. I use a #2 on 7oz single layer and less.

I'm calling it the "Smith Rig". My LGS called me up a few weeks ago to talk to this guy. I originally tried to get out of it but he kept telling me I had to do this. Talked to the guy for a while, decided to give it a shot. I mean, who doesn't want a NY reload for Desert Eagles? Since this is my first real shoulder rig I mocked it up completely with scrap leather. made some mistakes that I fixed in the finished product. The second mocked up side. The first one ended up flat side out, swapped the pattern for this one. Final cut. Todays delivery.

Nice. BTW, I hope you had every bit as much fun as I did getting those rubber gaskets in the holster for the retention. As far as I can tell they worked. But what a hassle!

I am in the process of building my first shoulder holster. I googled shoulder holsters, then clicked images. Studied what was out there and took what I liked and ran with it. Usually there is a leather piece on the back that the straps attach too. Occasionally folks will use just straps. Mine has a panel on the back where 4 straps are attached. 2 go over the shoulder and 2 go around the back, makes a loop that the arms go through.

I use a hole punch and a 1.5" skiving knife to connect the holes. A lot of my customers were a specific belt by another member of the forum. I have one and they are really thick. The punches are nowhere near wide enough to accommodate his bets without a lot of effort. I have one, tried to use it, and gave up. Thought about making my own but my method works just fine. Been accused of making belt slots look like keyholes, but nobody that buys them has complained about it.

Some jobs are not worth taking. I have not wrapped my head around pouches just yet. I made a functional shell carrier for sporting clays, but it sure was not pretty. I would go away from holster ideas and look into pouches. The shell pouches are too big, but they look similar to what you are talking about. This turning it down talk is coming from a guy that took on a shoulder rig for 2 Desert Eagles, so take it for what it's worth. Sometimes the idea is so crazy you just have to try. lol

My Taurus 605 that I carry in a botched J frame holster has held up pretty well retention wise. It is tougher to get it right than a semi auto. I got one too tight the other week and had to really work the holster to get it where I wanted it after it was stitched up. If you mold with the revolver on a table you tend to get a looser holster. If you have the grip off the edge of the table it will be a tighter mold because it makes less room. I got one way too tight for a Gp100 and almost had to remake it. But after leaving the mold in a couple days and wetting it around the trigger guard I got it worked out.

I use natural veg tan, and get the best option they have. The back is darn near holstered on it's own. For hybrids I get English Bridle which is holstered, but probably not referred to that way for that leather. With holstering IIRC they inject waxes and press it. Which can make it difficult to case and form. It can also make it harder to make out imperfections. I find the flesh side of leather to be a better indication of it's usability for holsters than the grain side. If you buy good quality veg tan it should be nice on the flesh side. The not nice parts are usually spongy and not good for holsters anyway.

I just started buying sides from Wickett & Craig. I am pretty amazed at how much is usable. Great sides. The better quality certainly justifies the higher price over what I was getting. I don't do belts so I cut the backs of the larger holsters near the spine. Makes really nice, stiff backs.

Welcome to the dark side. lol Just sent one out for a 6" barrel with a strap on it. That one was a bit annoying but I got it done.

I have one on my Axe for camping. It's taken a beating and the axe is no worse for wear. Been very happy with it.

Kind of like shoes. I can't tell someone what they will like. But when they like something that's what they get next time. And I have a lot of guys that come back. As to forming it on a curve in the original post. Mine ship out absolutely flat on the back. That lets the holster mold to the customer and their cary position. The only holsters I bend a little are things like Avenger or trailing loop holsters. They are a bear to break that wing in initially and I get less questions if it's a little bent and easier to put on when they get it. As to retention, you should have seen me trying to remove a G19 blue gun from one today. I had put it in over night to stretch it a bit. Barely got it out. Put it back in with a few slips of paper for a bit more stretch. The amount of give in the back panel plays a lot into how tight the holster will be. A stiffer piece of hide on the back will result in a tighter holster. You can't mold the front all the way down. Even if you think you do, it shrinks a bit when you dry it. So when it's glued and stitched there is less room in the holster than the volume of the gun. So if the back is stiffer it stretches less and increases retention a bit more than expected sometimes. One of the biggest things I like about my process is that I don't really need a pattern for every gun. I had a guy order a HK 45c IWB. Then a guy ordered one for a Glock 29. I pretty much used the exact same pattern for both, just added 1/2 " on each side of the front. My G19 pattern works for about 60% of the holsters I make. But other areas or more time consuming than the 50/50 process.

Better suited to IWB than OWB. But I don't make my IWB holsters like that either. It's kind of like a hybrid, but more work.

All my holsters are flat back, IWB or OWB. No complaints yet on carry, comfort, or retention. Revolvers are harder to deal with than semi's. But I have a lot of happy customers. And it's all I carry too.

Your gun will be fine. In reality, most times the gun is not even wet. If you case the leather the moisture really does not come out of it. If I do get some water on the gun I just wipe it off. Gun finishes are pretty tough. Wipe it down after if you are worried and it will be fine. I have several guns that I use because no one makes blue guns for them. Some I've used for years with no ill effects.

I kinda doubt you will find one for that gun. Lots of guns out there without molds for them. I've got several that I make holster for only because I have the gun myself. The old Ruger Mk II bull barrel is one of them.

That's what they are called in the states. Regardless; simple, classy, and effective.

Sam Brown buttons are very underrated. Nice touch. I've used them on a number of projects. Looks good.

Here is my way. Most fronts are around an inch wider on both sides and the bottom. If it's a really thick gun maybe 1.5" on the sides. Here is Dwight's way.

I don't sweat the keyhole look. It's actually harder to clean up an edge to match it than it is to keyhole it. BTDT And the slot punches are useless for gunbelts. Particularly the belts these tend to go on. Any smaller and there would be problems. My guess is, some guys would like them to be even wider. I've tinkered with the idea of skeleton holes, 2 holes punched and a single cut to connect them. But have not tried that yet.