chiefjason

It's not complex, but it is designed to roll the post down to secure the snap. I've tried a different type a few times. It was not pretty and the snap did not stay. Had to dig around for the right one in a mess of punches, tools, and setters. But I would not try to set them with anything not designed for the job.

My daughter needs a hip quiver I guess, seems some folks don't want back quivers on the line. Gave me an excuse to tinker with one. Pretty happy with it. I'll be making myself one here soon. Probably add a few things to it. Going to work up a bow kickstand holder, just have not quite got it figured out. Going to take some getting used to but she likes it. The lettering is her name in Elvish. Yeah, she's a nerd. Action shot.

I try to let my oil or oil/wax finish set overnight or all day before finishing. I use a 50/50 oil and wax mixture rubbed on then heated with a heat gun to soak it in. I let that sit so any extra oil can soak or evaporate off before finishing.

I don't really run a pattern. It's pretty loose. I do my holsters as flat backs so the back is pretty close with an oversized front that I mold. I put together a thread on how I do it a while back.

P250c, same thing. Try that. Made one last month using my 250c.

Might try a Cordless drill, there is quite a resemblance. lol I made a hybrid for my dad's .45. They make drills that are smaller than that gun. Oh, and it had the cheap laser. Sheesh. If it was not my dad I would have refused. Nearly refused anyway.

I usually splash a bit of U-82 Saddler's oil in the mix too. Not much though. I find if I sand the edges nice and even before hand, then dye with pro oil black, straight to the burnisher, I only need the wax to touch up spots. I also do a mix with beeswax, paraffin, and enough oil to make it a soft paste. I apply that to the finished holster and heat it with a heat gun. Deepens the color nicely and puts oil back into the leather.

Have you measured the OD of the slide? The difference could be in the barrel, like the XDs. Same frame, but the .45 barrel is thinner than the 9mm barrel. Make sense? Might be more looks than real difference? Might check some of mine later.

Just passing along a buddies good ideas on that one. I have not tried it yet, but I want too.

And onto the crazy idea. Rare earth magnets embedded into the sheath to hold the blade. You could use a decorative piece of leather to hide the magnets and counter sink them so they don't show as much. Guys are already doing it with kydex for sure, probably some out there doing it with leather.

The problem with that blade might also be the solution. Any sheath you make has to be open enough to allow the widest parts of the knife to pass. Which means the blade in this case. With most sheaths I have made without straps the blade has been about as wide as the handle. In your case the blade is wider. So you will have to accommodate that with an opening that is wider than the handle. That means you sacrifice some retention on the handle. But that blade looks wide and thick, so that might be enough to offset the lack of handle retention. If it were me I would start by trying to run the sheath about half way up the handle. Past the bump. If you cover the handle you can get away without using a strap. You sacrifice some accessibility for stability. Another thought is to make it so the knife rides blade up. That way the sheath is working with gravity, handle is resting on sheath. Instead of against gravity, handle wants to ride down into the open space for the blade. Hope all that makes sense.

My dog only chews on scrap leather. He occasionally pics a piece up off the floor and chews it. I did catch him with my gun belt in his mouth early on. I picked him up and flung him out of the room. That might have something to do with his dislike of finished leather goods. But he's not chewed on any leather scraps in a long time. And he hangs out in the shop occasionally.

A couple things. You may be overthinking this. Personally, I'm far harder on my leather work than anyone else could ever be. Keep that in mind. If it's twisting to the point that it's bunching try to use your thumb to keep the thread apart while you pull the stitch snug. I get thread that wants to twist into knots occasionally. I have to use my thumb over the stitch hole to keep the thread from twisting and knotting. That's about all I've got. Sounds like you might be getting a weird twist right at the end as it pulls tight. The act of pulling a twisted thread through a tight hole will make the thread want to twist as it goes through.

Pretty much. But I've gotten pretty good and getting them close to the same cant wise. FWIW, my most popular holsters I have the back cut to the shape I want. Glue on the front, trim front to back. Nearly identical holsters. Advantage me, I can turn out a holster for a gun with no, close to, or minimal pattern. Advantage pattern, makes some steps quicker and easier. Repeatability. More than one way to skin a catfish.

Are you cutting stitch grooves? I'm doing holsters and using thick leather, so I always groove the stitch lines to sink them and they tend to migrate into them and straighten up when pulled tight.

I've got the Sig railed and non railed versions. That slide is way thicker than standard at the top. I didn't even consider the pattern issue. I make my holsters in a pretty unusual manner. I forget you guys stitch first. lol

Don't use the Colt. It's a big difference on that slide. Unless there is a visible difference you can find, the Sig Nitro should be fine if it has the same Sig slide profile. Basically, all the Sig's have the same proprietary slide except their traditional models.

http://www.bluegunstore.com/thumbstiffenersbreaks.aspx

i use the 2 inside parts of the pull the dot snaps. Then use the outside round cap part from a line 24. T nuts and screws to hold the male part to the holster. Be careful ordering the parts individually. The posts come in different sizes and the ones I got were way too short. That's why I just use the line 24 cap to secure the female side. But the flat bottom posts are not long enough to secure the male side, so I go with a 6/32 machine screw and brad hole t nut there. I get a lot of stuff from index fasteners. They have black screws and t nuts that fit the pull the dots. And they sell pull the dot parts if you want to order 100 or more. http://www.ifithermoplastics.com/category/fasteners If you just want a couple, look at Springfield Leather.

American Leather Direct has some pretty thick hides available in Natural veg and bridle. Thoroughbred Leather has started getting some thicker bridle leather in. Thicker meaning 13 oz and up. I've dealt with both and been pleased with the service.

On my flat backs I use a 3/4 sight channel. Otherwise it molds right down to the frame. And my stitch line is even with the inside of the frame, not the middle. Front sight drag is no good. Just throwing that out there since the topic came up. Different process than traditional pancakes. In case anyone cares. lol

If he is not going to wear it SOB, he does not need the long slots. If he's not ambidextrous he does not need any slots for weak hand carry. That leaves you with strong hand and cross draw as the only slots he would use. Which means a 3 slot pancake could solve his problem too. I got a request for one, talked him into a 3 slot.

Looks a lot like the one I just made. I had to drop the loop behind down really low to get the cant. He was happy with it.

I usually punch a couple holes so they can adjust it if necessary. Generally speaking, I start with the holster front edge just above the belt line. With forward cant this give a full grip.

I tell my customers leather always loosens. They all start off tight. I don't make any excuses for it. Just the way it is. I also tell them to wear it around the house until they are comfortable wearing it out and about. Of course, I sent one out last week that felt a little looser than others. Guy loved it. So go figure. The leather you use has a lot to do with it too. I got some really stiff leather a month ago. Made some great holsters. Some of them took about a week to break in. I used the spine area for the backs. It took a long time to break in. Made myself one from it so I had to deal with it too. I make all of mine flat backed, so they tend to break in faster and be less effected by the belt.