chiefjason

OK. Rob had the P09 with the new slide, after some questions between me and Rob then Rob and Rings, he now has the new P07 slide as well. The P09 is the full size and P07 is the compact, like a G17 and G19. Got orders for both so they are inbound now.

When you figured in the length of the pattern to wrap the pistol- Did you do it with cardboard and not figure on the added width of leather? Did you do it without the sight channel in place? Ask me how I know that shortens the leather you are working with. Might not be placement, might be construction. Or a combination. FWIW, I hate thumb breaks. lol Got a guy asking for an IWB hybrid with thumb break. Pert near impossible without compromising things I just don't compromise on. And a suicide strap IWB creates more problems than it solves IMO.

10% off at Index Fasteners with CYBER15 code.

Thanks. Med Brown cut with alcohol. Hand applied. Oil and wax coat, then M&G, then Atom wax.

I have handled one along side my DUTY mold. I would not make a kydex or hybrid holster for the P07 with the DUTY, period. Leather tends to be more forgiving, which is why I asked. It's SOOOOOO close, lol. Maybe I should have just bought my buddies when he sold it. My concern would be increased wear on the front of the slide. It would not be a problem the other way, but putting a wider slide in a narrower space is going to increase friction there.

Anybody made a holster for a NEW CZ P07 with the old CZ P07 DUTY blue gun? The slide changed a good bit, the new one is wider on the top with rounded edges. I get the occasional request but have turned a few down unless they were local. Just thought I would ask here and see. I prefer to just pick up the blue gun, but there isn't one for the new version. They are all for the DUTY.

Here's my list of uses. rough patterns to not waste good leather. washers or spacers great for cutting into pieces to spread contact cement occasionally pocket holsters or pocket mag holders if it's not fleshy daughters hair stick holders testing dye personal gear I don't want to waste good leather on sometimes mouth reinforcements, clip covers, or welts Let's face it, even a master craftsman can't make something nice out of junk. They use the good stuff. Save what you think you might use later. Throw out the stuff that's just junk. You should be able to tell the difference. FWIW, there is some leather between a back and the fleshy belly stuff that's just a bit thinner but still usable.

I use 8-9 sides. But I'll cut the holsters for smaller guns lower on the side to use the thinner leather too. Larger guns get cut from the spine. Particularly the back side of the holster.

Might want to give yourself just a bit more leather between the belt slot and the edge. Helps keep the leather stiffer IMO. A personal tip on avengers, or anything with a reinforcement, is to finish the edge on the reinforcement and burnish it before glueing it on. I have saved myself a ton of aggravation buy doing that first. Looking good though. Stitch lines are nice and close.

Nice work. That rod gives it a very interesting look. I like it.

Nice. Those big ole revolvers are fun. Have not don't a big one with a scope yet though.

Forget a belt out of that. Pretty sure it's a split. Which means it's weak and will stretch. You need a full grain piece, the back (flesh side) will look like yours but the front (grain side) will be smoother. Might want to ask about belt blanks too. It's a strip of leather cut for a belt but unfinished.

I've found the Weaver's U-82 Saddlers oil does not darken as much as Neatsfoot oil. It's a lighter oil. If I oil a belt it's what I use. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200640326_200640326 But mostly I use an neatsfoot oil and beeswax treatment and just plan on it darkening while I'm dying it.

If you are hand stitching you can stitch after you mold. That is what I do. Machine stitching is going to depend on the machine. Some can, some can't. That said, I'm way out in left field with how I make holsters. lol But since you are doing things in a more standard fashion, JLS's advice on fixing the pattern is spot on. For belt slots, I use a round punch and a 1.5" skiving knife. Punch the holes, connect them by pushing the skiving knife strait down where I want the slots.

FWIW, if they fall out in the enclosed case she is still screwed. This is where I help customers think there logic out to it's conclusion. if she's worried about the speed loader, get a better speed loader. The case won't fix the problem. But, in the words of my daughter, "I'm pushy like that." No reason to do extra work that won't solve the problem she's concerned about. Good solution to the problem on your end though.

Seems the hipsters like it. lol. Another thing that can happen is non dipped dyed articles can get a similar pull up and wear to them I notice it with some of my dye styles. Struck through leather won't do it, as it's the same color through out. But a more surface dyed leather can get a pull up. BTW, some of it is quite beautiful stuff. My distributor works on a lot of it and posts pics. Nice stuff.

From the looks of it, Cleanview's and mine cover similar ground. Do something like his for coverage, but do the rivets like mine and you will shrink the footprint of the pouch. Notice his has outside rivets and wings, mine has round sides and riveted through them. You will need an anvil to set the rivets inside the pouch. Not making any right or wrong assumptions, just that doing away with the wings meets your criteria for smaller. FWIW, I know the customer always wants things but sometimes they want them for the wrong reasons. At first I wanted to fully cover them too. Until I got to tinkering with them and realized my main concern was rounds coming out and that is not going to happen. Secure the speed loader frame and you secure the rounds by default. Just a thought.

JL, mostly flat. You know me, flat back holster fetish. In reality, my style lends itself well to it. Hand molding, loose patterns, and hand stitching. If I ever wrap my brain around how to machine stitch a pre molded holster I will probably buy in. My hands would thank me. But flat backs brought me to the dance, so to speak, and I can't give them up for standard holsters. That holster went from the pattern, to casing, molding, glueing, then stitching in the order of the pics. As opposed to pattern, glue, stitch, mold. So the back stays really flat, just a slight curve where I try to push it up a bit around the bottom of the gun. It was surprisingly tight too. Took a sharp pull to remove the gun the first time. My buddy bought it to carry as a back up bear and hog hunting. Backing up an M1A with a 7.5" stealth hunter, lol. He's a big bore, revolver junkie though.

I managed to snap some pics in the process of building this monstrosity and thought I would post them up. I have pretty much settled on an Avenger based cross draw for most of the big revolvers I have to deal with. Carries well. And cross draw lends itself to the longer barrel. And with a 7.5" barrel, you need all the help drawing it you can get. So here goes. Inside of the pattern with the gun. Outside with belt loop/reinforcement stitched on and ammo loops stitched on. I prefer doing a full length reinforcement on the back. A 4.5 lb gun, unloaded, needs a little over kill on the stiffness of the holster IMO. How do you case this thing? Why, in a trash bag how else? Quick shot of the glue line inside. Rough cut. Trimmed, edged, dyed, and stitched. Notice the strap is not there yet. I cut the pattern and pre stitched the reinforcement and ammo loop between my buddies trips up. But I waited until he came back up with the gun to fit the strap and attach it. Complete rig loaded up. The holster can be worn on the belt if he wants it in warmer weather. Or on the chest rig over bib and jacket when it's colder. Test fit. And showing off the Ruger Alaskan holster he picked up when I patterned the S&W.

Something to be said for KISS. The speed loaders are 2 pieces of leather, 5 rivets, and one Sam Brown button. Guy was up today and loves them. FWIW, the Sam Brown's worked much better than line 24. And pull the dots would have been overkill. The flap loops behind the belt.

21 hybrids last week, finished 2 leather holsters, finished about 5 mag holders, got 2 more holsters should be ready by Monday, 3 more should be ready Tuesday. But I do a mix of custom one off stuff and pre built holsters for certain guns. Got a guy coming tomorrow to finish fitting and buy the chest rig for a S&W Stealth Hunter. Oh, and that's on top of my full time job. Hard to believe I actually got to hunt some too. I'm not one for exact record keeping, especially on time. But that's off the top of my head. Started a knife sheath this evening. And got the money for 3 more holsters today.

I try to keep it up closer to the fingernail. You need one that is not as large, and thicker. The one I use is about 1/4" wide, and I have to stretch it just a bit to get it over my fingertips when they are closed. Of course, this also depends on your current finger strength. It's the second one shown in the video.

I don't have CT but have some wrist and forearm pain. I use heavy rubber bands to strengthen the muscles. Wrap the rubber band over the fingers and try to open them up. One of the issues with CT and other problems like it is only one side of the muscle equation is worked. In this case, the grip is the strongest side and overpowers the other muscles causing pain. Working the muscles in the other direction builds them up and can sometimes help ease the pain if it stems from the grip side being overworked. Picked up a bag of thick bands in the craft section of walmart that work well. Works for me anyway.

IIRC, Rob used to rent blue guns. Looked on the site and could not find any info now. Not sure if he still does that or not. A few I could live without for a week or so. But some I absolutely could not. And a couple I could probably live without permanently. Anyone need to buy an R51? lol Meh, maybe I'll keep it mine shoots well enough.

I do cut stitch grooves. But I want my thread to lay on or under the surface of the leather. I use a stitch wheel to set spacing. And pre punch my holes with an awl chucked into a drill press. Works well for me.