chiefjason

Nice. Glock trigger guards are hateful things. Nice stipple job too. Did you do that?

Rob and Bluegunstore has 4", 5" with rail, and 3" 1911's. I looked under Colt and Springfield. I may be missing something but a standard 5" should be fine for the Sig. If you make the holster open bottomed it is possible to cut it short and mold it off of a longer slide version. I've made 2 4" 1911 holsters off of my 5" blue gun and the customers loved them. Just a thought. As an expensive option, could you custom cut them to length? The frames are the same size. It's the slide that changes.

I figured I would need some extra strength there to keep if from collapsing over time. Bad place for a holster to get weak. I also allowed me to bend the leather for the back so it was flat. Just make sure it's thinner than the slide. That was my mistake, I cut the first one thicker. When I went to wrap the leather over, it was higher than the frame and would not have as much retention. Doh! Thanks guys.

Well, this is a first for me. OK, technically second if you count the first one having to get tossed. I cut the sight channel/throat reinforcement too wide and could not mold the gun at all. Anyway, the customer wanted AIWB, natural, with both black leather snap loops and a J hook. I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Much better than the first try. The customer was really excited with the pictures. It went in the mail today. He's a professional photographer so he said he would also get me some shots with his gun in it. Here it is, comments and critiques welcome. Front with the T nuts for the loops and J hook. Back, flat with no molding. Reinforced sight channel and throat. Snap loops. .o93 kydex J hook that I made. I don't really like the ones that wrap way up the belt on the bottom. Kind of defeats the purpose. So I cut the bottom lip to just ride on the bottom of the belt. I also told the customer I'll make one with more coverage if it's an issue for them.

I usually add 2 light coats to my vinegrooned holsters. It can really draw out the oils. It seems to look, feel, and finish better than one light coat. I let that dry 24 hours before finishing. Dyed, just one light coat. So far, so good. I just finished up an AIWB that I just oiled and finished.

Shape is certainly important. The indentation on Glock mags is not on many others. And I know the XD and Glock mags are very different in shape and size even though they are double stack. So far I have successfully subbed an XD9 for a SR9 mag, a Glock .45 for a Ria a2 double stack 1911, and a Kahr CW9 for a CM9, LC9, and Shield. If I can get a customer to check, I'll have them give me measurements on a mag if I don't have it. Then if I can't find one in my stash I start looking to buy one. I'm just building up my mag holder work. So buying a new one for every request can add up. Not to mention trying to find them now. And I prefer to work from real mags instead of blue one. I can always sell a real mag pretty quick if I need to.

With kydex you can always do a hybrid. Leather against the skin, kydex holding the gun to the leather. If you do all leather you may want to consider leaving the back flat to not create any pressure points. Although a lot of folks don't seem to mind it. My go to IWB holster is a hybrid. My 2 got to OWB holsters are a hybrid and leather snap off scabbard. It might be a good idea to just cruise through some websites and see what strikes your fancy. Then see if you can incorporate all you likes into a holster.

OK, I don't think I'm missing some grand all encompassing mathematical concept the tells me what size mags are. Let me know if I am. So, is there any interest in getting together and posting some mag measurements? They are getting harder to find and more expensive. And quite frankly, I've found a few that substitute very nicely. And before I go to town measuring, I'd rather see if anyone else wants to join in. I've got Glock 9mm and .45, XD9, Kahr CW9, and a few others around. So, good idea? Crazy? All set and don't need it? Or looking for something in particular? I'm actually looking for measurements for the XD45 mag and might need a couple others soon.

Organic stamping and damascus blade. Oh yeah! Very nice. How do I get my daughter to start a clique where I get custom damascus blade knives too? lol

I have been absolutely covered up since Thanksgiving. I barely have time to breath anymore. I work full time (about 50 hours a week) and do holsters on the side. My full time job is tied up in the Hostess bread stuff too. So both went through the roof work wise. So I don't know about materials. But the demand for holsters is crazy. And that could lead to shortages I guess. I know I have 2 sides on order. They were not scheduled to be in the warehouse for 3 weeks. I'm hoping they ship out early next week like they told me. I'll be in a bind if not. As for ammo, I'm seeing a bit more recently. Maybe folks are running out of money. 9mm and .22 are almost impossible. But .45, .40, and .380 are showing up some. I may have to buy a drop in .40 barrel for my G19. It's all I can find anymore.

Good first one. Try not to mold the trigger into the holster. No big deal with a revolver. But it might cause some problems with something like a Glock. Keep any and all retention away from the trigger.

This is off of the cheap 8-9 oz shoulder. I was very happy with it and so was the customer. That's a 5" 1911 but it's for a 4.5" so it's poking out a bit.

That is stunning! I'm thinking just a mellow oiled color. That would be classy!

Paul, when I say a dollar more per square foot it's based on a pretty crazy cheap price on the HO shoulders Springfield has had on sale. They were 5.99 a square foot. Decent quality for my first couple orders, better than the craftsman stuff. I'm doing a lot of hybrids so a lot of the leather gets covered. The last order had more issues, probably getting close to the bottom of the barrel. I just ordered a Bridle Side, dyed black and struck through, that was $7 per square foot. Which is actually LESS than some of the HO and other leather I have tried. So it falls right in the middle of what I have paid over the last year trying out different leathers. And right in the price range I was looking for. The samples I got were very nice. One looked to be from the neck area, the others were belly. The neck piece had a back, flesh side, that was nicer than some fronts I have gotten. I had to look twice to figure out which side was which. I cut one in half, edged it, put some saddle soap on, and burnished it. It takes me days with vinegroon to get to the point I got to in a couple minutes with the sample. The edge simply needs no color added. So, I'm in it for the duration of this leather. But if it's close to what the samples were I think I am going to be really happy with this change. I caught them between shipments so it will be next week before it ships out. The rigidity is something I am interested to see. With the groon I dry it afterwards with a light in a shipping box. The heat adds some stiffness to it. I'll may try soaking a few pieces and not doing a few to see if the heating and drying process stiffens it. Or if it's even worth the effort.

Just wondering what other folks are doing. I've been doing vinegroon black or just oiled for all my holsters. The vast majority are black though. I've got a lead on some pre dyed leather and some samples headed my way. I'm seriously considering it to cut out the time involved in dying. And since it's only a dollar or two more a square foot it's even more tempting. So, just wondering what others are doing. I'm at a point now where I can justify spending a bit more just to save the time to do something else. Still mostly cranking out hybrid beltslides, but getting more interest in leather pancakes too. Trading a little money for more time is really looking good. Not to mention my real job has really picked up too. I'm having a hard time dealing with both.

Email him, I'm sure he will work with you. I got an email and Facebook message saying to contact him directly if you needed something.

I've had that with HO. It's an absolute pain to deal with. Water helps but does not completely fix it. But as said above, it makes a great stiff holster. For whatever reason leather that does that seems to be denser and more stiff. It may be the tanning process or might just be the cow. Do you have a bandsaw you could use? I'm considering giving my scroll saw a try. That was one recommendation I got from another holster maker.

I've heard of lots of problems with botach. I've had zero problems with Rob at Bluegunstore and he has gone above and beyond with his customer service. Thanks, but I'm sticking with Rob.

Another option is one layer of 15 oz or so leather. I have two of them from a buddy that's a belt maker. Been making them that way for about 20 years. Absolutely fantastic belts! Carries a gun like a dream. His buckle is much different than others. For a standard buckle you would have to skive down the end pretty good. I know Springfield leather sells strips in that weight for about $28 a strip if you want to go that route. FWIW, I did a 2 layer of 5-6 and it stretched a bit. After getting this belt I'll never need another one. Here is a pic of the "Fatboy Belt". It's just under 1/4" thick, 1.5" wide. He's a member here but does not post much.

I've got a number of things that my grandfather brought back from Europe. Including a dress bayonet about that size. Mine has a a metal sheath and the leather frog intact. Great work on the sheath.

I'm hand boning mine, but it's a lot like what Dwight is talking about. I wet the front piece, let it set a bit, then mold it to the gun. I mold it all the way down to the table top. I cut it longer on the sides, but I'm starting to cut it pretty close on the bottom instead of leaving it long. It makes for less trimming in the end, and trimming the molded portion can be tricky if you go too long. I generally cut a workable pattern out of cardboard as a guide for cutting my leather. Once it's molded I let it dry. I cut the back to the exact size I want it. Put the gun back in and line everything up and mark the leather where I want it. Glue it and clamp it. Trim the edges, sand them, and get them about 90% done. Then I lay out my stitch grooves and stitch holes. I normally pre punch all the holes too. Then I groon the leather and dry it in a hot box. I oil the holster. Then I sew it after it's oiled. After sewing I wax and finish it. I used to groon then sew. But I started noticing that the wax from my thread was acting like a resist to the groon. It's much less work to sew last. I've got a 1911 that will be finished tomorrow.

That's what I hear too. I know some guys don't warranty the kydex clips they send with the holsters. I'm using the kydex as a post so there is no flex to it. I think the breakage is from flexing the kydex over the belt repeatedly. If you do any kydex go with at least .08 and probably better to go .093.

I know the spring steel clips that are all the rage are tough on leather upholstery. That little flared out edge can dig in. I've finally got the right hardware to make my tuckable leather/kydex loops work and going to be test driving them soon.

I move my groon over to a smaller container for use. I make it now in an old gallon vinegar jug, but make 1/2 to 3/4 gallon at a time. Then pour some out when I need it. I generally let it set a couple days after mixing to let anything in there settle out. The only difference I have noticed is that it works better with the fresh groon in there normally. After a couple additions I'll usually use it down really low then clean the jar out. Just to get rid of some of the gunk that builds up.

Thanks for all the info Jeremy. That's pretty similar to my setup that I was using. I had my length to short for the loop. I test drove the 6 1/4" loop with line 24 snaps and had none of the issues I had with the shorter ones. Much better. I have not gotten around to making up pull the dot ones yet. I'm wearing a thick gun belt, and a lot of the guys I might be making these for are too. So I may stay a little long on the loops. 1.5" and right at .25" wide, give or take depending on where it was cut. I traded the maker 2 holsters for 2 belts. I don't think I'll have to replace it. Ever.