chiefjason

I've taken to burnishing with water only or water, soap, and wax. It works well IMO. I finally settled on a wax that I melted together; 50/50 beeswax and paraffin. I generally have problems getting burnished edges to take vinagroon. But I burnished with just water tonight and the groon took just fine. One more lesson learned. I'll let them dry then wax and burnish again. I'm hoping they turn out as nice as I think they will.

I started with Resolene. It works well. I tried mop and glo but can't get it to work over the vinegroon. Not sure if it's the groon or the finish. I've tried cutting it 50/50, 60/40, and straight. Nothing works. The only one I could find is the multi surface, maybe that's the problem. I'm using Super Sheen right now cut 50/50 with water and it's working well too.

That's nice. NC is handguns only. If it were not I'd be all over making one for my wife. Saw the post over on DC too. Like I said, it looks great. I'm just jealous I can't have one.

Great idea, but you might want to check on the legality of them in your state. Saps are considered weapons in many places. Just a thought. Looks great too. I've managed to accumulate enough scraps to start wondering what to do with it.

FYI, I bought a cheap toilet seat seal the other day to experiment with for my wax. It's mostly beeswax I believe. I found it to be too soft, and paraffin to be too hard. I had read a tip on here previously, Lobo gunleather IIRC, about cutting them 50/50. So I weighed out similar amounts of wax from the seal and from the block of paraffin. I melted them together and used plastic wrap and an old egg carton as my mold. I used 2 oz each and got 6 or so small blocks of wax. This stuff works better than anything I have used so far on the grooned leather. I partially burnish the edges with it while it is still wet. Then after it dries I go back and burnish again. This stuff smooths the edge right up. Previously I had real problems getting the grooned leather to burnish well. As far as retention with grooning it after molding. I saw no loss of retention. But I did not dip in groon, I brushed it on. I did dip in baking soda and rinse with water. Like I said, try each and see what works best. I still need to try the groon and mold at the same time process myself. I may end up liking it better.

OK, I'll give a few of these a shot with my meager experience. And hopefully someone will be along to expound on my woefully lacking answers. Option A- I have done one holster and one mag holder this way. I have noticed no ill effects on the molding. I brush my groon on, then dunk in baking soda mix, then rinse. Then I pat dry and start burnishing the edges. Option B- Wet form and edge while still wet from grooning is the best bet, don't let it dry first. I let one dry about 48 hours and could barely wet the leather to mold it. I have not personally tried grooning then molding but it was recommended to me here. Grooning over a finished edge is a mixed bag. Sometimes it takes, and sometimes it does not. I no longer edge first. I groon first so that I have good color. I have had a few edges not take the color well when they were burnished before grooning. If I think it will be nearly impossible to get to, I may chance edging first. As with anything, you'll probably need some trial and error of your own to flesh these out. Good luck.

I don't know about awesome, but I appreciate the compliment. That is certainly the nicest edge on the piece. It's been a learning process. I've very happy with how these came out.

And first time doing anything lined. I am wanting to make myself a lined holster. And a guy on a gun board I frequent was asking about a pancake mag holder. So I offered to give it a go. I used 4-5 oz Hermann Oak, hand stitched, and vinagrooned. I can say this. I really like how this looks lined. And I am much happier with my edges this go around. I spent more time prepping them too. I rough sanded with a dremel. Then went through 3 grits hand sanding. I made the burnishing much easier. I molded this first. Then grooned and edged. I used beeswax this time and it seems to smooth up really nice, but it's much softer. I did run into an issue on this one. It's the second time this has happened. I coated it with mop and glo cut 50/50 with water. I rubbed on 2 light coats. When I was taking some pictures I noticed that the grain looked odd. So I flexed the leather and sure enough, the grain turned white. It's similar to seeing glass shatter. All the grains blanched out and gave it a gray look. I cleaned it off with denatured alcohol and rubbed 2 thin coats of resolene on it. The cheap skate in me loves the mop and glo. But this is the second time I have had this issue. Any ideas? I'm using the multi surface version, I have not seen a wood floor only version like I remember. As always, tell me the good, bad, and ugly. Thanks.

Since we are talking groon here and it's getting some traffic, I'm going to sidetrack things a bit. Does anyone else notice a difference in how the groon takes in straight leather vs deglazed? Mine seems to work much, and I mean MUCH better if I don't deglaze. Any other experience? Now, just to get back on track a bit. My first batch I rushed, and it smelled a lot. My second batch I started brewing as soon as I started using the first. It set much longer. Less smell. I tossed the first batch when the second was ready. Some smell, just not as strong. And the more I use it and leave the lid off while I work, the less residual smell I notice. Either I am getting used to it, or it's gassing off. I have another batch going now too. Since it is hot I set it outside to get more sun. We'll see how this goes. It will likely set longer than either of the first. BTW, I did a piece the other day. Just one piece of leather and I wanted to leave the back as natural as possible. I grooned the front and edges and everything looked good. As soon as I did the baking soda and rinse it seemed to wick the groon through to the back in spots. No big deal really as I expected some bleeding. Just interesting to see it wick completely through 8-9 ox tooling leather in places.

True enough. Good point. Might give that a shot later.

Thanks. Nearly all of my holsters are either beltslide or the IWB hybrid tuckable's, so the slide extends out the bottom of all of them. I do have an all leather that covers the entire slide. It's the first one I ever made. Anyway, I've never had an issue as long as you do a nice sight channel. And I have done full speed draw and fire practice quite a few times. I take 2 wooden dowels and tape them to the top of the slide so that the channel is higher than the front site through the entire holster. I completely understand the concern though. The last thing you want is the site hanging on the holster when you need it most. That would make for a bad day.

Take this with a large grain of salt since I have not been working with leather long at all. I have done a total of 4 all leather holsters. But 30 seconds into trying to mold one that had been grooned a few days before I knew I was in trouble. It came out poorly molded. I was told that it's possible to groon, burnish, and mold all while it's still wet. I can say that it does make the burnishing easier. I have not tried molding that way yet. My last holster I molded first then grooned. It was much better than the one I grooned first. And it did not seem to effect the molding when it got wet. I think the main problem with grooning, drying, then working the leather is that the groon seems to nearly waterproof the leather on the working side. The water beads off instead of soaking in.

Deer antlers work pretty well too. A small spike or 4 pointer might be best. One of my boning/slicking tools is a spike antler about 6" long. Now I'll be saving ribs from the deer too. lol Oh, I think I know where some might be. Going to have to check.

This is one of the holsters I had going when I started the vinegroon thread. Burnishing immediately after grooning was a definite plus. That was a great tip from Markush. I had already molded the holster though. It seemed to mold much better this time. I may try grooning, burnishing, and molding in one sitting in the future. I have to say I am happy with how the edges burnished. I'm not real thrilled that I did not get the edges sanded as evenly as I thought I did. My dremel broke mid project and I tried to finish with the bit chucked in a drill. Just not the same. I have since replaced my dremel. And seriously looking at going with a drill press soon. I am also patiently awaiting some 4-5 oz Hermann Oak to try making a lined holster. It will certainly improve the interior. This is all leather holster #4. It's hand stitched at 1/4" spacing with waxed thread. Belt loops need some work too. Any comments or critiques are appreciated. Every one is a learning experience. My hybrid beltslides are moving more now so they have taken most of my time this week. I'm a fan of OWB if you can't tell. Probably the best edge on the holster. This one you can see some of the gap in the leather. I worked hard to get it to this point.

First, absolutely gorgeous! Is there a reason some of the interiors are not dyed? Customer preference or maker preference? Just wondering.

Thanks for the replies guys. Keep them coming if anyone has more info. I'm doing 2 leather backers and hopefully a full leather holster tonight. One of the backers I grooned, rubbed down with baking soda, and rinsed well. Then immediately burnished. It was certainly an improvement. I'll go back and see if it needs touching up when it dries. I also burnished one first with water only. I'll groon that one later. I'm glad I decided to buy a new dremel last night. Boy is that 2 speed nice. I was using an old single speed before, but I dropped it last week and messed up the switch. My FIL turned two burnishers for me to use on the dremel and it's been a real time saver. I'll post some pics when I have them done. markush, that is one beautiful holster! I've been toying with OWB beltslides mostly. I've not taken on a true IWB yet. My first all leather holster, and the one on my side now, is an OWB with snap loops that I can replace to make it IWB. But that's as close as I have gotten. I'm going to order some lighter leather soon and remake it with some improvements including lining it.

Since most of what I have been doing is in black, I was thrilled to find the vinegroon info here. I quickly got a batch to start "brewing" and waited. I finally got it where it was a good black and started working with it. It really is great stuff for dying black. However, I have noticed a few things. First run I grooned the leather by dipping it, then burnished. Yikes! It seems the grooning made it much more difficult to burnish. I also made the mistake of grooning one before molding it. Double yikes! It nearly waterproofs the leather so wetting it was tough. Getting a good mold was non existent. I would consider it "lightly molded." I'm pretty new at all this but it molded noticeably different. Here is a pic. So next batch of leather for backing hybrid holsters I burnished first. Everything looked good. I knew I would have to touch it up after wetting them. This time I used a wool dauber to groon the leather. Immediately I noticed the burnished edges were not taking the color well. I went back and touched up a couple times after letting it set 15-20 minutes. I even scrapped some of the wax off to get to the leather. I'm burnishing by wetting the edges, running a bit of soap over the edge, then wax, then burnishing. It seems to have basically made a resist in certain areas. Then when I went back to touch up the burnishing either I noticed more, or it became more noticeable. For the hybrids it's not so bad. For a full leather holster I would not be satisfied with it. So, what order are others doing this in? I think the next one will get grooned first and I'll just have to elbow grease it. I don't want to sacrifice color saturation. Also, de glaze or not? I've really not noticed any difference but thought I would ask while I was typing. There's always something to be learned and at least I'm still having fun. I've got one molded and drying in the garage. I hope to groon it this weekend. It molded much better but I am not looking forward to the burnishing. Thanks.

I'll second the mag release clearance and clearance to get a solid grip. It's something I constantly check. Regripping mid draw is no fun.

Mag well towards the floor, but probably normal cant. Not barrel up. It's a palm out draw as opposed to a palm in. I still think IWB would interfere with a good draw though.

Does he want a puzzle or a holster? Good grief.

You might want to think more like a knife sheath than a gun holster. Maybe something with a closed bottom and cover that snaps over. Similar to some of the nylon cases for knives, flashlights, radios, phones, etc. That's an interesting one for sure. And in reality, the shape is closer to a knife or flashlight than a gun.

Well, instead of just showing up in some random thread I though I would post my own to start. I've always loved guns and had an interest in leather but never really tried to pursue it. Started carrying a few years ago. Got my wife carrying too. When she purchased a new carry gun I figured I would look into making my own holsters. Started off with leather/kydex hybrids. Easy enough to figure out. Once I had the leather in my hand I knew it was only a matter of time before I tried my hand at an all leather holster. I've managed to sell a few hybrids here and there and one leather holster. Everyone seems pleased, so that's good. Anyway, my first all leather holster for my G19. I've been wearing it for a month or so and really like it. I have some improvements I will make in the next one. Starting with not sewing the bottom closed. And you can see where I got impatient with the finish on the straps. I want to make the straps a part of the holster instead of snapped on. Hoping for less twist. But it suits what I needed it for, easy on and off. Although the removable snaps did allow me to go IWB with it. And my first beltslide. I love the finish, which was basically a total disaster to start with. I made the mistake of using some oil during wet molding. Then when I went to dye it the dye would not take. And since I was going for all black that was not going to work. It was headed for the junk bin or I was going to give it to my wife. Then my neighbor was telling me about some holster work he used to do and it gave me an idea. So I stripped off what I could, buffed off some spots with steel wool, and buffed what was left with a buffing wheel on the bench grinder. Here is the end result. I've got another belt slide in the works. Been trying out the vinegroon process. It has made some things better and others more difficult. More lessons learned for the next one. I do want to say thanks for the wealth of knowledge on here. I have been reading a lot the last few weeks here. Great stuff. I hope to contribute some as I can. Thanks from Longview, NC.