SooperJake

Another beauty, Ray!

Nice, Ray!

So far, in tinkering with this idea on myself, I think I have discovered the single most uncomfortable holster carry area ever conceived . No position, for and aft, up or down, or cant angle is even remotely comfortable when sitting down for me. Some part of the pistol is poking me somewhere. Why on earth would someone want this?

Very Cool!

Thanks guys. This is very helpful. Do you think the retention strap is a necessity for an auto?

Good advice Camano. BTW it isn't a her.

I got a request for an IWB cross draw holster for an SR40 Ruger today from a former customer of my previous work life. . I've never made a cross draw holster at all let alone an IWB cross draw. I'm looking for opinions on the functionality of this type of holster. If you've made one and have pics, please share as well.

$65 I think I paid, this year. I first bought one custom made from Weaver and it was completely dull. I paid to send it back for sharpening and it came back just as dull as it left. Total with twice shipping : close to $130. I've complained about that tool on this forum many times. Just trying to get my money's worth out of a tool I will never be able to use. I won't give Weaver a nickel of my money ever again, either.

Yeah, they work great.

+ 1 on Texas Custom Dies. I got mine made to be hand struck with a mallet. Works great. .375 x 1.6".

By the way this is for a pancake style holster. Since Pancakes are for breakfast I call this a belt-slot holster. Pics here listed are in the order I posted them not the numbers I named the files. P1 : Cut the leather to reflect the top front of the holster avoiding the mag release. P2: Cut the back piece to match. P3: Glue the edges of the halves. P4: Wet for molding. P5: Vacuum molding in progress P6: Bone the outside edges, ejection port and trigger guard on both sides. Not too much molding is needed since we are developing the stich lines primarily. That tool you see is stainless steel for working with clay and comes in a set of 3 sizes made by Sculpey and sold at Michael's craft store. Yes, I knew you'd ask. P7: Molding done, dry the holster (NuWave oven at work) P8 molded and dry. P9: Cowboy CB4500 unthreaded with single left foot on. Hand stitch people~ get your awls sharpened up real good. P10 Stitch around the molding at the desired distance away. I stitch in the bottom of the curved indention line formed by the Sculpey tool. That leaves me about 1/16 to 1/8" away from the vertickle plane. (I like to use the word tickle when ever possible.) P11: Close up along trigger area. P 12: tear it apart. P13: Two halves. P14 Rewet the front, and use something flat like a bone tool and your fingers to flatten out the front the best you can. Here is where over boning in the trigger and ejection port will come back to haunt you. P15:Back in the NuWave. You can also air dry which is actually best. P16: Lay the dried front onto pattern paper and trace the top line and then use a needle to transfer your stitch holes to the pattern. P17: Use gun or gun mold to further develop the chaffing panel. P 18 complete the perimeter of the pattern. Clear as mud.

I was asked in another thread to better explain one of the ways I make a holster pattern. This method came from trial and error in an effort to get good lines on the trigger side of the firearm, because the exact shape of the gun and the shape the leather actually molds to aren't always a mirror image. So here it is with pictures taken on my dumb phone. The idea is to mold the gun to get a good trigger guard side and tweak the tightness by adjusting the straight stich line on the slide side of the pattern only. it works like a charm. I came up with this for holsters with lasers originally.

Making the reply its own topic.

Thanks guys.

Thanks! Very clean design. What material and thickness is used in the core, if you please?

Would you happen to have a close-up picture of the joints on the back side?

Have any of you molded an SR40 Ruger holster using an SR40c dummy? The difference is a little over 1/2" in length. How did it work out if you did?

I'll put together a step by step in pictures later this week for you.

yes, it was one of those head smacking moments. I forgot to mention rewetting and flattening out the front after the stitch holes are in, then transfer all to paper once the flattened piece dries. If you make a flat back holster you can mold with one side open and then stitch it closed after. My success with this method has been mixed. I know Dwight does this method, and a few others.

One thing I found when working out my patterns is to get the trigger guard-side-lines down pat first. Tightness can be adjusted by tweaking a straight line on the slide side. One way to get the line on the trigger guard side is to glue scraps together, cut the holster mouth shape at the top, mold, dry, then stitch around the mold with an unthreaded machine. You could also poke holes with your awl. Tear this apart and their will be the stitch line on the top half. This might seem like extra work but it has reduced my waste and time tweaking the stitch lines. It used to take me 3 tries or more to tweak the lines before I tried this method. The line along the gun and the line that actually molds in the leather don't always reflect a mirror image, since you are working in 3 planes at once. Pay close attention to what Katsass and the other seasoned veterans are telling you. That is wisdom you don't find in books.

Or better yet, you are getting one for free!

Check with Eric Adams, he sells his patterns and makes excellent how-to videos also. http://www.adamsleatherworks.com/

Awesome looking rig! How's you manage to get your belt stitches to run parallel hole for hole?

...and the wisdom returns as smooth and easy as a hand-tuned trigger.

Welcome back, Mike.