Ran

Frank...I honestly think my customer will use this rig more for novelty than practical use. This is the fourth holster he's purchased from me and I'm getting to know him. I can't imagine a guy walking around much with a firearm like that on his hip. The belt was sort of an after-thought on his part. I happened to have a recently finished belt with me when I picked up his gun and he said, "Make me one of those too!"...

Big River....thanks for posting the pic of that shoulder rig. I have a buddy with the same 'hand cannon' wanting a similar holster. Maybe I can borrow an idea or two from your photos...

I'm with the others who are surprised this customer could mangle up one of those steel clips that badly. From my experience, they are pretty stout. I would much prefer them over the plastic ones..

Nice work, yotebuster! I can relate to your comment about selling holsters. I started making a holster or two for myself, and now I'm building and selling holsters weekly, many of which are repeat customers. I haven't yet built that style IWB, but its on my list..

KN...thank you. I just sponged on Tandy's Pro Water based stain. Light brown and dark brown. I'm a LONG time woodworker/cabinet maker, etc., but have been doing leatherwork only for a short time. One of the many things I have found that leatherwork and woodworking have in common is that (like wood) not all leathers are created equal when it comes to how they accept stain. I sometimes consider myself just plain old lucky when I get a finish like the one on this holster. But, having said that (and again, much like woodworking), I have also found that I keep getting better and better at achieving the finish I'm looking for.. Randy

Love that design. Very nice, DLC!

Very nice, JRC! I've never been fond of that particular construction, but only from an aesthetic perspective. Functionally speaking (although I've never built one), it appears to be the ticket. The part that has turned me away from building this design is the stitch lines. They just don't 'flow' in an aesthetically pleasing fashion, IMO. BUT....you sir, make it look good! The shark against the horsehide draws attention away from the stitch pattern (again, IMO). I've not yet worked with horsehide, but I'm looking forward to it. Again, great work....I'm confident the customer will be more than satisfied!...

Very nice, Mike! I thought about doing a wide strap like that, but wanted to try the buckle thing.

Thanks for the remarks, folks! I chuckled at a few of them...

A repeat customer of mine (this is the fourth rig he's purchased) recently asked me to make a holster for his 'behemoth' Ruger Super Redhawk and a matching belt. He specifically asked that the belt not be 'authentic' western so that he could wear it separately, etc. When I started drawing the pattern, I thought to myself, "...this dang thing is going to use up a double shoulder, for cryin' out loud!"... . He knows I love pistols, so when he handed me the firearm he included with it a box of .44 mag reloads and said, "Have fun!".. . What a sweet shooting 'hand cannon!'

I've been using Tandy's Pro Water Stain, and with the black I 'sometimes' find it necessary to re-dye the leather once or twice in order to get rid of a slight 'chauky' look on the surface. I'm a woodworker and this doesn't necessarily surprise me. Like wood, all leathers aren't created equally and thus seem to take to stain, dyes, and finishes differently. They usually seem to turn out decent in the end though

Very nice, Solo

Looks good, Bob!

Northmount....thanks for the idea. I'm gonna try this tomorrow. I'm a long time woodworker/cabinet maker, and can easily make a jig to try this method. Thanks! Randy

Looks like I could do that on my machine..

Sounds like I'm back to the drawing board somewhat. She now wants these to be more like short little 'cups' that rise only about an inch up the side of the bottle. She specifically said, "I want them to have the look of a dice cup, but only an inch~ tall..

Thanks folks. Kate....I have a hunch if I showed that coffee cup wrap to my friend Dawn, she'd say, "That it....that's what I want!" If i stitch it, it sounds like I'll need a curved awl and maybe a curved stitching needle too?? But honestly, I like the looks of the lace work better. Kate, can you give me any tips on doing that lace pattern? Or can you point me in a direction to learn? Thanks again...I appreciate all the help.. Randy

Kate, I guess that I should have been more clear. I'm picturing a wrap that encompasses nearly the whole bottle/candle. In other words, almost like a cup with no bottom in it (or actually, they could have a bottom too, but it would serve to real purpose). Something that would come up at least halfway on the bottle, I'm seeing. The bottom edge would be flush with the bottom of the bottle. My real question, however, is how to make the butt joint where the wrap rejoins itself. I suppose I need a curved needle and awl?? Or might I lace it together?? Randy

A friend of mine is designing a building candles that she's making by first cutting beer bottles off about 3" or 4" tall and sanding the edges smooth. She will then pour candle wax into them, etc. I was having coffee with her and opened my big mouth suggesting that we wrap the bottles in leather. We could even tool the leather, etc. I make holsters and belts. I've never done butt joints or lacing work. Any suggestions will be much appreciated..

Zulu...thanks for the remarks. The back of the two tone holster is predominantly black. I just simply changed dye colors part way down the back of the straps. Same with the stamping. I consider the back of an OWB holster like this to be the same as the lining of a jacket (in terms of aesthetics, that is). While I don't want it to look like crap, I'm also not nearly as concerned about the look of the backside. I'll even sometimes use a piece of leather back there that I might not use for the front side (e.g., slight blemish, etc.).

Thanks Dwight. Yes...plenty of snow. Here in northern WI, we have probably 14"~ or so on the ground..

A Tennessee LEO commissioned me to make the 'black-on-black' holster in the first pic. At first, I almost wanted to talk him into letting me add something to dress it up a little. But in retrospect, I must confess that I kinda like the monotone look.....especially for a cop. I've built quite a few of these 1911 holsters, but this is just my third belt build

A Tennessee LEO commissioned me to build the 'black on black' holster (first pic), and the other rig is just something I wanted to build. I'll probably post it for sale on one or more of the pistol forums. When the cop asked me to build his 'all black' holster, I almost wanted to talk him into letting me do 'something' to add some pizzazz. But after finishing it, I must confess that I kinda like the simple monotone. I've made quite a few of these snap-on OWB 1911 holsters, but this is just my third belt build

Nice work, George. I agree about charging extra for 'special requests.' I have a guy dropping off a Super Redhawk tomorrow for me to make a holster. He's a repeat customer (three other holsters) so I'll probably go a little easy on him, but that beast of the pistol is going to be a challenge to make a holster for. Can't imagine he wants it for actual carry..

Thanks Eric. Duh...I've ordered from them on numerous occasions and never noticed the other items for sale...sheesh!