Boriqua

I am doing a holster design for someone and I came up with the design attached. Here is my problem. If you look at the dark spots whick is all that will be stamped down they end in fine points. A swoop to a triangular point. I intended to stamp just those dark spaces down but now have trouble figuring out how to do those sharp points at the ends of the dark spots. I may be able to get my background stamp in there but was hoping for other suggestions. Anyone have other (better) ideas on how to pull it off? Thanks!! Alex

Thank you for all your comments Katsass !!! I messed up in that I put up the in progress photos which I had sent to the guy I was making it for. The final does have the belt slot cut in. I used a 1 1/4 pc on the back for a belt loop. Should I go 1.5 inches or in your opinion would that still be to narrow? All the edges including the belt loop interior were burnished using gum tragacanth and rubbed out with a plastic stick. Keep it coming though. It is my first avenger style holster so I can use any input. Alex

OH man !! I hate showing stuff in front of you guys .. I am just a wee little leather worker compared to you guys so it is a little embarrassing but here goes. The person has a very nice 1911 he acquired that was decorated while it was in service in Vietnam. He wanted something different and so we came to Asian dragon and not Flying evil dragon. He also wanted deep coverage. As much coverage he could get and still be able to draw it. I didnt dye the edges because I didn't want to dye the edges at the mouth. It has ivory grips and I don't trust any sealer to not fail and have dye permanently mark the ivory. I wanted to save the gun from holster wear .. dont know if it is stainless or has a nickle finish but that led me to trying to get that liner in there. At the end I dont think its my best work and told him so but he loved it and wanted it. A dilemma for another post. Anyway You can see more of my dragon here http://www.boriqualeather.com/army/ and the liner is below .. sigh .. go ahead and beat me up guys. Thank you again everyone for being so free with your advice

Thank so much everyone!! I was able to save it using all your advise. I notched it so the magazine release had clearance .. wasn't the most elegant since it was done afterward but looks good. Then I sanded down the liner and edge at a steep angle to the inside of the holster and burnished well. Then I sealed all my edges with resplendent. The edge came out really nice and dark. I used it raw and without dye and I think it looks really well. One more thing to add to my knowledge base. Hopefully soon I can help answer questions and not always be the one asking!

So its the first time I ever tried lining a holster. It is for a stainless gun but is one of a kind and engraved so I wanted extra protection against rubbing. I used a piece of 8-9 tooling leather for the body and then used 1.75 tooling leather for the inside as I didnt want to use anything soft. When I want a smooth inside I have used a 4/5 inside with a 6/7 outside but this time I wanted a thicker outside to get a deeper tooling. I glued the 1.75 to the 8/9 together with wedgewood contact cement, weighted it down and let it sit about 16 hours. When I was ready to form the holster some I wet the inside and outside of the holster and bent it into the place and form I wanted. It was going to be a soft wetmold and I made it tight through the stitching. The very first time I stick the 1911 in there the Mag Release caught the edge and .... DOOM! I am assuming it is because I had wet the inside thinner leather but seems the liner would have caught there eventually anyway. the peel back is above the sew line so sewing the two pieces wouldnt have helped. I am going to remake this holster. Obviously I am not going to sell it now but I dont want to give up on lining for certain holsters. I did some searches but dont see anyone addressing the peel up. Thanks everyone for any help

I hear you! I am treating this gun like a museum piece. Well because it is a museum quality gun! I think I am with you and will leave the inside dye free Alex

Should I just not dye the inside. I am finally sitting down to do this one? Any thoughts would be awesome! Thanks Alex

I am working on an avenger holster for an army colt that dates back to the 40's. Someone who had it during the Vietnam war had carved ivory grips installed and some engraving on the gun. I plan on a 2 layer holster so I have smooth side in which should do little to no scratching or muzzle wear. ITs stainless but still. So here is my question. I will dye the inside probably in a deep cherry/black. I have read about all the sealers here on the forum. I use for different reasons, Beeswax/neatsfoot oil paste, Mop and glo cut 50/50, FIebings leather sheen (brown can) and Fiebings saddle lac. I have recently bought some resolene but truth is the mop and glo does a better job at water repellency. I am no expert but being purous I would think that ivory would be forever stained if the holster rubbed.so this sealer has to be dead on. Which of the many sealers discussed would you use for a holster with true Ivory grips that are of sentimental value and more than 60 yrs old? Thanks brothers Alex

They are both beautiful! Are you cutting that cordovan? I just received some from Fiebings and its very dark. I havent tried cutting it yet though. Every pic I have seen of the Angelus has been that lovely rich red Alex

And I love my nifty new stamp.

I had no idea. In all my searching his name didn't come up. Regardless I was very happy with the service, product and price.

Ok I was looking for a Makers stamp and just so happened when I was doing google searchs I came across this gentleman Nick Silva I purchased the same design in 1" and in 1.25. It is a hunk of delrin that he has a cut out for the tandy hefty handle. I had my own but they can be had at any tandy. The items arrived 2 days after I ordered it and .... are you ready for this ... They were $25.00 each !!!! http://www.lasered-stamps.com/

I must be the dumbest guy in the room because with all the great advice and pictures on this thread I am still confused. I have set my t-nuts between the leather. The leather I am using is 8-9. So you can see in the pic how high the t-nut shaft sticks out of the leather. Now if I understand I am simply supposed to cut my strap, make my holes, slip the strap over the shaft of the t-nut and tighten down the 6/32 screws I bought. But here is the question. The shaft on my snap back is actually longer than the shaft of the t-nut so why not just set the snap the way you normally would without using the t-nut? Alex

So I spent half hours reading posts and there is a ton of information and regarding size I read unobtrusive, prominent part of the design, makers stamp or not but I havent been able to read specifically what size people out there are using. So with all the varience in opinion is there still a size that is used by most and what is it. I attached a pic of what I am thinking of. I have it on a holster but I also do bracelets, saddle bags and pretty much anything made of leather. My main focus .. because people keep asking .. is holsters. So I have this scaled at 1" by 1". I would love feedback!

Thanks GUYS and thank you for taking the time to do the drawing Dwight. Now stupid question number fifty. I have made IWB with one strap and that strap was integrated into the throat support so it was unable to pivot. Using the T nut and spaced wont the straps pivot around the t nut? Is it supposed to or are the straps supposed to be fixed? Hope that makes sense. Alex Added a simple drawing. So question is are those straps supposed to pivot?

Its so great to see a variety of different techniques. Now I have to try them all. While doing a careful wet mold is nice and aesthetic pleasing it will not make up for a good pattern and tight stitching. I measure the gun along the slide width and break it in half. I then cut and sew my pieces together and sand my edges. If I am doing oil dye I dye it now. I use a small syringe type thingy and wet the inside of the holster. I use the back end of a kitchen tool .. my favorite at the moment is the spatula, I broke the handle off the other one so the wife is not pleased. I open the holster up nicely then stick my gun in there and mold with my fingers and the front end of a .45 snap cap. I only leave the gun in for an hour and then carefully pull it out. Whenever I have left the gun in over night the holster tended to be looser than I wanted. Currently I just put my holster in the Arizona sun for a while .. 1 hr or so and then bring it in to dry over night. The gun can be turned upside down and you could dance the night away with it upside down and it aint goin no where and is hard as a rock. The stitching to me is all of it though but that is just the way I do it and there are FAR more learned here than I. Alex

Its just a standard pancake nothing special. The only trick was removing the loops entirely. You can see under the loops that it has slots for a belt. I really dont like the set up but they want something like it. Glockanator. Thanks man. I was hoping for some way for him to remove the loops easier but your right the only way I see this going down would be if he took a screw driver to it remove the screw and remove the loops..

I have someone asking for a holster that can be used both as in the waist band and outside. He wants to be able to completely remove the loops when it is used OWB. If I understand how to attach loops then it is like the drawing I posted. I have done a good deal of wood work and get this But how do I go from that to removing the loops entirely?? I'm baffled

I hope I am not hijacking but I have the loop thing down and came out nicely. well nicely for a newby on an inch and a quarter strap. now I am trying to do it on a 2.5 inch strap. is there a trick to make it easier to ensure you line up all of your belt punch holes even top to bottom. I have been eye balling but there just has to be a more accurate method.

Oh my goodness was this stressful. Well it was my first shot do I guess it is supposed to be. He wanted it not to have tooling or stamping but he wanted it to feel like it had a little age on it. I found a good wrinkled leather and dyed it with cut mohagony and then did a few passes with a do brown and finally some black. It may have been much easier with an air brush but I don't have one. Stuffing the hosted through the loops without making it fold so much it wouldn't hold a nice pocket when it dryer had me insane. I think the slots wound up a little wider then I would have liked but I will adjust the pattern but I was and am stuck on when to apply finish. You really can't after you have stuffed the folder through the loops? I have a lot to learn about this type of holster. There are so many AWESOME cowboy rigs on here. I took a ton of time to do this and another but I am basically charging the guy for material. Hey he gave me an opportunity to try something new. This Mexican loop jazz was tough! Here I'd that one and a string side for him. Now on to the belt. Ugh I'm just not that smart here are some. Pix of each http://www.boriqualeather.com/Cowboy http://www.boriqualeather.com/cowboy2

I know there are many cartridge belt threads and tutorials and have decided to proceed with the loop and belt punch method. My problem is when do you apply finish. The things I have read say make sure the loop leather is good and wet. but everyone's loops are nice and have varying degrees of "shinyness". I am using Beeswax and neatsfoot paste. So when do I apply it? If I do it before I wet it wont the finish get destroyed once I wet it? Thanks brothers Alex

I always wanted to try a western style holster and in particular a Mexican loop. So finally someone came along and asked if I would make one and I accepted the challenge. I wish I had read the Simmons PDF before but instead went ahead and bought a pattern. So far so good. Person wanted expressive leather .. check .. I did a oak tag mock up .. check .. But now for the real dilemma .. How do I get the holster in those loops ?! They are miles away. When I was a kid my uncle thought it great fun to buy me impossible puzzles. He would have loved this one. So am I wetting the leather and then just bending the holster area into the loops. I would be afraid I will crease the holster. Man I am stuck .. any and all help appreciated.

He is one of the reasons they make spam filters. He would be in mine

I should have added that this is for a wet molded rigid holster. Shoe polish won't soften it will it?

What if anything do you suggest to customers to use over your finish. I seal the inside with acrylic and the outside with Fiebings leather sheen. It shouldn't need anything after that since it is sealed but if you wanted to polish it up a year from now what would you recommend .. or ... just leave it alone? Alex