supercub

Well, you could taper the welt around the blade making it thicker toward the top. The wedge shaped welt can allow a bit more room, but with a guard as thick as you show, it may be problematic. The other option is to do it like the old time sword makers and hang the belt loop off of a separate attachment. Keeping the knife in the sheath would be depending on gravity and blade length. Short blade with big guard can be a challenge.

That is just about as good as it gets! Outstanding work!

I usually use 22 ga. Galvanized for throat reinforcing bands. That is around .033". Slightly thinner should be fine as well. I've seen it at Lowes and Home Depot as well at ACE. This is the same material that many saddlemakers use to build up saddle seats. If it can take that kind of abuse, holsters are a non event.

Why not use galvanized steel? It is usually available in small sheets as roof and gutter flashing. Ace hardware and others carry it. Stainless will certainly work, but it is more difficult to cut and drill and the galvanized will likely last longer than the leather that covers it. It is also quite a bit cheaper than stainless. I have a very old Milt Sparks holster where the leather wore out from lots of hard use. The reinforcing throat band was made of galvanized and was in good enough condition to be used again with a new leather cover.

Thanks for the reply Rob. There was a misspelling on the email address, hence it was not deliverable. Thanks also for looking for a clip. I've seen the clip I am looking for on a commercial holster, but it is likely that clip was custom made for that maker. I guess I'll just redesign my holster to utilze what is more commonly available. I'll get an order into you next week for clips when I finalize the design.

Thanks Chief. I'll check them out to see if they produce what I'm looking for.

Thanks Lobo. I was aware of albest, but hoped there would be another source for smaller quantities or non custom clips. I've cut back to hobby mode on leather gear and 500 units would likely exceed my lifetime clip requirement. I may just redesign my holster idea to utilize a more commonly available clip. Thanks!

I've been looking for a source of holster belt clips similar to the one shown. I need it to fit a 1.5" belt. The one shown is sized to fit a 21/8 size belt and is about twice as wide as what I need. The other available belt clips I've found all have a finger tab on the bottom which tends to rub and abrade clothes, car seats etc. The photo is from the blue gun store catalog - sent them any email asking about clips last week, but so far haven't got a reply. Anybody know of a source?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the detail molding on these holsters. Only thing I'd change is to move the stitchline slightly closer to the gun. Lining with suede? The advantage of lining might be lost if the suede is not veg tan (chromic acid tan on some suede) and the suede is sometimes coarser than the flesh side of a good quality side. The suede might also attract and hold oil and dust which becomes abrasive. Smooth grain side leather probably makes the best lining. Making the top leather thinner would give more detail, but thats not necessarily better. Lighter leather will usually not stand up to the abuse that a heavier holster will. A double layer of 4/5 or 3/4 glued together will give a good sturdy holster and a smooth inner lining.

I noticed that you stitch through the facing leather and the kydex and rely on glue (and a perimeter stitch) to keep everything together. While it may have a slight impact on the looks of the back of the holster, have you considered sewing through both layers of leather and the kydex? Seems like this would keep everything tighter. I did a couple of mag carriers like that, and they worked pretty well.

I do it pretty much the same way. I boost the temp up a little and cut down the time. Depending on how many trays I remove and the thickness of the holsters, I can get 8 or 10 in at a time.

I've made a couple of hybrid holsters, and even sewed them to the leather rather than using rivets. I was never really happy with how they looked. I like the way you buried the plastic beween the leather layers. It gives a much cleaner, professional look. That said, I'm still not a big fan of kydex - but I think your holsters are really well done and probably the most practical ( and comfortable) IWB style I've seen. I may just have to try a kydex hybrid one more time.

Easiest way I've found is to lay the revolver on a piece of cardstock and carefully trace the outline of the underside of the gun from the end of the barrel to the top of the trigger guard. Cut out this piece to use later as a template. If you are doing a pancake, sew the straightline portion of the holster and put the revolver tight against the stitchline. Take a spring clamp and pinch the two pieces of leather over the trigger guard. Make a mark with a pencil at that point. Do the same thing at the end of the barrel. These marks will be the beginning and end of the stitchline. Take out the revolver and flatten out the holster. Take your pattern template and line it up with the two marks you made on the holster. Draw this line between the two points - that is your stitchline. Sew it together, case the leather, reinsert the gun and start molding. Depending how tight you want to fit, you can adjust the stitchline in or out a smidge. You can do it the same way with a fold over holster, but you will need to enlarge it slightly to accomodate the front sight. This method has worked okay for me on J and K frames, but it might need a little more adjustment to deal with the larger cylinders on the N frames and single actions. It will get you in the ballpark, but depending on the leather weight and other factors - you'll need to do a little trial and error.

I've repaired a number of old fitted shotgun cases over the years. Many of the 1890's vintage rigid "leg of mutton" cases from Europe had a molded cardboard stiffener with a lining of felt or sheep's wool and an exterior of oiled bridal leather. If they were kept dry, they could last for a long time. Most of the repairs I made were to replace the rotted stitches or broken handles and straps. That said, many of the cases I saw also had pretty bad mildew and deteriorated from the inside out. The fitted trunk type cases are much more durable (stiffened with a wood box) and lined with felt or smooth leather. They are obviously much more work, but are a much better case. I am not aware of a source of box liners for these cases, but there is (or was) a custom maker in (Missouri I believe) named Marvin Huey (not sure of the spelling) who made some outstanding cases for very high end shotguns. If you haven't yet got a copy, you really should get Al Stohlman's "Art of Making LeatherCases" vol.3. It has an excellent description on making a fitted pistol case that may give you some ideas.

Excellent! Safe, secure and looks great. Customer should be very happy.

I recently bought a new phone after my old one died. Unfortunately, it is quite a bit larger than the old one and it doesn't fit into a shirt pocket either. So.... I picked through the scrap bin for some leather remnants and the belt case below is the result. It is primarily 7/8 oz veg tan with a recycled belt clip from Tandy. It seems to work okay, but next time I think I'll just get a smaller phone.

You're right! I had forgotten about the GC commander. They are kinda rare though. What did they make - 1500 or so in the 90's? Thats what I get for living in the pre series 80 world.

There are a lot of Colt 1911 variants. The commander series is usually 3/4" shorter barrel than the standard 1911. The Gold Cups (that I'm familiar with) are the same barrel length as the standard 5" 1911. The Gold Cup will stick out the end of a holster built for a commander.

I don't do shows, so my comments are pretty speculative on what is needed. I have both a Boss and a Pro 2000 Juki. They will both do the job, albeit at different speeds and costs. My boss is mounted on a delta tool stand that weighs around 25#. It can easily be hauled around and still be sturdy enough to sew anything you might want. The Juki with motor and table weighs probably 300+#. I never want to move it again - even a little bit! The Boss can be quirky and finicky to set up and do consistant work. Once you get it figured out and tuned properly, it will do an okay job. Some folks run out of patience with them since it is their first machine, or different than any other machine they have used. If you decide on a Boss, you need to be patient and expect a little lag time in getting the machine figured out. Once you do, I believe you will be happy with it for what it does. If you want to crank out stuff quickly with little down time and a dependable consistant stitch - a Juki clone is hard to beat. - Just heavy and expensive!!

Depends on the style of holster. For a pancake or avenger style, it should be pretty easy to adjust the stitch line and grip clearance from a 1911 pattern. Get yourself some old file folders and make your own patterns. It really isn't all that hard. All it takes is a pair of scissors and some time. Keep cutting and fitting and pretty soon you'll have a useable (custom) pattern.

I use both a head knife and a round knife. The head knife is bigger at around 5" across. The round knife is around 4" across. both of mine are now considerably smaller after years of sharpening. I use the smaller knife probably 85% of the time. I tend to use the larger knife with a deeper belly to taper and skive edges and backs. if i have a really thick tough hide, I'll grab whichever one is sharpest. I dont usually suggest that you do a search if the answer can be easily answered, but you are looking for a lot of info that has previously been covered. If you google head knife or round knife for leather, there is a lot of information including old videos from this siite.There are also a couple of videos on how to sharpen them as well. I'd recommend either the head or round knife - buy whichever one fits your hand and style of cutting. Remember- these knives are razor sharp for slicing, they are NOT used for chopping like the Eskimo ulu knife.

Exactly! If you choose a custom head or round knife, see if the maker will do a plexiglas or wood profile template so that you can get a feel for how it fits your hand. I use the Osborne knives, but I sure like way a knife with a custom grip feels. When you cut a lot of leather, a knife that is comfortable will be easier to use and you will be less likely to "force" it and end up cutting yourself. I have never cut myself (knock on wood) with a round or head knife, but I sure have with a utility or exacto. BTW Camano - nice looking blade.

I don't know anything about J2, but D2 has been around for a while. It is a carbon steel that has a good bit of chromium, though is not classified as "stainless". It has been used in a lot of applications as tool steel and cutlery. I believe that at least one manufacturer used it to produce the "Ka-bar" knife. It can be a little tricky to heat treat in a small shop and has a reputation for being brittle if not tempered properly. The commercial makers have the tools and expertise to turn out a quality product - otherwise they couldn't stay in business. As for Rockwell scale - my understanding is that the bigger the number, the harder the steel. Generally, the harder blades will hold an edge longer, but will be more difficult to sharpen. Depending on the steel, harder can also be more brittle. It may be more prone to chipping or breakage if droped or used as a prying tool. When it comes to custom knives - use what the maker is comfortable with. He may make a beautiful knife, but if he is unfamiliar with the steel and heat treating, it could turn into an expensive paperweight. If he is experienced with d2, 440c, or ATS34 - any of them will be fine. If he hammers them out of old saw blades, or leaf springs, they might be fine - but maybe not.

I don't profess to be an expert in metals chemistry, but I believe that ATS-34 and 440c are both high carbon stainless alloys. I'm not a knifemaker, but I have made many sheaths for a bunch of custom knifemakers. I've learned a little bit from them about what makes a good knife. Both 440c and ATS-34 make excellent knives. Depending on tempering they can be hard to extremely hard ( Rockwell hardness of 60 as I recall for 440c). The harder the blade ( to a point) the longer it will hold an edge - but the harder it will be to sharpen. Have you ever noticed how a butcher constantly touches up his blade on a steel? They are using extremely sharp carbon steel blades that are relatively soft. They trade off the harder to sharpen hard stainless blades for an easy to sharpen softer carbon steel blade. Now, they are cutting a relatively soft medium ( meat) but they do occaisionally hit a bone. My point is that regular carbon steel will do a good job, albeit with more attention needed to keep it sharp, but the harder stainless alloys will keep an edge longer, but will require more effort to resharpen a dull blade. I happen to like the stainless alloys (either 440c or ATS 34 are good) but there is nothing wrong with a regular carbon steel blade.

Outstanding!