Modad2010

Multi mold has a mold gun for the 4'' Sig 1911. It has a sight channel mold built into it and the trigger guard and the ejection port have been filled in due to them being made for the primary use of making kydex holsters.

Nice inlay work.

You know I remember when this forum was a great place to get onto and discuss leather working in general and now not so much. It's no wonder that this sub-forum has so few people on it anymore, if someone does not share the same opinion that the "self proclaimed expert" does they "don't largely want to hear actual facts" and "just want to be patted on the head and told they're doing good". Well, I guess I'd rather be patted on the head and told I'm doin" good by the likes of Tony Kanally, John Ralston, Mark Garrity, Jay Nelson and Matt Delfatti than the likes of you any day. JLS it's crap like this that make folks not want to be a part of a forum like this and exactly why several people are no longer here. Oh by the way, I watched your little video again, I think a good bunch of your retention is coming from the front sight hanging up on the inside of your holster! I could be wrong, but what do I know, maybe I just need a cup of coffee!

The problem with the "one holster that does everything" idea is that the one holster doesn't do anything worth a damn. You and your customer would do best to get a better idea of how he wants to carry and then go from there.

I'm sorry to have somewhat hijacked this thread, I apologize and will refrain from posting further.

Did this take a turn? A holster is definitely tighter on the belt due to the inward tension. That tension pulls the front panel tighter to the body, also closing the gap left by the stitch line - all the more reason to mold in a sight channel. If I'm not mistaken, the photos of your holsters show a slight inward curve that was done in the molding process. Also in your photos it appears that there is some deep molding inside the trigger guard area, I presume, to aid in weapon retention. All of the holsters I build have retention as shown in you video or they don't leave my shop.

I know your point and I've looked down into plenty of holsters. I know that where the two pieces come together in front of the slide creates a little v-shaped channel, but definitely not enough to create a reliable sight channel. Check out the websites for Milt Sparks, 5Shotleather, and Kramer - there's plenty of pictures. Tony Kanalley at Milt Sparks was mentored by Milt himself and John Rolston was mentored by Lou Alessi, two of the most well known and respected holster makers ever. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me. I'm not trying to start some kind of feud, but I did a Lot of research when I started making holsters and tried to learn everything I could from the people that were considered the best in the trade (Sparks and Alessi) and putting a sight channel into all of my holsters was one of those things. The only exception being a cowboy rig.

Why wouldn't you mold one into a "traditional" pancake holster? Milt sparks holsters, Matt Delfatti, John Rolston at 5Shot leather, and Kramer all mold sight channels into their pancakes. It's as simple as securing 3/16" - 1/4" dowell rod to the top of the weapon or mold gun and doing your wet mold.

I'm with the other guys here, I like them to fit tight when new. One thing that you can tell you customers to do is to put their weapon in a Wal-Mart bag or zip-lock bag and then insert the weapon into the holster and leave it over night. I'm also one of these guys that wrap the front and back ends around and yeah I've worn this type of holster a bunch. I've never had an issue with my front sight hanging up. I do, however mold a sight channel into all of my holsters.

Ride height, as JLS stated, is really hard to "set". So many variables - belt width, where you prefer to wear the holster, size of the weapon (the smaller it is the more of PITA it is to build), length of the barrel, degree of cant and so forth. The biggest thing to remember is to be able to get a good, unobstructed grip on the weapon during the draw stroke.

Something I would suggest is to glue your front and back pieces together, then sand the edges square. Then use your edge beveller around the holster - front and back. Next burnish the edges. makes for a much more finished look.

Very nice work, a hell of a lot better looking than my first. Have to agree with JLS on the stitching issue though.

I picked up a couple at Springfield Leather a couple of weeks ago - package of 2 for $1.00.

Horse butts are a bit hard to come by in my area. I've been told that several of the companies that make hybrid-type holsters are getting most of the horse butts. I was at Springfield Leather Co. a couple weeks ago and they finally had a few scrap pieces, but that was it.

Fiebing's white paste saddle soap in the little tin also works well. I find that the white does not have adverse reactions color wise with any of the dies.