vaalpens

I did not know that but now I have learned something. I just see the M11-A1 and MK25 as sacred variants to SIG owners, and not franken-guns. The M11-A1 is even more unique in the sense that SIG has it listed as it's own model.

Mike, thanks for the explanation. I have so much to learn about holster design, and there is no better place to learn than this forum.

Great design! I especially like the business end of the 1911 sticking out like that. What is the top piece of lanyard or rattle hanging out? Does that symbolize a rattle snake?

The M11 A1 is the P228 and is similar to the P229. How close I am not sure, but I would think it should be very close to the non-railed 9MM P229. A suggestion I have is to maybe join one of the two good SIG forums and pose your question. There will be members there that owns both guns. Here are the links: http://sigtalk.com/forums.php http://sigforum.com/eve/forums One bit of advice though. When posting on the SIG forums, don't call the M11 A1 a Frankenstein gun, since it is not.

I like what you have done with the retainer strap. They must be around, but this is the first time I have seen a strap with snaps on both ends of the strap to make it removable. It gives you the best of both worlds where you can use it for hiking or just a range holster, and then do action stuff without having a holster with a strap. i'll leave it up to the experts like Katsass ro give you some guidance since I still fall in that novice category.

Red Cent, thanks for the information you provided. The 8/9 front and back is what I also use for pancake type holsters an I think it is a nice weight for concealed holsters.. The SASS holsters lends itself to a lined holster to give it that nice smooth outside form. The smoother outside is what I like and I always try not to put too much detail into any wet forming I do. I know the 5/6+5/6 makes it very stiff and not that easy to form, so how easy/difficult is it to form a holster when you use 8/9+5/6 weight?

Thanks for the advise, but I'm not sure I'll be able to afford a nice leather splitter in the near future. I normally use the same leather weight for the same type of holster, irrespective of the size of the gun, within reason obviously. I have never made a pocket holster yet, so I will have to keep your suggestion in mind when I finally make one since it makes sense that a pocket holster would probably use a thinner leather.

Mike, great to hear from you again! I think I am also leaning towards using 7/8oz + 2/3oz. I have never done anything with rolled edges before, but it is something I should try sometime. Thanks for the advise.

My next holster will be a lined holster since the I feel that a lined holster is smoother when drawing the gun, and I also like the sturdiness of the holster when lined. The last lined holster I made was using two 5oz pieces of leather, but the problem is that there is not much else I can use he 5oz leather for, especially for sheaths and holsters. The question for those who line their holsters is, what is a good weight to use to line the holster, especially thinking about using the left-over leather for something else. Is it better to use 2x5oz leather, or maybe 2oz + 7/8oz leather, then at least the 6 oz leather can be used for something else. Maybe even a 3/4 ox + 7/8 oz weight is good for lining a holster, and definitely the 7/8oz leather can be used for something else.

I like the nice clean look. The only comment I have is regarding the corners and stitching in the corners. The holster has more rounded corners where the mag pouch has sharper corners.

What a beautiful holster and unique look.

Good looking holster and gun! I'm glad to see you are not taking my tongue in the cheek comments too seriously. I have a lot of respect for the Glock.

Jack, great looking holster as always. I just have one question for you. You always make holsters for Tupperware, when are you going to make a holster for a real gun like a SIG?

Jack, thanks for the kind words. I know you have dyed the edges before and these came out great again. I have never dyed edges specifically for burnishing, but should probably try it out. Do you make your own paraffin wax or is there a specific brand you use? I was watching your video and saw this big spool of thread. So did you finally bought some Barbours, or are you still using Tejas thread?

Jack, great looking case! I like the snap you used. I have seen those at Tandy but haven't found the right projectm to use it yet. I am a bit disappointed in you. I was expecting the next post to be showcasing a Texas Range rig. Just pulling your leg. I just finished a sheath for a Kershaw and probably should have made a pouch type sheath/case for it. The pouch lends itself better to a small pocket knife I would think. Here is a picture of the small sheath I finished. I just have a few questions regarding your belt case. Do you find it is better to stamp the leather before or after the wet forming? I would have thought you would lose some of the definition if you wet form after stamping. Is that an edge Kote you used or burnishing? What color dye did you use? Keep up the good work!

Jack, thanks for the nice comments. There were a few areas where the execution wasn't that great, but the bottom line was that i wanted to have some fun making the holster, make adjustments and add things during the process, and have something that can be fixed if necessary since it is going to see some wear and tear. I saw your post about the Texas Ranger rigs and it should be a great project to tackle. Looking forward to see what great piece you are going to design.

I just finished another fun project where I made my first flap holster. This holster was designed on the fly since I did not have a template and I wasn't sure exactly how everything would come together. Following are some of the design ideas I used: 1) no dye used, just finished with neatsfoot oil and a acrylic finish to protect against the elements. The holster will be used for camping, hiking and fishing so I am expecting some wear and refinishing. 2) The flap is held down by a strap since I wanted to make sure I can replace the strap if needed. It is more difficult to replace the flap. 3) I used a strap keeper for some additional active retention. A slide was used as strap keeper since it gives me flexibility on how tight I want to hold the strap down. I did not want to use anything that will make a noise like a buckle of two D rings. The strap keeper idea came from a forum member on a gun forum that has some practical experince on how good the strap keeper performs. 4) Used a stud instead of snap since a snap can be noisy. 5) Used some copper rivets and nyltex thread for strength. 6) Holster is made to fit my 40 cal P229 and 9MM SP2022 7) I wasn't planning on doing any carving or stamping but I decided to add the "don't tread on me" and rattle snake tribute since I had all the real estate on the flap. I still need to add a mag release protector inside but I wanted to make sure it is in the right spot before adding it. Any comments will be appreciated.

Red. thanks for the information. I have now completed two lined holsters and I really like the feel and look of a lined holster. I agree that two 5 oz layers are different than one 10 oz layer. It seems there are more resistance to bending and even boning it, but it looks like it will hold its form probably for a longer time. One drawback I found using two 5 oz layers is the cost. It would have been great if the 5 oz was half the price of the 10 oz, but it is not. It is the same or maybe a bit less depending on where you buy it. Thanks again for your comments.

I think I like to color. Is the Angelus dye an oil or regular/alcohol dye? I have heard some good Angelus reviews. Maybe it is time for me to try the Angelus dyes. The holster came out great,

Welcome to the forum. You will learn a lot from the forum members. I am also new to leather work and have received excellent information from the forum members. Regarding the question when to dye; I actually dye before or after wet forming depending on the look I want. After wet forming it is possible that the dye does not take as well, so you can get shades of the color you are dying with. I sometimes like the look and use this method. The more consistent color will be achieved when dying before wet forming. I always oil after the dying when the finish coat is being applied. I use neatsfoot oil, but you need to test it out since neatsfoot oil will darken the color. One thing I have learned is to clean the leather before dying. The reason for this is that you can have oils or wax from the stitching left on the leather which again will block the dye. I just wipe it with isopropyl alcohol, but you will find better cleaning methods/agents if you search this forum. When reading the posts you will find a common thread that leather bought from Tandy is not that good. I am not into buying expensive leather, but I just buy from Springfield leather. A good piece of leather is always a good start. Good luck and welcome to this addictive hobby.

Red Cent, I have never used it or even heard of it. I think it is always a good thing to try different products. It sounds like it is great for burnishing, but the question is how will the edge hold up against wear and tear. I have actually started using leather balm with atom wax for burnishing. I'm not sure how it will hold up, but my thought was that it is wet so no need for water, it darkens the edge a bit which is what i want, it has a wax component and wax help with burnishing, and I use it as a finish, so it can't be bad for the leather. So far I have been happy using it for burnishing.

Thanks Jack. I really enjoy making the pancake style holster since there are not that many variables when it comes to establishing the stitch line. Once you have the stitch line then you basically have a blank canvas to design whatever you want. Then obviously you have to execute. This time after the forming I realized that about 2/16" of my mag release was covered. So I had to redo the back a bit and also cut a new groove. I think the fix actually worked out well, even though you can still see a bit of the old groove. My next holster is going to be a flap style holster for hiking. The keys are going to be to protect the gun, protect the mag release and make sure the flap is secure. The last thing you want is losing your gun or magazine.

I used Fiebing's oil based saddle tan and then neatsfoot oil.

I just finished another pancake holster where I tried to do some carving and incorporate copper rivets. The theme for the holster is a rugby Springbok with the copper rivets symbolizing winning the rugby world cup. I wanted to stamp the winning years on it, but I thought it would have made the holster too busy. The color came out a bit darker than I hoped for, but overall I think I was able to create a good fitting holster based on what I learned from the first pancake holster I made. One thing I learned this time is that maybe I need a checklist or something when making a holster. I completely forgot to clean the leather before the dye process. This could possibly have contributed to the darker color, bit I can't be sure. Any comments will be appreciated.