MStarmer

Wow nice pattern and great drawing. My patterns are somewhat taped together pieces of card stock and photocopies. I may try to make one of these as I've never made an avenger style. Thanks so much! I should have asked do you have a pic of one done?

Color and finish on a more "traditional" design might be a better take. Coming up with a working design and style is sometimes the hardest part, and like said make sure you leave enough for a full grip and don't cover the mag release.

Thanks for all the replies, I've came to the conclusion I just needed more practice and a sharper chisel. Sounds like it's hit or miss with some of the choices out there. I'm cutting them a little undersize and grinding them to where I want them.

My apologies I completely missed the Tool forum, I probably should have posted this there. I appreciate the replies from all, I may give Texas Dies a call.

Was the price fair from these guys?

Okay I'm doing fairly well on most aspects of my holsters but these darn belt slots are my nemesis. I've conceded that I want to opt for a belt slot punch for 1.5" x .25 (or whatever their sizes run). I was looking on Springfield Leather where I've been buying most of my stuff and it's hard to tell the sizes, or they just list 1.5" and have a couple to pick from. I'm not sure what the difference is. Anybody have a link to a affordable quality punch, or part number? These are the two listed, I can't figure out what the difference is, maybe manufacturer I guess. http://springfieldleather.com/16316/Punch%2COblong%2C%23151%2C-1%22/ http://springfieldleather.com/16307/Punch%2COblong%2CHeavyDuty%2C-1%22/ Thanks Michael

No I don't oil after finishing, I just noticed some people saying they did and I thought that was kind of odd. I was following Lobo's pancake tutorial and it mentions sealing with an acrylic (Resolene) and then final finishing (Bag Kote). So it's either but not both? Any benefits to one or the other? Sorry for the questions but so far I have Resolene, Bag Kote and Leather Sheen and I think I'm over-complicating as to what I should be using... Thanks for the info and patience to us new guys! So many ways people do things, making the holster is starting to seem like the easy part.

Ok I'm pretty new here and I have read until my eyes bleed... well almost anyway. Finishing sequence and products? It seems that everyone has a favorite and maybe it doesn't matter. I'm building holsters so I'm looking for a durable but not glossy finish. I just got some of these products and want to make sure I'm doing them in the correct order. Right now I cut stitch and mold, then; Dye with Fiebing's Pro oil, let dry 24hrs (ish) Light coat of pure neatsfoot oil, let dry 24hrs Resolene (50/50 water) with a sponge, let dry 24hrs Bag Kote I've been reading some people are applying neatsfoot oil after finishing? I think I'm ok, dye, oil, seal, then final finish... Thanks, Michael

SooperJake, Sometimes the simplest of ideas is the smartest. I've been trying to get my stitch lines by making holsters out of sheet foam and then modifying my template. I don't know why I think to just use a few scraps...

The piece is both form and function. I like the way it looks mostly, it's dyed with Fiebings Pro Oil Mahogony, then neatsfoot oil, 50/50 resolene.

I tried the same one on my first one. Drilled one side, used a diamond awl on the other. I drilled mine with about the same drill size (.062) and it looked like crap, the awl punched side looked way better but it was tough to do. I spent some quality time sharpening the awl (made a huge difference) and then saw the idea to chuck it up in the drill press (turned off) just to use the leverage to punch it through. Made all the difference, looks better and a whole lot easier, not to mention not stabbing yourself. I would say very good for a first attempt. I'm on my 5th and 6th ones now, each time I mold one I modify my template just a bit trying to improve the fit and appearance. Did you form it with the safety on or off? Also I would say add some curve or swoop to the top in lieu of straight across, will improve the look and you can miss the mag release. I just use a french curve and swoop it up! This is my third one, it shows the curve nicely.

Here's the 4th one. Stitching a little closer fit around the trigger guard and belt slots way cleaner.

I just cut the slots on my fourth one and they turned out much much better. First I thinned down the hole punch, it's just a cheap 1/4" harbor freight one but it tapered drastically to the point. I think this was a huge part of my problem and also in lieu of the chisel I used a #18 chisel blade Xacto and slowly just worked it straight down between the holes. I'll post a pic later if I get time but it turned out very nice compared to my other attempts! Thanks for the comments and tips, I spend more time on here than I should reading but I don't think my first holsters would have even been identified as holsters if it wasn't for all the people willing to share and help. I don't think I'll be competing for anyone's business anytime soon, but I do want to make some good leather for myself. I do have two Lobo holsters and I have to say he was more than accommodating to my requests. It will be awhile before I replace his.

A sharp wood chisel is what they are talking about. I may just try laying them out, punching the top and bottom and using a X-acto chisel blade straight down slowly... I wish someone made an affordable punch. I'd pay $20 or $30 but it looks like most of them are in the $60+ range...

Wow...

That's the way I'm doing it. Maybe it's my sequence, I do them after I've glued to the two pieces together. I'm using a 1/4" punch but it doesn't cut clean holes, they kind of taper. I didn't want to do the pieces separate figuring they would mismatch. I was thinking of thinning down the edges of the punch?

Little bit....

Actually after reading a bunch more tried the Resolene 50/50 and the damp sponge. Waaay better, got it cooking off in the sun and then will put a light coat of Kiwi on it and call it good. Going to modify my template a bit to make the stitching a bit tighter and match the trigger guard a little closer.

No machine. Laid out holes with overstitch wheel then chucked a diamond awl blade into my drill press to try and punch the holes straight. Then hand saddle stitched with Nyltex (they don't list a size) thread from Springfield leather. The reinforcement piece was sewed on with a little smaller waxed linen just due to the fact I wasn't able to get the Nyltex threaded thru the needle, or gave up too soon. For the holster I finally was able to taper it enough to just barely get it thru the eye "0" size harness needle. Belt slots are still giving me trouble, the last one is better but still not nearly as clean as I'd like them to look. I guess I just need more practice. On to my main question I see that Fiebings Bag Kote might be worth a look or will the Kiwi be enough as a final finish?

Well after "salvaging" my first attempt I knocked out two more. My first one I tried quite a few different things on, drilling, punching, how to burnish etc.. Didn't really like the shape and whipped out another, ended up just neatsfoot oil and resolene but waaay too shiny. Now my third holster actually I think is quite respectable. But I'm not sure what to use as a finish? I don't want it shiny, I just dyed, applied neatsfoot but now what? Can I use Kiwi neutral as a final finish? Any comments appreciated. First try... Kind ugly! (Glock 23) Second try, good shape but too shiny! Not really digging the color either... (Glock 23) Third try... This one I actually like!!! It's actually for a gun I own and carry too (Glock 27). The first two I used the only blue gun I own since I was messing around. The second holster actually was made for my XDm but I couldn't fit it in...

I'm the kind of guy that likes to go on with both feet running. When I was learning how to checker the front strap of my 1911 a whole lot of people said I was craszy. Practice on a pipe or something. I did practice on something, my frame! I'm looking forward to posting a few more pics.

Yeah the stitch line didn't end up even close to where I was shooting. I molded it then tried to layout the stitch line. May work out fine for someone with more experience but I found it a lot easier when the holster was flat. I'll post up a pic of the back of the holster, I didn't realize I forgot to take one. Been working on version 2 for XD today, was looking great until I punched out the belt slots, I tried drilling then joining them with a chisel. Harder then I thought it would be, I had better luck with the punches last time. Belt slots are a little trickier than I imagined... Here's the back; And here's my next one, this one will be for my XDm

Thanks! You have nothing to loose but your time. I don't count the cost of tools as those are mine to keep but $35 worth of leather gives me enough to do probably 6 or 8 holsters. Now I kind if wished I would have molded it to my XDm so I could actually carry with it and see how it works. Unfortunately the blue gun doesn't provide the stopping power I'm looking for.

Well thanks for the tips, I put a little more work into it. I ended up trying to drill the remaining holes with a .062 drill bit just to see how it worked and if I thought it was something I wanted to give a shot. After seeing it compared to the awl punched holes I think I'll skip the drilling. Some things I learned from this one. I need to layout everything when it's flat. Do all edge grooving and marking when flat. Don't use overstitch wheel around the corners, or go very slow. Don't punch out the belt slot holes, I really oversized them. Edge beveler #3 is a little big for my tastes. Here it is stitched up, edge burnished and 2 coats of Fiebings Mahogany oil dye. I don't have any neatsfoot oil but it's on the way with the other goodies. All in all I guess it turned out decent. I already have another one of a little different design cut out waiting to start!

I've got another delivery enroute from Springfield Leather with two more types of thread, another diamond awl (busted my first one already) and a smaller beveler. I also have some neatsfoot oil and resoluene (sp?) to finish it out after I dye (fiebings oil). So after that I should have everything I need to actually build one start to finish. I may start a second one as I'm working on this one since there is so much down time, it will give me a chance to fix my processes and build a holster for a gun I actually have. I just happened to have a blue gun laying around from when we carried Glocks at work and used them for weapons retention drills. Luckily my pattern will work both for the Glock 19 and my XDM 3.8 other than the stitching around the trigger.