dakotawolf

My only question would be how wide is the slot.

I got mine from Texas Custom Dies. I had it made to fit a one and a half inch belt, so the punch is a little bit bigger so the belt can go through easily. The width is a little bit wider than one quarter inch so it can accommodate a heavy duty double layer gun belt. It cost me around $80, shipped. It is the best thing I have bought for Leather working yet. I had been drilling two holes using a forstner bit and then trying to connect them, but rarely did it turn out to my satisfaction. I did specify to Texas Custom Dies that I would be going through two layers of seven to eight ounce Leather and occasionally two layers of eight to nine once Leather. After reading through other posts in this forum I believe making that distinction to them is important for the angle they put on the tool.

Doesn't look like the pic made it in.

This is how I do mine, and I haven't had any complaints. I started out doing the half of the thumb break on the backside (side closest to the body) as just one piece of leather. I used to attach the snap and stiffener in the same fashion you did. I found over time that having one piece of leather got floppy. I use 7/8 oz leather. I then decided I would try to make the body side of the thumb break two layers of leather thick. I got this idea off an old Don Hume duty holster I had laying around. What I do now is I extend the reinforcement piece (or the belt loop piece if the holster doesn't have a wrap around reinforcement) up to the top of the thumb break on the body side. On the inside half of the leather I punch a 9/16 inch hole. This size hole fits a line 24 snap perfectly. Before I bought the actual punch, I used to use a 1/2 inch copper pipe cap that I sharpened. It worked okay for about six holsters. I attach the thumb break stiffener to the outside half of the leather with the snap and rivet(s). The thumb break is then sandwiched between two layers of leather. Heck, I may not even need a stiffener in there, but I really like the solid feel it has. The advantages are the snap protrudes into the holster about 1/16 inch beyond the surface of the leather. This reduces snap bulk in the holster, and I think leads to a little less pressure of the snap on the slide of the holstered gun. Also, I don't have snaps with posts long enough to hold in two layers of 7/8oz leather, so only going through one layer is advantageous. I've tried the plastic snap protectors and just don't like the bulk they add. The other thing I do different is I don't use the reinforcement piece as the only part that makes up my thumb break. I can use my main holster pattern to make a thumb break holster with or without a wrap around reinforcement piece. I see the body side of your thumb break extends upward past the slide a ways, but I assume that is to act as shield between the hammer/beaver tail and the body. When possible, I like to have the body side of the thumb break stick up above the slide only slightly. The reason is it minimizes printing on the cover garment. However, I don't like the snap to be too far down from the top of the slide either. I have ordered stiffeners from High Desert Leather (HDL) and recently The Blue Gun Store (BGS). Both companies were good to work with. The HDL stiffeners were longer than my personal preference, so I drilled a hole in the center. I used the new center hole for the snap and the existing holes for the rivets. This allowed the snap to be my preferred distance from the top of the slide. The BGS stiffeners are slightly shorter than HDL's and very stiff (HDL's are a little flexible). I will be adding a drilled hole to BGS's stiffeners as well. For now, I don't buy in sufficient quantities to order from some of the other thumb break suppliers, so I modify the ones I can get. I like the body side of the thumb break to be trimmed back so that the thumb (and meaty part of the hand next to the thumb) doesn't go over the holster. The idea here is that a full grip can be obtained on the holstered gun and not have leather stuck under your hand. This can make it difficult to smoothly draw. As far as determining the length of the strap piece that comes over the gun, it sounds like you got the right idea: leave it long until you are to the point in construction where it can go over the holstered gun. I then use the snap on the body side to make an impression. If the strap is not going to be stitched, I subtract about an 1/8 from where the snap impression is. I then stretch the strap during wet molding, and leave something thin (like a 3/4oz leather piece) under the strap but on top of the rear of the slide. This seems to make it snap shut perfectly when all dried (at least on Glocks). If the strap is going to be stitched, I tend to go where the snap indicated the hole should be on the strap, or maybe add a smidge. Stitched straps tend to not stretch, and seems like they can shorten just a little too. And yes, the placement does need to be a little more rearward. I have a holster with the same issue that will forever hang over my bench as a reminder to myself. As my leather works specialty to the left reads, "Learning from my mistakes". Hope this made sense. It's just how I do it, for right now...

Wow, good find!

I'm willing to bet they are a proprietary piece of hardware. Made for the company (Galco I'm guessing) per their specs.

I'm kind of having a hard time visualizing what you're describing on the Don Hume. Maybe a pic or two of it. The strap that goes over the gun on my thumb breaks is molded into position over the gun. This stiffens it up (like the rest of the holster stiffens after molding). Mine are minimally flexible, I think that helps the strap to find it's "home" when the gun is holstered, letting the two sides of the snap find each other quickly. Since mine are molded in position, the wrinkles only appear if the strap is straightened out.

Here are two holsters I finished today. They are both hand stitched. I'm particularly happy with the light bearing holster (only took me three tries). The light is a pretty nifty Streamlight TLR6, which is a light and laser combo. The leather is 7/8 oz Hermann Oak. The thumb break has a stiffener from High Desert Leather sandwiched between the leather. I drilled a hole in the center of the stiffener to accommodate the snap post (it came with just the two holes - one on each end). The inside layer of leather of the thumb break sandwich has a 9/16inch hole punched in it so the snap can be mostly recessed, thus minimizing some thickness of the snap (and allowing the snap to attach to one thickness of leather). I am also very happy with the slot for the trailing belt loop. I recently had Texas Custom Dies make me a slot punch. It makes the slot 80% easier than drilling two holes and connecting them.

Maybe a better way to say what I'm describing is, cutting the patten with the straps going down would decrease the overall "foot print". It'll be a smaller overall area on the hide that will be intruded upon. There is a thread somewhere in here. All that being said, I've never done one before. I'm basically repeating what I recall from a previous similar thread. If in actual practice it works better one way than do that. Like anything, the theory and actual application probably differ.

Never made one, but have heard the snap end pointing down saves leather. If you consider how the patten is laid out on the hide before cutting, you'll see having the straps pointing up will not be the most efficient use of hide.

Those are sharp!

I should have been able to tell you knew the difference from your high skill level.

Holster looks good, and that was an innovative way to solve the forming issue. I've made a holster from JLS's patterns, and I've made many patterns myself. It was a nice break to make a holster from pattern & have the stitch lines be spot on the first try. Just one small thing: you referred to the holster as a "paddle". Perhaps you meant pancake? I'm not trying to be overly critical, just want to help you understand there is difference.

Seen my pics are missing from this post, here they are again. Figured with almost 300 views, some folks want to see it. Funny how a year latter I look at this one and instantly know what I would do different. It's still in-service, but there are aesthetic changes I'd make. And nowdays I use Hermann Oak, which makes a huge difference right off the bat.

What thickness Tiger Thread did you use? I'm thinking of trying some, but I have to order it. I'm not sure which width to get for stitching holsters.

Very nice! I like the color. It looks very refined. Mind sharing where you find the hex screws and finish washers? I've been looking for some just like that.

Outstanding workmanship, as usual! Thanks for sharing. I never tire of seeing your work. 😃

This is one I made for a friend. He told me he wanted a IWB SOB holster that had the grip down. I researched it on this forum, and learned the concerns (tendency to point the muzzle at your hip after the draw). I explained all this to him, but he wanted it anyway. He's a trained and competent gun handler, so I made it. After I got into the project I realized it was a pain. The holster can't be canted much or the grip would be too close or below the belt line. This was a problem unique to the IWB. He's had the holster for four months and reports good comfort and concealabilty. Holstering is difficult for him (maybe with all SOB holsters?). And he said where the belt loop attaches to the holster is a bit floppy. I figured it's main function was to stabilize the holster vertically, and the belt over it would keep it tight to the body. I never posted these pics before, because I wasn't all that proud of this design. I didn't even charge for this one. I told him I'd consider it a prototype and wanted honest feedback for in return. In summary, try to explain why a SOB holster (IWB or outside) is safer with the grip up. Have him simulate the draw both ways with his hand. It requires concentration not to flag your body with muzzle when the holster carries the pistol grip down, and that's when there's no stress.

That looks REALLY good. Way to go!

Troop, I really like your tac-light holster. I think it there would be a lot of interest if you did a post on it. I know that I'd be interested in getting a closer look.

Thanks for posting this! I'd never seen anything like it.

The basket stamping looks good to me. If it were my pattern, I'd update it by eliminating that cutout near the trigger guard. Is this a one piece holster? Is the gun sandwiched between the holster on one side and the belt on the other?

Very nice!

Sounds like a sound decision. It took me a few tries to get holster i made to an acceptable level. It felt like a Rubix Cube puzzle. Glad to hear he doesn't expect it to conceal. I always joke that trying to conceal a pistol with tac-light is like like trying to conceal a box of Corn Flakes. 😄 I do think the requests for holsters with lights will grow. I know from professional experience the lights are an awesome tool. Hopefully they can make the lights smaller as technology improves. I also foresee the need for holsters that will accommodate red dot optics, as they seem to be becoming more main stream (Google Glock 2015 Shot Show).

Yes, exactly. The muzzle rested on the toe plug.