Randyc

Let me be the first to say, that holsters beautiful. As you discovered, revolver holsters present some unique challenges and you pulled it off, buddy. I'm sure your brother will be real happy Christmas morning. I've built a few for S&W J Frames now I have a Colt Python begging for a holster. Randy

Bruce Truly outstanding work. I need to take a trip to Florida so you can show me how to bone holsters. our lasest holsters are truly works of art. Randy

I've owned a North American Arms Mini-Revolver for the past 10 or so years. I've carried it in a pocket holster, shirt pocket, and hung by a lanyard around my neck. It's been a backup to my backup weapon as an LEO. I've made several pouch type knife sheaths over the past several years and have noticed some real nice custom leather Ipod and Blackberry cases lately. I decided to make a belt case for my mini-revolver. This ones made from 6/7 oz. Hermann Oak cowdide and the revolver is wet formed to the case. I did some stampting along the stitch lines. If I build any others, I need to make the case a little wider so I can either relocate the snap over the cylinder or below the trigger either to the right or left depending if its built for right or left hand carry. I finished it in my new tan color and it matches my new beltslide holster. As always, critiques are welcome. Randy

Thanks That pattern started life as a holster for a Glock 34. I cut the bottom too short for the model 34. (I prefer to have the barrel totally covered in this type of holster) I decided to then mold it to a model 23. Another proto-type miss calcalation. I realize the puckered bottom appears a bit tacky but the unintentioned result is a little more comfort in the hip area where the botton of the barrel sits on hip. I normally leave around 1/8" of leather below the barrel. With the price I paid for that. Hermann Oak side, I didn't want to send that one to the junk bin. I carried in that holster on duty all last week. Once I clean up a couple of design issues, I may start using that pattern for additinal belt slide holsters. Over all I'm happy with the tan color. I got kind of tired of black, black, and more black

Thanks guys. I've previously used a Dremel and now use a spindle sander prior to hand sanding my edges. After sanding I do my edge beveling. Those edges are actually as smooth as a babies butt. In these photos my light is coming in from the upper left verses directly over the holster. I've tried to cut down on the glare by moving the light around. The edges are the same color as the holster body. I did use a darker edge cote on the edge of the sweat guard. That is the only dark edge on this holster. The dark are you see is actually a shadow from the light. Thanks for the feedback, I just don't want you guys to think that I would leave a rough edge. Randy

Hey guys This is my new proto-type belt slide (pancake holster) I built it around a Glock 23. I used 8/9 oz. Hermann Oak cowhide. I was going to try to build this one with 6/7 oz. leather on the outside of the holster, but changed my mind and went with the 8/9 oz. for the front and back of the holster. I also wanted to experiment with my own dye concoction. I wanted a nice shade of tan. I combined alcohol with a small amount of Fieblings light brown. I used three coats to dye to arrive at what you see. After dyeing, I rubbed in a less then lethal dose of Lexon conditioner to keep the holster from drying out. I did have one stitch go south on me when I accidently hit the gas pedel on my stitcher while also hitting the presser foot lift pedel. My only other plans for this one is cleaning up my belt slots a bit. Let me know what you think.

Hey Tony Nice looking holsters. I like the hidden belt slots on the Sig holster. I really like the holster you made for the Taurus Judge. I thinks it's tougher to build a revolver holster then a semi-auto pistol holster because you have to consider the thickness of the cylinder and the frame thickness when planning out your basic design and stitch lines. When I built my first prototype tunnel/loop holster for a subnose J frame, I found that covering the entire ciylinder caused me problems with reholstering. I dented up the throat band reinforcement/top of the holster with the bottom of the cylinder. For my final "go to market design", I cut the top of the holster down to just below the top of the cylinder and elimited the re-holstering problems. Just a thought if you experiance the same re-holstering issue. Lastly, I'm not sure if you are going to dye the holster black, or leave it a natural color. If I leave a holster natural or dyed a light tan color, I like the looks of white thread. But, that's just my preferance. Keep up the good work Randy

Nice looking holster and I too like the color. I go along with both Short's and Rhome's recommendations and you will have a winning holster for a pistol that has limited holsters available for it in the market place. Randy

Thanks Guys! Randy

Happy Birthday Bruce. Blow out the candles and get busy building more cool holsters! Randy

I whole heartily agree with both Johanna and Bruce. I had the pleasure to meet Steve and Jerry at the Boot and Saddle Makers Round Up In Wichita Falls Texas in 2005 and 2006. They had a great display, plenty of machines, answered all my questions and best of all, let me play with their cool machines. I've had very few issues with my Toro 3000 and all were operator error. My questions were always answered in a friendly manner. Artisan's after sale care is the best in the business. Randy

Shorts Great molding, stitching and color. I think you have a winner there. Randy

I don't believe double stitching is necessary. It can look real nice is done evenly or make the project look terrible is the stitch lines don't line up. I use Barge cement in my assembly. Once set, I can't pull the joined pieces apart without destroying the leather. Randy

Curt Welcome to the forum. You will meet lots of talanted and friendly people. Keep us informed of your progress and what in the way of supplies you have and need. Semper Fi Randy

I downloaded the link and codec. It's a good video. but ends with Steve in mid-topic talking about 346 thread on top and 277 thread in the bobbin. The video is just over 15 min. and is 105 MB. Do I have the complete video download? Randy

Dave, Hi, I'm the guy who made that pocket holster. When I first saw your post, I thought cool, someone besides me builds pocket holsters. I clicked on the thread and there was one of my holsters from an eariler post. The hook is a leather extension that aids in keeping the holster in the pocket while drawing the weapon. The hook is designed to grab a corner of the pocket while drawing the weapon. That particular holster has a hook just above the hammer area and another hook just above the trigger guard. Randy

Johanna Thanks for the link!! Randy

Chuck I agree with you about hard users. I'm a left handed LEO and I've banged up plenty of holsters, just getting in and out of the squad. The holsters I build are plenty hard. I admit, I've never stacked steel plates on them to see how much weight they would hold. As far as the consumer goes, if I told them my holsters would support 20 lbs. of weight someone would pile on 50 pounds of weight, trash the holster, then return it for a refund. The real funny part, is I'd refund their money because a guarantee is a guarantee. Randy

Shorts I'm currently working on some beltslide/pancake holster designs. Some other makers use a thicker piece of leather on the inside (hipside) of the holster. I'm going to try using 8/9 oz. on the inside and 6/7 oz. on the outside. Of course, one piece wrap around holsters are made of a single weight. I've found the lighter weight molds easier with more detail. My tunnel/loop holsters have been generally made from the heavier weight leather with the excepetion of the airweight revolver and the small Kahr/Keltec polymar pistol belt holsters. Randy

I agree with Jordan. Peterk Do you happen to have links to those holster web sites. I want to experience the "Marketing Hoooey" first hand. Randy

Madmax Thanks for the kind words. I used 2 coats Fieblings USMC black. I rub the risidual dye off between coats and after the second coat. I finish with a coat of Acrylic Resolene. Randy

Dusty The 4000 should serve you well. Randy

Allen Very interesting belt sander setup. If I didn't already have the spindle sander, I'd probably build one of those. Randy

Sorry it took me so long to notice your post. Great looking pair of boots. I took Carl's class in June of 2006. It was fun and I learned alot. I went through the class with John and Alese who stayed on to help Carl with Trailtown Custom Boots. Shortly after completing the class, I drifted off into Custom Gun Leather where I remain today. I was looking over my boot making supplys last week, I just might have to start another pair. Thanks for the inspiration. Randy

Hey Guys and Ms. Shorts, thanks for the kind words. I used a round hole punch at both ends of the belt slot. I used a Tandy 1 1/2" bag punch to cut between the holes. I've also used wood chisels to cut my slots in the past. I've gotten to be pretty good with the design of the tunnel/loop holsters for medium and large frame semi automatic pistols. Building one for a J-Frame sub nosed revolver presented it's own unique challenges especially with an integrated tunnel loop/throat band. First off, I had to cut the top of the holster down below the top of the cylinder to facilitate one handed re-holstering. If I ran the top of the holster to the top of the cylinder, the bottom of the cylinder would hit on the throat when re-holstering. Secondly, cutting the holster down for the cylinder limited me to 1.5" wide belt tunnel without throwing the holster's balance out of wack. Dickf, Sorry, no photos of me wearing this one. This one already on it's way to Florida. (Wish I were too) Randy