BOOMSTICKHolsters

Will, I don't think anyone here believes that suing someone is the answer, nor do I believe that my workmanship is at risk of causing someone injury. I may even agree with you 100% on what you said about taking responsibility for your actions, too, but you know all that means squat if I haven't taken precautions against dishonest, irresponsible people. As a lawyer once told me "you may be in the right, and you may know you're in the right, but that doesn't mean that you won't have to spend $20,000 proving you're in the right, and that's the way it is". I admire your stance on the matter at hand, but I would never assume that folks in the shooting sports (even the sass folks) aren't liable to sue if they get in a bad way. There are plenty of people that were raised right and grew up believing in fellas like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, but there are also plenty of guys in the world that act more like Butch Cassidy and Jesse James, too. Sometimes you don't know what a person will do until they are put in a situation, and they can really surprise you.

Try this out: Sand your edges with the rough grit drum on a SLOW speed until the edges are even (the fastest I ever run is 1300 rpm, and I wouldn't recommend that unless you have had a lot of experience - you will be better off at around 700 to 900 RPMs). Now switch to a higher grit drum (like your 220) and smooth the edges up until there are no burs. If you are getting burn streaks on the edge you are using too much pressure or too much speed in your drill press. Now use your edger to bevel the edges (without wetting them first). If the leather tears when you don't wet the edge first, you need to sharpen your tools (or use better leather). Chuck your dowel rod into your drill press, making sure your belt is arranged to turn the press at the slowest possible speed. BTW, you have cut rounded grooves into your dowel rod, right? Also make sure your dowel rod is smooth to the touch, with no cracks or apparent grainy areas. Use a spray bottle, foam brush or a clean, non treated sponge to dampen the edges of your leather. Now run the edges inside the appropriately sized groove in your dowel rod with smooth light pressure. Don't linger on one spot too long, and apply more water only when needed. The edge should be so shiny that you can see light reflecting off of it. Now you can hit it with dye of the appropriate color. Once the dye completely dries, rub a little bee's wax on the edges and buff them out with a scrap of duck cloth. You will have a nice shiny edge that isn't too difficult, too time consuming or too expensive to achieve.

That's not a bad start. I would suggest that you remove the leather between the back of the trigger guard and the front strap of the grip so it is easier to get a full grip during the draw. Keep at it and show us some pics of your results.

No offense, but that is a completely ignorant statement. What kind of safety redundancy do you think the XD has to prevent an OPERATOR ERROR? The grip safety is depressed while the pistol is being inserted in the holster, so the XD would have the same trigger safety as the Glock, only with a lighter pull weight. Your friend's wife most likely shot herself due to negligence, probably by keeping her finger on the trigger as she re-holstered, or possibly by not making sure there were no obstructions or clothing in the mouth of the holster before inserting the pistol. Any pistol will fire that way (including the much vaunted 1911) if the user fails to operate it according to the manufacturers intentions or follow established safety precautions. Unfortunately for us, the same sort of people who injure themselves through negligence sometimes refuse to accept responsibility for their own actions, and in some cases pass the blame to another party via a lawsuit.

Hey particle. I definitely wouldn't use that part for making holsters. Like MADMAX22 mentioned, most of the time the rough area is on the belly portion of the hide which should not be used for making holsters any how. The good news is that this leather, as well as any portion of the side that is considered the belly, is still very useful for developing new patterns. Try this out - Cut some blanks out from the waste area that are plenty bigger than your subject pistol. Wet them and shape them around your pistol, fully boning the whole surface as if you were making a holster. Be sure to get good, sharp definition around the profile of your pistol (make sure to include dowel for a sight track). Let the leather dry, then use a pen to draw a border about 1/8th of an inch from the outline of the pistol. Now draw the profile of your intended holster design on the pistol shaped piece of leather. Wet the leather again and use a rolling pin or a rubber press to flatten the leather back out (note that the shape you drew distorts somewhat once it is flattened out). Cut out the profile you drew and trace it onto some card stock, and you will have the pattern of your holster. Then cut along the lines where you traced along the pistol's profile and you will have a perfect guide to mark stitch lines on your new pattern. This is very helpful learning tool to teach you how to eyeball patterns and stitch lines, because you will see how far the stitches should be from different parts of a pistol, depending on the widths and angles of a given area, and how the shape of a pistol can affect how a holster pattern is designed on a flat surface. It is also a really handy method of mocking up a difficult custom order, so you get it right the first time around without any undue stress or wasted leather.

Howdy, Kring. It sounds like your dummy is over-sized in some (or all) areas. I wouldn't consider it the end of the world if it were my personal IWB holster, but I would purchase a better dummy gun before I made any holsters for anyone else. The leather you use, how you wet your holster and the drying process you choose can actually result in a very tight fit without needing to resort to using an undersized dummy gun to successfully shape a holster (which is how many makers get their tight fit, whether they know it or not). As far as boning is concerned, the largest majority of retention for a 1911 is achieved in the area behind the trigger guard, the ejection port, and around the protruding end of the take-down lever. That having been said, please understand that the main goal of boning a holster is to get leather in contact with as much of the pistol as you possibly can. Pushing leather against the gun's defining lines isn't done for the sake of looks (well, it shouldn't be anyhow), but for the purpose of creating more surface contact wherever possible, even in the inside curves of the pistol.

I like it. It was smart to make it look like your holsters. That will help you sell sets. I think the only thing that I would change is the bottom profile. See how angle of the leather from the loops basically matches the shape of the magazine, but then the edges flare out to allow room for the mag? Instead of cutting the pattern so the mag area hangs down, why not just raise the position of the magazine and run the two loop angles together where the bullet is? This would have numerous benefits. First, the higher magazine position would allow easier access to the mags because there is more to get your hands on. Next, the bottom of the mag holder would sit higher making it easier to conceal, so this model would work well even for the folks who bought your IWB holsters. Even if it did show below a cover garment, the smoother shape is less conspicuous and therefore less noticeable. Another added benefit is that the smoother shape is easier to cut out and edge, which saves you time and effort when building them.

Just to add, most men are in denial about their pants size. A customer will gladly tell you he wears size 36 jeans, but he will invariably forget to mention that they are extra loose fit and it still takes about 15 minutes after he puts them on for them to stretch enough so he can bend over. I don't know how many times a customer has been emotionally crushed when I have had him measure his belt for actual size to find out it is several inches longer than he thought it should be. On an interesting note, I have had more than one female customer just give me one of their belts to measure myself because they didn't want to know their actual belt measurement..... Concerning your friend, try to get one of his belts to measure off of if possible. If that isn't an option and you have to make a wild guess, just look at whether or not he has a gut, how tightly his pants fit, if he tucks he shirt in and consider what he will be using the bet for. That should help you decide how much length to add on.

A holster in and of itself implies a specific function, so I doubt that would fly even if you had a legal disclaimer. I also think that portraying your gear as art work would be very bad marketing. Even if you sold it as artwork, that doesn't keep you from spending yourself poor just to prove you weren't liable for the misuse of your "art work". My advice is still the same; ask a competent lawyer if you want legal advice. Ask leatherworker.net members if you want to improve your craftsmanship.

Nice job for your first avenger. The more you make, the more you will refine the construction process and the better they will get. I would probably change a few things to meet my personal tastes/needs: I think that it would look a little more finished if you dyed the edges - you can dye them the same color or go a little darker (my personal preference), I just find they look better when the edges aren't lighter than the main color. Design wise, you might consider lining up the direction of the tunnel loop a little more with the location of the belt slot. This makes it easier to thread a heavy weight belt into, and it also allows more contact with the belt. More contact surface helps to keep the holster from sliding around too much unintentionally (but it is still easy to move on purpose if you want to). More contact also helps limit "holster rocking" when you establish your grip. I also see you have the "particle-esque" point above the belt slot. I never had good luck leaving any "points" exposed on my work; it looks good, but it can get roughed up and start looking a little dog-eared too easily. If you are using a machine to stitch your holsters, you can save yourself a little time by sewing in a continuous path; start the stitch line next to the pistol, sew around the outside edge of the holster, then finish by sewing the [decorative] second line next to the pistol. This way you don't have to tie off more than two ends. I actually sew back over my original stitch line when I make my holsters, just so the thread ends aren't put under so much stress, but you can't do that with certain machines, and it can be a real pain to do if you are hand stitching. Those are just suggestions, not criticisms. Feel free to ignore any advice you don't agree with.

Just off the top of my head, I would bet that the holster is binding because the belt loops are so far from the body of the holster, that they are able to flex during the draw and interfere with the draw angle. If the gun doesn't bind while you aren't wearing the holster, but it does bind when the holster is worn, that would be my first guess. It could also be the front sight hanging up, but I can't really tell from the pictures. Other common causes of binding are stitching that catches on the ejection port, deep boning inside the trigger guard, inappropriate draw angle for the location of the holster on the users belt, placing belt slots too close to the pistol, bending a holster that was dried flat, and rough or inconsistent leather on the inside of the holster.

I would lower the height of the leather enough that you can get a good purchase on the magazine before you attempt to remove it; leaving just the base exposed makes it more difficult to draw and increases the chances of fumbling the mag under stress. You might also consider orienting both magazines the same way. Every serious shooter that I know prefers both magazines to face the same direction for the sake of consistency. I like the style you are going for - I would just tweak it a bit to improve the function, personally. Please post some follow up pics of any changes you make to the design.

'You ever have to foot the bill for the legal defense in any of those cases? That could end a small business. I'm glad you never had a case go full turn, but that doesn't really mean much to anyone who has gone under due to frivolous law suits. I also know a guy who has been in over half a dozen wrecks and has never been hurt, but that doesn't keep me from wearing my seat belt... If I didn't believe in being prepared, I wouldn't carry a gun either. Better safe than sorry, so to speak.

Even if they had, they would probably be advised by their lawyer not to discuss it. It would also be bad for business to bandy that information about, because it could lower the perceived value of your product, even if there was no fault of your own whatsoever. Unfortunately, you can be sued by anybody for anything, relevant or not.

Don't go to a leather forum for legal advice; talk to a lawyer. That is the best thing you can do. It probably wouldn't hurt to look into some liability insurance either.

Heh heh heh... The sad thing is that was my post. I totally forgot that they changed their name when they broke off from NLETC and Odin Press. It was no wonder that I couldn't find their contact info anymore. It sucks to get older.....

I took that picture and made that post. I hoped they would pursue the holster makers' market, but it never went anywhere. The "ribs" on the top of the slides are definitely for molding sight channels; I know because I put them there! For what it's worth, you can pay extra to have Duncans add a sight rail if you send the pistol in to have it cast.

Tolerance differences are OK as long as they aren't too far off and the dummy gun is on the negative side (which is usually the case, since casts are often around 2% smaller than the master copy). As far as Duncan's is concerned, if the dummy gun looks like a stick of melted butter I call Luke or Jessica and send it back. Once I have a good cast, I take it to a local machine shop and finish/clean up the work. This usually includes truing up the trigger guard and the dust cover, opening up the ejection port, removing "wrapper veins" from the frame, and cutting a channel for a front sight rail and welding it in place. Sometimes that takes up a couple hours of shop time, but it is what I choose to do to meet my minimum standards. For about a $250 investment, you can actually make your own mold and cast the dummies how you want (for you own use, not to sell). My goal is to do this with all the pistols that I will continue to support, but that won't happen for a while.

It's not so much how many guns you need to have, but whether you have the right ones to do the job you need to do. You can pretty much get away with using a Springfield Loaded 5" to build a Kimber Custom 5" holster, but you can't make a SW1911 holster with it. It takes a lot of trial and error and a great amount of time and expense to figure out which ones work with what. There are so many 1911 manufacturers that it would be extremely cost prohibitive (and in many cases unnecessary) to acquire a dummy gun for each one, but in some cases you can't cut corners. I have actually cut back and sold several dummy guns, so I don't have as many 1911 models as I did. Even so, off the top of my head I can count around a dozen separate models that I have in my dummy gun inventory. If you were trying to cover the basics without worrying about the railed models or the oddball stuff, I would get these models with ambidextrous safeties, extended if possible: Colt Govt. 5" Colt Commander 4.25" Colt Officer 3.5" Colt Defender 3" Springfield Loaded 5" or Kimber Custom II Springfield Champion 4" or Kimber Pro Carry II Springfield Micro 3" or Kimber Ultra Carry II Those should allow you to do the majority of holsters out there. The real task is obtaining them.

It was National Law Enforcement Training Center. I did some looking and it is now "Lindell Aluminum Training Guns". Their phone numbers is (816) 531-5750.

ASP Red Guns are often over sized and their material is very soft. They are typically unsuited for boning holsters. I had to try out three different casts of the same model on one occasion just to get one that worked, and decided that it isn't worth the trouble. Rings Blue Guns are slightly undersized and they usually have very good detail. This makes them very suitable for making holsters. Their material is harder than the ASP versions, although they will still wear out or break with a lot of use. Duncans Customs makes their molds out of aluminum, so they are a more permanent solution - That's the good news. The bad news is, they are very inconsistent with their cast quality, and their staff is not always knowledgeable about firearms which makes ordering somewhat frustrating at times. When I buy a Duncan's mold I can expect to spend at least an hour cleaning up the cast, which adds to the cost significantly once you factor in shop time (or tool cost if you do it yourself). There is also NLETC, who also make aluminum training pistols that are suitable for molding holsters. Their quality ranges from excellent to poor, depending on how used their molds are when they cast your dummy gun . I can't seem to find their contact information right now so I can't give any specifics on how to order from them.

To answer the OP, sometimes you can use a 5 inch gun for a 4 inch holster depending on your construction methods, but if you're doing things right you shouldn't. For example, if you build your holsters to have the proper long term retention qualities using a Colt Govt. dummy, it is gonna be a major pain in the butt to break the holster in for a Kimber because the fit will be incredibly tight. All 1911's are not built to the same specs. A lot of folks get confused because you can mic the width of the dust cover and even the height if you remove the slide, and they will look the same, but they aren't. Different manufacturer's use different radius' on their dust covers, so while the silhouette of the pistol will look the same, one actually has a larger dust cover than the other (it's easier to see this if you measure the height of the flat portion on the outside of the dust cover). Holsters molded on Springfields and Kimbers will have too much play if the customer has a Colt or a Smith & Wesson 1911. Molding a holster on a Wilson Combat pistol may be so tight on a Para Ordnance that you can't even get the pistol in the holster to break it in or stretch it to fit, depending on how the holster is made. In my experience it is best to use the exact gun/mold for a specific holster where 1911's are concerned. One more consideration to make for anyone who is selling their holsters professionally - Back when I carried a Hi-Power, I saw more than one company that used a 1911 to mold a Browning Hi-Power holster. As a consumer I never bought one of their holsters for anything I owned, because that was a clear indication to me of their [lack of] attention to detail and their willingness to compromise.

Now that's a Sunday-Go-To-Meetin' rig if I ever saw one. Nice work!

The minimal size for actual gun belts is 3/8" in my opinion. Anything else is too narrow and it just won't work.