tbird911

Thanks for the feedback-- that kind of info is exactly what I was looking for . . .

Can you give me more info on the harbor freight press-- and you think that works better than the vacuum?

HI All I have completed my first "pancake" style holster and will post some pics soon . . .but I need some input . . . I am looking for info on using a vacuum system (homemade, foodsaver etc.) to mold holsters to a gun. I have hand molded my first and while the results have worked out well, I want to get the kind of molding like I see on some of the professionally made leather holsters. Some of these are so exact in the molding that you can see serrations on the slide and even the ejector port of an automatic or the flutes on a revolver. Surely some of you guys are doing this . . . share your knowledge with a new guy. Thanks-- Tbird

Hey man, Great holster. I have an SP101 myself and just bought a holster and made one myself. I wet molded the holster that I made and hand boned it, but it's not near as well formed as yours... I have seen others with similar results. ewould you mind sharing the specifics on how you are getting that done? I'm assuming vacuum mold or something--?!!? Thanks in advance Tbird

Hi All, Brand new guy here. I know alot of you guys have fancy ways to do things, I haven't seen this mentioned yet. When looking for a good way to pull the needle through layers of leather, it's hard for me to grip. I know plenty of people that use everything from pliers to special tools. I drill everything with a 1/16" drill bit and while I'm saddle stitching (I do everything saddle stich), I have surgical gloves on. It keeps oils and fingerprints off the surface, keeps dye off my hands and it gives a very positive/agreesive grip on the needles. I have found that I am able to stitch using my hands only (no pliers or tools to pull the needles through) and a small square of elather to help in the event I need to push a needle through from the back side. In addition a $30.00 table mounted vice can double as a stitiching pony in alot of situations-- el cheapo. Tbird

Hi All, I just started playing around with leather a couple of months ago and just completed this first sheath for my spyderco. Heres the specs: *4-5 oz leather *boned / molded for my spyderco *dangle design with bel loop *hand tooled *hand grooved/stitched (double saddle stitched) I had a blast making it and learned alot by trial and error. Any advice or input welcome and appreciated -- Tbird

Yep-- the design was for a pocket holster-- I wanted to use this as an experiment to see how to make a patter, color the leather etc. I really want to make a nice pancake holster for a Ruger SP101-- anyone have any patterns or links to share ? I'll post more stuff soon-- I'm really just getting started in all of this. ps. not stiching- just kinda made it look like that. Tbird

Hi All, First post-- why not make it a good one-- Just wanted to see if I could do it . . . Start with this--- Finish with this . . . . Let the fun begin Tbird911

Hey Guys, New guy chiming in with a couple of questions. I just started working with leather (got my basic set from Tandy ) a couple of weeks ago. I want to learn how to make holsters and belts . . . but I love the wallets in this post. Is there a quality sewing machine that would let me do wallets and up to 9-10oz leather for holsters that won't put me in the poor house? Ant suggestions on used or secondhand machines? Are there any places that have pattern or "how to build" info on wallets similar to the ones in here? Thanks in advance. Tbird911