mattsh

Looks good. Did you use edge kote or is that just dye on the edges?

TwinOaks..Thank you for pinning.

Looks nice. Is that ostrich backed with any cow hide or is it just a single layer of ostrich?

I am glad that you guys like the tutorial. I wish I had made a light box and taken better pictures. paris - the waxed edge does not really have a surface wax finish to it (so to speak), the wax is in hot liquid form when applied and it soaks into the edge, then when it is burnished it makes a nice hard edge (which I am still trying to perfect). To burnish the edge I have a slicker wheel from Tandys with a bolt through the center of it. I then took an old drill chuck and mounted it to a brass pillar bed mounted mandrel driven by a belt feed from an electric motor. (hmm maybe I should have taken a picture of that). The burnishing gives the edge a nice hard formed look. If this seems more clear then I will add it to the instructions. If I can figure out how to get a good picture of a perfect burnished edge (not mine, it was one that Mr. Lou Alessi did) I will post it.

Looks pretty dang nice for a first holster. I like the color you ended up with. Very Nice.

For the first time that looks good to me.....simple and functional. Good job!

[Thought that I would at least get the text instructions posted out here. I am working on getting the pictures uploaded.] I have been on this forum for quite some time. I haven't posted much but I have seen several people ask about how a holster is made. I am not a professional. I pretty much do this as a very part time hobby. I thought that I would share the steps I take to design and make a holster. This particular model is my take on several makers. It is similar to Alessi's DOJ model. It has a slightly forward cant. I owe all I have learned through careful study of existing makers and many conversations with Lou Alessi. He has been a great mentor and friend in sharing his wealth of knowledge on holsters. The following are the steps I take in design and construction of a holster. 1. First I lay out the belt line. In this case it is for a 1.25" belt and therefore I lay out two parallel lines that are 1.5" apart. This allows for the belt loops to have sufficient room to allow the belt to fit. 2. I lay the gun on the paper and situate it so that the weight of the gun is balanced on the belt [not too much below the belt and not too much above the belt]. This usually equates to the belt running across the trigger guard and part of the breech of the barrel (as seen in the picture). 3. I trace the outline of the gun onto the paper. 4. I lay out the design of the holster and allow "margins" for the space of stitching and allowance for the thickness of the leather. In this case, being an OWB, I am using 7/8 oz leather with an exotic overlay that is 2/3 oz. (This was a learning curve as I have never used exotic before, next time I will use 4/5 oz with the exotic). Typically I will allow about a 1/4" around the edges of the gun and the belt loops. The belt loop needs to be far enough away from the gun so that it can be used, yet not too far away that it wont pull the butt of the gun into your side for concealability (if that is what you are looking for). One other consideration is that the holster should provide adequate coverage of the trigger area and the mag release but yet not interfere with the ability to grip the gun to remove it from the holster. As for the sweat guard, I like to make mine cover the back end of the slide and be forward enough to cover the edges of the rear sight. 5. Here I have cut out the pattern and will trace onto another sheet to make a mirror of the pattern so it will be 3D. 6. Here I have flipped the pattern. In laying this out I allow about a 1/2" space at the bottom and will overlap the patter where the mouth of the holster will wrap around the gun (which will be at the base of the sweat guard). 7. Here is the full pattern. 8. I trace the full pattern onto cardboard. Any typical cardboard box will do. The cardboard comes in handy because it is a pretty good simulator of leather in thickness and will give you a good idea of how your holster is going to fit. 9. The cardboard pattern cut out. After cutting out the pattern I will take a blunt object and "breakdown" the honeycomb of the cardboard so that it is more flexible and I can see how the holster is going to fit. 10. This picture shows how the holster is going to fit. 11. Now that I have seen how the cardboard holster fits, I lay out the mouth reinforcement and the belt loop again allowing for the 1.25” belt the stitching marks (which are the inside lines) are about 2” apart. 12. I trace the cardboard pattern onto the leather and cut it out with shears. Make sure that you lay the pattern on the leather correctly for right/left hand use and whether you want the rough [flesh] side inside or outside. In the past I used a razor knife, but I have found that shears work better for me. In the tight curves though I still have to use a razor knife. Also, the shears I use are a pair of straight cut (yellow handle) aluminum shears, I find that they have better leverage and make cutting very easy. 13. This picture shows a couple steps later. Pictures would not have shown much. I have cut out the elephant and glued it to the flesh side of the cow hide so the smooth side is inside. I have also cut out the mouth/belt loop support piece and glued it together. Also in this picture you can see that I have laid out the stiching and drilled the holes. The spacing of the stitches is laid out using a stitch spacer wheel tool with the 5 stitch per inch spacer. I hand stitch with a saddle stitch. I have found that drilling holes is easier and more uniform than punching the holes. The stitching is laid out on an 1/8" from the edge. I drilled the holes with an 5/64" drill bit because it fits my needle. 14. The next step is waxing and slicking the edges that are not stitched, the mouth and muzzle area of the holster. To wax the edges I melt and use hot parafin wax and use a small brush to appy the hot wax to the edges. I then use a slicker chucked in a homemade belt driven mandrel. (Sorry, I could not get a good picture of the edge) 15. I have prepared the inside edges of the belt loop area for gluing. I use a rasp to rough up the surface to make it better for the adhering of the surfaces. I have died the inside of the holster leather now with Angelus Pro Dye using a dauber. 16. After applying the glue I place the glued area of the holster in a bench vise between two pieces of wood while the glue dries overnight. 17. Here is a picture of the holster glued together. 18. Here I have placed some blue painters tape on the area of the holster where I am going to lay out the stitching. I typically use a 1/4" margin around the form of the gun to allow enough space for the gun inside the holster. 19. Here you can see that I have made a mark 1/4" from the edge of the trigger guard. 20. I complete the layout of the stitching around the edge of the gun and mark the edge stitching again 1/8" from the edge. 21. Now that the stitching is done, I mold the holster. I typically dunk the holster for about 20-30 seconds in about a gallon of hot water (about 120 deg) with a drop of dish soap (this helps break surface tension of the water and allows it to penetrate better). The leather should not be saturated but should be "cased". To me this means damp to the touch and will stretch or form with not much effort. 22. If the gun you are using is real for the molding I typically wrap the gun in plastic wrap before placing it inside the holster. If you are using a dummy gun then just place the gun inside the holster. I have just started using the rubber "plates" in a press. I have not yet quite figured this out but it will get better in time. Also at this time you will want to place a 'wedge' of sorts extending from the front sight back towards the breech of the barrel to create a tunnel for the front sight so that it does not pick up any leather as it is removed from the holster which would impede on the use of the front sight. In this particular holster I did not use this as the natural bend in the leather created its own tunnel. This is typically not the case and you will want to create a tunnel for the front sight. 23. After molding the holster any 'boning' can be done. On this particular holster I did not do any boning. 24. After boning remove the gun from the holster and let it dry overnight. 25. Now punch the belt loop holes. I punch a hole at each end of the slot and then use a knife to cut between the two. I then use a dremel with a smooth grit sanding drum to finish the edges. 26. Now finish all of the remaining edges with the wax and burnish. 27. Last step is to apply an acrylic finish. In this case I used a spray can of Leather Sheen. Well, there you have it. I think I covered everything. Like I said, I am no professional, so hopefully this will conjure up some conversation and others will kick in their tips and tricks. My main goal was to get a visual reference out here and somehow put it to words.

Looking for the sharing of wisdom here. I just finished a knife sheath for a cold steel bushman. I made the main body of the sheath with stingray backed with 8-9oz cow. The sheath turned out ok. I am just not sure if there is anything different I could have done for the edges. This was a typical wrap type sheath with the fold on the spine of the blade and the sewn edge being on the belly of the knife. I drilled the holes for the stitching [what a pain] and waxed finished the edges. Everything turned out ok, but I am really wondering what can be done about the sewn edge of the stingray, the sharp edge and fact that the "scales" want to try to flake off if they are partially cut really bothers me. I cannot believe that those that make holsters and use stingray on the trim pieces leave that sharp edge. Is there anything that all of you have learned in working with this stuff on how to give the edge a better feel [so to speak]? Thanks.

I have been a member for short time, but have been lurking for the most part just reading and observing. I dable in holsters and have made a few for friends and family. I purchased a shark skin belt from Rafter S, since I do everything by hand at this point, because that is just too much stitching to do by hand. I have done some searching on the net and have yet to come across a source for shark skin. So I need some help finding shark skin and I was wondering where those of you that use shark get your hides. I was also wondering, since skark is used on holsters, do they veg tan shark skin? I really enjoy this forum. It is great to see so many craftsmen out there that are working on making their own holsters and it is good to see everyone sharing their ideas. Thanks for the help.

oldcowpoke....email sent with questions and phone number

Doug.....I am new here and not familiar with all of the machines, but I wondered is this machine of the needle and awl type? From what I understand from other leather craftsmen this is the type that is most used for holster work. Thank you in advance for your reply.