RustyPhillips

really digging the holsters - great job question - are the Glock and Kahr holsters sewed from the same pattern? looks like there's some extra leather on the Kahr.

I really like it!!!! I would leave the nose more open so that I could also put a T-9 in it (slide sticking out the bottom of the holster), but that is just me. that is a CW - right? a P K or E should fit just fine - might be a wee bit snug in the nose but it should stretch.

which is more important - a quick draw, or protecting the gun? would something like this in leather work for you? www.serbu.com

nice looking work my only thoughts are that it might be good to have some protection over the rear lens of the scope.... short of going to a full blown flap holster - could you fashion a wider than normal thumbstrap that covers the hammer & scope lens? of course a flip up lens cover for the rear (only) would do the job too.

As soon as you get holster please post up some pics.... I have the K9 E9 and CW9.... K9 gets most of the love. One of these days I'll pick up a T9 (and an MK 9 too!!!) Please forgive me for even mentioning kydex, but for what it is worth - while waiting for a decent leather holster to come in I would have no qualms at all about carrying a T9 in my Fist K9/K40 ultrathin kydex holster..... it has an open nose and the slide would extend down below the holster. Nowhere near as nice as leather, but it is paper thin and not terribly expensive. Oh - regarding Kahr 9mm mags - a lot of people complain about the 9mm mags dumping the top rounds when you pocket carry them. Some carry their mags in leatherman pouches. Me? I made a double mag pouch / wallet carrier. Helps to have the bottom formed to fit the nose of the kahr mag to keep rounds from dislodging. This doesn't seem to be a problem at all with the 40 or 45 mags, just the 9mm ones. Ive got a pic of my mag carrier somewhere, Ill see if I can find it.

perhaps this added piece could be a pig ostrich or stingray inlay? or maybe tanned black while rest of belt is mahagony? or maybe could rivet a sheet of copper (polished) to the belt - with the loops sticking out thru it?

I used a harbor freight letter stamp kit and had a terrible time lining up the letters..... it took forever, and Im still not happy with how it came out. But Gene - a dear friend (/ mentor / and all around great person) at work who I made it for, loves it. And of course it beats the dickens out of stamping the entire passage. Romans 8:38/39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

'nother pic

just finished the one on the right earlier today LH - for a 2nd Gen P3AT Mahogany w/ "woodgrain" (the other two holsters I posted pics of a couple weeks ago) comments / suggestions welcomed.

love the kahr's a MK or PM is on my list to get my stuff isnt as pretty as Tac's, but see the last two pics in my thread http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=5633 theres a LH pancake/slide for a K9 and a RH pancake/slide for a CW45 both cut from same pattern, inside and outside pieces are identical. quick / simple / dirty / cheap the MK being just a bit shorter than my K-9 - would fit rather nicely in the belt slide holter if you want I can scan the pattern & email/post it on Monday also - you might want to consider making a pocket holster for your dad too.....

Great writeup!!!! Thanks for putting this together!! I have been struggling with among other things - how to punch the holes (& hole spacing) - have been doing the two separate sides one at a time & its a little tough (understatement) to get them to line up. What kind of glue are you using? When you drill your holes - are you using a drill press or a dremel? And do you drill from the "out side" in, or the "belt side" out? Im also looking forward to your comments on edge finishing - particularly how you get the two sides to have one edge, but also the waxing & burnishing parts. I'm just about fed up with using a box knife and an orbital sander & badly need to improve this area - I am saving up for another trip to the Tandy store. And speaking of that trip to the Tandy store - can you take a picture of what you consider to be your minimum essential leather working tools? maybe a second picture with tools that are nice to have but not essential or used infrequently? Im starting out with bare minimum & adding as I go along..... Im always wondering what is the next thing that I need to buy.

not to try to pad my post count ( )- but the guy who I did the striped holsters for just emailed me a picture of the two holsters together...... IMO the first (the CW45) holster is by far better looking than the second (P3AT) holster..... I think it was wetter when I tried "striping" it, plus I have a lot more stripes per inch Note - the stripes on the two holsters are (or were intended to be) at the same angle - if the pocket holster is oriented with the gun vertical and the pancake holster is worn on a belt...... the pancake has a fairly steep rake

oh - and while Im thinking about it - regarding the hidden (back side only) belt loops on this pancake slide - I modeled these off of a Wilson Combat holster..... however Im thinking I didnt leave enough material for the belt loop & am concerned that since the belt only passes thru the back piece of leather (and not back AND front) that the loop may tear leaving my holster holding on by only a thread.... should I go ahead and punch the belt loop holes on the outside piece of leather too or leave it alone?

Thanks Randy When you say "rounding off your designs" do you mean round off the edges of the holsters or expand my horizons and try different designs (or both)? if you meant different holster designs - I have several of the Tandy cowboy patterns & am planning on making a rig for my 1858's one of these days..... of course before I do that I have a left hand pocket holster for P3AT that I have already cut out & need to finish (that would be my fifth P3AT pocket holster). as far as "rounding the edges" - I have been wet molding, then after it dries (I'll admit to heating in a toaster oven) I sand the edges of the holster with an orbital sander with fine grit, then after all that I dye (mahogany only so far) then super sheene....... Im thinking if I cut smoother edges up front & then used the stitch edge groover (instead of the free hand groover) then my stitches & edges would look a lot better..... but Im struggling with cutting edges on two pieces of leather and getting them to line up once they are sewed together. Im thinking for Christmas I probably should ask Santa for one of those burnishing wheels & one of those 3 punch deals or a stitch marker wheel (I have the 3 prong chisel that I use to mark where the holes are then punch em separately) do I understand correctly that some / others dye the leather and then mold? is there a difference in the finished product vs molding then dyeing? another thing I havent done yet is to use contact cement...... what exactly is it that cement does for a leather holster? does it help stop the squeak? my pocket holsters dont squeak but my pancake holsters squeak like a mouse (or several mice) when Im walking. as far as the lettering - I know I used the cheap harbor freight letter stamps...... but are the expensive stamps easier to line up the letters to make words? I about pulled all my hair out & still couldnt get the letters to line up right. oh - as far as the stripes - I found the metal dog comb that we have here at the house & I think that I might get a chance to see what it will do later this week. Im thinking it will be a lot easier doing 50 lines at once instead of making multiple individual passes with the edge of a screwdriver....... what strikes me the most about that is how the dye absorbs differently in those areas......

and here are my 4th (RH pocket) and 8th (LH pancake) holsters - both for Kahrs

and

My first post - have been a lurker for a while. Followed RandyC over to here from Glocktalk after he posted a pic of his PM45 holsters in the kahr club (actually googled his user name). At any rate - here are my most recent holsters (#9 for the black 1st gen and #10 for the hard chromed 2nd gen) - I got everything from Tandy, 7 - 8 ounce shoulder, punch holes with awl, tandy thread, wet mold then dye (mahogony), super shene, etc..... The diagonal stripes on the holster for the black P3AT are a long story and go back to a previous holster I made for the same guy - my #7 holster was a RH pancake for a CW45 (for a coworker) and I tried to put a stripe along the slide / frame contour & screwed it up, so I ended up putting pinstripes across the entire thing (basically making passes pulling a screw driver along a metal ruler across the surface).... long story short coworker wanted me to do the same thing on his P3AT holster.... I think it looks pretty cool myself..... These pocket holsters might have a tiny bit too much retention of the gun but if you have hand in the pocket / on the gun (and sweep gun towards the back of the pocket opening when you pull it) the draw is maybe good enough & the holster stays in the pocket. I was going to make the #9 pocket holster rough out but my coworker wanted it smooth out & it seemed to work just fine..... I was sufficiently impressed with smooth out that I did #10 the same way. Also - on #9 I stamped my coworkers favorite Bible passage on it (and had trouble lining up the letters). At any rate - all suggestions / criticisms are appreciated.....