Peterk

Price reduced to $55.00 shipped + 3% if using Pay pal. Thank you.

Hello, Here is a holster for single-stack Makarov for sale. This holster is 100% made by me after learning the ropes from this website. Here are the details: -Right hand carry -Easy on/off via dual snap loops that will accomodate up to 1-1/2" belts -Dyed with Eco-Flo Bison Brown and finished with Neatsfoot oil and Super Sheen I am selling this for $65.00 shipped within Con-US. Cash, Check (will need to clear prior to shipping), and Paypal (+3% fee) accepted. This item is located in So. California. Thank you for looking!

Bob, would you mind sharing the steps you do to burnish an edge? For example, what do you put on the edges prior to burnishing? I've heard of Bees wax, Gum Tra., water, etc. Do you put edge kote on the burnished edge after you're done? Thanks. Peter

The guy from Rocklers said Rocklers is his job, and once he gets outta there the "job" part of his day is done and falls by the waist side, and anything he does after that will be for fun only. If he took on this project for me it would be like work during his off hours and he can't have any of that... Again, I can see where he is coming from, I was just hoping he would help a fellow hobbiest out, albeit not in the same hobby as he. Deuce Trinal, I am very interested as well. I would like to request for myself that since I work mostly with double thickness of 8oz leather, that one of the grooves be slightly larger than 1/4" width to accomodate that width of leather plus the edges to burnish the rounded edges. So far beside the tool at the very top of this page, I have not seen another wood burnish wheel that has that wide a groove, not to mention larger, but then I guess you could use the othersurfaces to burnish anything larger. The point is needed and would be great in burnishing belt slots and inside. I will send PM with my contact info.

Thank you dbusarow. I searched for past posts on this subject and got more answers regarding vinegaroon and holsters, and also someone mentioning having his lasting for 6 months and still going strong, so I think I will be fine in terms of shelf life. Will have to pick up some Vinegar since I have a brand new bag of steel wool at home not being used...

what is the shelf life of a batch of vinagaroon? in terms of holsters, do you have to dip dye the leather first prior to assembly and molding? Or can you finish the holster and then dip? I hand sew using waxed thread so the wax may affect the dye negatively? Thanks.

Thanks Shorts for the suggestion. The rounding of the strap is planned for my next one. WaG35, this color is my old favorite (and so far the only bottle I have on my bench), the Eco-Flo Bison Brown. So far I have built four holsters with this color and each one came out a bit different with each adjustment of my procedure and different finishing options. This one was oiled after dying, then finished with Super Sheen by airbrush. I think I will try applying carnuba wax to the finished holster which will knock down the shine a little, but I do like how this one turned out. Thanks all.

Hi guys, Here is the new holster I just finished for a single stack Makarov. This is my fourth holster so far... Let me know what you think...

Hello all, What size rivets should I use for 7-8oz leather? Meaning post width and heighth, etc. Thank you!

Went to Rocklers today too meet a wood turner who also leads a turning club here in town, and he refused to make one of these for me because he wants to do wood work for "fun" and if he took this on it would be for "work" which he won't do... I guess I understand to a degree but whatever... Is anyone making one of these already for sale?

I am interested. Message sent.

Hello all, Am looking to purchase some W&C Veg tanned leather for holster work, and wondering how much a difference there is between their Standard, Utility, and Special grades? I am looking to purchase 8oz leather with buffed flesh. Thanks.

I like it! If you don't mind, how did you make the loop on the body of the holster, since it doesn't look like you've sewn another piece to form the loop?

Thanks all for your comments. I have always wondered why someone would want a leather holster that hard... Being a marketing person myself I can understand and relate why you would want to find that "edge", "gimmick", "special something" to get people's attention and ultimately purchase what you're selling, so in this case, if it works for these makers then great! I just wanted to find out if there was real benefit to rock hard leather, outside of the body-building industry...

Hello all, I've noticed recently that several holster makers have posted pictures on their website showing weights placed on their holster showing how stiff their holsters are and how well they hold their shape. I've made 4 holsters so far with 7-8oz veg-tanned leather and while they are plenty stiff and retains the pistols well after molding, they are certainly not rock hard and could not withstand 15lbs sitting on them for example... Any idea how they got their holsters so rigid? One pictoral guide on a maker's site indicates that they dunk their holsters in Harness Oil after molding and dying with oil dyes, and finished with typical top coats, but they are claiming their holsters could withstand a 25 lb. weight with minimal collapse of the opening. Thanks.

Will have to see if one of my old college professors who owns and operates an Elk farm can score me a small piece of antler... :D

Got a set of various sized wood chisels from Home Depot last night to give it a try. It worked great! I had to make allowences to match the cut the chisel makes with the initial holes I punched (The cut is a bit wider than expected), but all in all the cut was fast and clean. I was cutting a 1.5" slot but I couldn't find a chisel in that width, so I had to do a couple of cuts then clean with knife. Anyway, thanks for the chisel tip! Now if someone could tell me how to bevel the edges of the slots to make them asthetically pleasing that would be great! I can't fit the edger in there. Peter

Thank you Zack White. I got a bag of 10 sets and they weren't that much money so I haven't tried to get them replaced. Thank you very much for the offer for replacement, I really appreciate it. I will order more from you in the future as your prices are certainly better than Tandy's and I have had good luck with other items I've ordered from you. Thank you for the customer service!

I think I have read somewhere that Osborne oblong punches don't come sharpened... Is this true? They seem to be a cut above in terms of quality than the Midas or Tandy-sold punches, but if they don't come sharpened that is another chore to deal with... Besides, how do you sharpen them? Stropping? True, true!

Thanks much! I've recently been to Tandy and saw an example of leather with "pasted back" and it looked a heck of a lot better than the first piece of leather I had to work with. What I discovered accidentally was to coat the loose flesh side with Bag Kote. Once dried the surface is hard and the fuzz down pat. I can't wait for my Zack White leather with pasted back to come. That should save me some work before buffing. Thanks again for the suggestions.

Thanks Bree, yeah that chisel idea is great, and with my homedepot gift cards I don't even have to spend money. I think I will still get an oblong punch though simply to get a clean, one-stop process to cut the slots. I will reserve the drill/round punch plus chisel option for extra thick belts that the oblong-cut slots won't accommodate.

Makarovs are great guns to start with I believe, because they are small enough to not require too much leather, and they lend themselves to numerous design options. For my first Makarov holster I used probably a 12"x7" piece of leather to make a fold over style. For the second one with loops, I used about a square foot of leather because of the extra length needed for the loop straps. These two sites is where I get my pattern design procedures from. I use a combination of both depending on what I am making. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=5696 http://www.jdlawhon.com/beltslide.html Good luck!

I would love to get my hands on that sewing machine! Hand sewing is a rather painful operation. :-) The Dish detergent is used to break surface tension of the water so it can be absorped by the leather easier and more evenly. Don't know if it is true, but scientifically speaking it makes sense, and it has worked so far so why not. I use my fingers mostly for the initial molding of the outlines when the leather is still damp. As the leather dries you will be able to put more and more details into it and have it retain. I have thought about getting the press and molding foam to get the initial shape as others have done, but really see no need after I made my first few. Post your results when you can! I already have several orders after posting pictures on other forums and I only wanted to do this as a hobby... There is never any lack of people wanting quality, custom leather works. Good luck!

Hi Mike, Thanks so much for the positive comments! I take my time with any craft/hobby I take on, which is also why I don't think I could ever mass-produce these holsters to make money because it would take me too long to make one. After stitching is done, I dunk the entire holster into a bath of warm water mixed with a couple of drops of dishwashing detergent. After soaking it for about 10 seconds, I take it out and let dry to the point where the leather is cool and turning pale (dried look), then I stick the gun into the holster and match the outside lines of the gun to the stitch lines so they're parallel; this is where extra attention afford to laying out the stitch line before hand pays off. At this point I pull out my freehand stitch groover (pic below) and use the blunt rubber covered end to start the molding around the trigger guard and bottom of the gun. I don't mold much the top of the gun because I need that space for the sight channel. The stitch groover was an accident but the rubber handle turned out to be a great tool because it won't harm the leather, but it is just hard enough to trace the lines of the gun. The little rubber "tip" at the end of the stitch groover is great for making indentations in the trigger guard to get that "lock" when the gun is inserted, where the barrel hood cutout is, and also great for general tracing around the pistol. I don't use my boning tool anymore except to smooth out larger areas where I find unwanted indents. The side facing my skin is not molded. After molding to my liking, hopefully the leather is dry enough, otherwise I leave the gun in there until the leather is mostly surface-dried and then I take the gun out and let holster dry overnight. Hope this helped!

That looks great! Thanks for the tip.