Denster

5/6 oz by itself is about ideal for a pocket holster.

400 is a steal even if you had to send it in for a rebuild. There are a number of good videos, many of which Tippmann posted, regarding the bos on You Tube. From my experience the Boss likes nylon thread over poly. Thread size either 277 or 346. Buy a bunch of extra bobbins. Mount it solidly the Boss does not operate well on a flimsy mount. You will want S suffix chisel point needles.

Because the secondary angle will be ground too steep and you will not be able to force it through the thicker leather short of a hydraulic press. Just let them know what it is for and things will be fine.

Texas Custom Dies makes an excellent mallet punch. One thing to be aware of is to let them know that it will be used to punch through two layers of 8/9 Oz veg tan. Otherwise it will come sharpened to punch through one layer of 5/6OZ and you will need to regrind it.

Sig is a chore to work with. The early 238's were changed a couple of years ago to a thicker slide dimension. So you have to know which 238 you have to make a holster for one. I do not know whether the newer thicker 238 is the same as the 938 just knowing Sig I doubt it.

You had an episode of Hermann Oak from Hell. When I was going through thirty to fifty sides per year I could count on having and least four or five that were virtually impossible to cut with a round knife. Had to use a razor knife with a hook blade pulled around the pattern and stropped frequently. The upside is that those sides made excellent holsters. Never figured out what caused it but others have posted on the same problem.

I give it a quick dip in warmed oil then let it sit for a day before finishing.

I believe you meant grain side exposed inside and out. I use neatsfoot oil inside and out after molding and drying just prior to finishing.

To answer your question on the stitching. You would not need to lock the stitching at the beginning and at the end would only need to overstitch three or four with no backstitching. If you backstitch in addition you are stuffing a lot of thread into those holes and they will look nasty.

I would be most interested to know what method you use to construct a pancake IWB holster, with only a front panel reinforcement, that will not ever close up after the weapon is drawn, Seriously.

Dwight makes a good point that a reinforcement can be used effectively on a pancake design like the VM2 or his cactus but only if it wraps around the front of the gun. If it only attaches to the front panel, the way most do, then it will not be effective in keeping the holster open.

Adding a reinforcement piece to a pancake style holster is useless and only makes the holster thicker. It can be used effectively on envelope style holsters with many makers using a thin strip of steel under the leather.

Very nicely done Dwight.

This is an alcohol based product. You can get the same effect with isapropel without the expense. To use you just substitute it for water when molding.

You just need some moisture in the leather, not a lot, what remains after molding is sufficient. Heat at about 130 Deg F for at least 20 minutes. I generally leave for an hour or more. This will release collagens in the leather, essentially liquid hide glue, that will glue the fibers in place and stiffen the holster nicely.