Denster

Someone was inquiring on the forum a few weeks ago about this product. Can't find that post. Anyway this is a new product in the Weaver catalog billed as increasing your yield by allowing you to firm belly leather when making holsters. I placed and order with Weaver's for several HO sides the other day and inquired about this product and if it was largely alcohol based? The sales lady said she didn't know what the product contained but since there was no MSDS sheet with it there was no alcohol content. My curiosity got the better of me and I ordered a gallon. It arrived today along with a MSDS sheet showing the main ingredient as Butoxyethanol. Surprise Surprise! Anyway I called Weaver's to let them know they should clue in their sales people. Thought I should let the other holstermakers know also in case anyone was thinking of trying it. It's about the same price as a gallon of denatured acohol but won't do anything magic that denatured won't do. It's not poisonous like denatured so that might be important. Just a bit of information.

Mike Nicely done. Tastefully understated.

Nice stuff! A man of many talents.

Harbor Freight spindle sander. Works like a dream and about $89 when on sale.

Gently put. That just isn't going to happen. On that budget you need to stick to hand sewing. $60 will buy you a good awl, some harness needles, thread and an overstitch marker.

Thanks! From one grumpy old man to another. The elastic is better these days and the trick is to use heavier leather like 8OZ and the way the elastic is stitched in the gun never touches it and it doesn't have to stretch very much to release.It's most important function is mostly to keep some tension on the weapon when it is holstered.

McMaster's Carr carries it 1"X12"X12" 40 durometer gum rubber.

Mike Go ahead and give it a whirl. Like I said it's just a different take on an old idea. I don't name my holster designs that's mostly a marketing strategy and I allready sell everything I care to make.

I kept getting requests from customers for holsters that offered more positive retention than a pancake style for the various J fame revolvers. Since the concealed hammer design and the prevalance of CT lasergrips don't really lend themselves well to thumb break. IMO. I came up with this design. I'm sure a lot of you will recognise the commonality with the old upside down shoulder holster. Basically the design uses a split front to the face of the cylinder that is covered with a stitched in elastic strap. The rear of the holster has a 14OZ welt that profiles the rear of the weapon and traps the top of the triggerguard. When drawing you move the weapon 1/4in forward against the elastic and it releases. One hand reholstering is easy as the triggerguard contacts the welt and cams the weapon forward and it pops into place. Pretty secure setup as you could literally go bungee jumping and you might loose your lunch but not your weapon. An added advantage is that it is virtually impossible to draw from the rear making it pretty snatch resistant also. The photo with the High Standard Sentinel is my prototype to test the concept. It's my favorite woods bumming gun and I needed a holster for it anyway. It will work with the CT grips except for the LG405 that covers the entire guard and works nicely with the new Bodyguard with integral laser. Thoughts, comments, whatever.

Lobo and Mike make some good points regarding lining. Chrome tan leather is bad for the reasons Lobo stated and if you must line a holster they way Mike suggests is the best possible way and adds rigidity to the finished rig at the expense of being very difficult to detail bone. That said lining a holster to reduce blue wear is a fallacy. Lined or unlined you will eventually have holster wear. You can do things to retard it but not eliminate it. Leather in and of itself is not capable of wearing gun steel. What causes holster wear is a combination of oil and primer residue imbeded in the leather and movement of the gun in the holster while the wearer is walking etc. That is why you commonly see holster wear on a revolver at the muzzle and edges of the cylinder and an auto pistol at the muzzle. The only things we can do to moderate this is to not line with materials like suede that pick up and trap more of the oil/primer residue than other materials to this end smooth grain leather is best and to closely form the holster to limit movement of the gun during wearing. That's just my observations and take on things. YMMV

I've had the same batch for over two years. Still works great but the smell has pretty much gone away.

Nice holster. You've come a long way.

I don't believe it has anything to do with it. Two ways to check though. See if a magnet sticks to the frame or weigh it. The aluminum frame one weighs a smidge under 25lbs the cast iron is about 12lbs heavier.

Tony Thanks guy. That's high praise comming from someone who makes as nice a holster as you do. Gregintenn Yeah it is ugly. Kind of reminds you of something Hellboy might carry. Although the thing works well so I can't fault function. We'll see if it catches on. I shamelessly ripped a page from Lobo's book of extra profits and made several. Now all I have to do is sell them,

Mike You're spot on when you mention complicated lockwork. It has a very good trigger both single and double action which is amazing considering the number of parts that have to move for each cycle.

Bet you thought this was going to be a post about making a holster with Rhino hide. But it is not. Last week a friend of mine came by the shop wanting to know if I would make him a range holster for his new revolver. So I said sure. What does he pull out but one of the new Chiappa Rhino 357 revolvers. I took a look at it and started having second thoughts until he said he didn't mind if I shot it. Hit my weak spot so I was back to sure I'll do it. This is what I came up with. Made it out of HO 8/9OZ. It's a big gun but not very heavy due to the alloy frame and barrel shroud. OK! Did I shoot it? Oh yes! Neat revolver that does what it says it does, no muzzle flip even with hot loads, more accurate than it needs to be. Lots of fun but I think it is an overly complicated solution in search of a problem. Obviously it is an upgraded improved Mateba design.

Well I can't argue with your results Tony. You make some nice holsters. I mold my holsters in a vacuum press and bone the details right through the bag and I have no burnishing problem. I used to wet the leather much more when I hand formed nd molded but always had a problem with grain wrinkle at the higher moisture content.

I was wondering if there was some particular purpose to soaking the leather for that long? I find that 5/6 only requires a one second dip and add a second for each weight/step up from there. Wait till the color returns to normal insert the gun and get to work. Maybe five minutes at most. Waterlogging the leather and trying to do anythiing with it causes all kinds of problems.

Interesting. Wish I'd have known then. Didn't start seeing them at the guns shows around here until early last year.

Nice holsters Lobo. You're right about the P7PSP. I picked one up when they first hit the market last year and designed a holster for it. Immediate success and I've sold well over a hundred in the last few months. I'm sure yours will be a hit there are a lot of those pistols brought over and word is spreading quick about how reliable and accurate they are.

Nope. No Belt. I've made a few but I try to avoid belts in general. Don't have to worry on this one I shipped it this morning.

Nice! I mean really really nice.

Thanks Eaglestroker! Shooter. I believe I paid $17/sq ft for the two skins I bought. Quality is excellent and about 90% useable. Good folks to deal with.

I was making a group of holsters for the K&K P7PSP and got the urge to do something a little different. This one if made from Hermann Oak 8/9OZ with grain side in and flesh out. Full frontal Shark from Roje's to spice it up a bit. What do you all think?

Boy do I resemble that remark Steve. Somtimes I think I need to write my name on thre back of my hand so I don't forget it.