Stetson912

Thanks. The view of the welt was before finishing. I forgot to mention that. It was an interesting build for sure.

I went down this rabbit hole, it was fun. I need to order better hardware but you get the point. The 1at by milt sparks has an oddly shaped adjustable welt that adjusts tension. This is for a 5" 1911. It is a behemoth with the body being 2 layers of 6/7 oz and the welt is 4 layers for a total of 8 at the thickest part (about.75" thick). It also has sewn in sight rails that was interesting. I sewed them to the liner so you cant see them on the front. Im not a fan of hand stitching that welt either, but we do what is necessary haha.

As @KillDevilBill was saying , and how I understand it. The laminated leather has 2 layers of full grain which is the strongest part of the leather. And they would be in different directions adding strength similar to how a weave or braid does.maybe better would be something like plywood. The layers are laid in opposing directions allowing for a strong end material. And the contact cement itself is strong in its own right and probably adds a bit to the overall strength of the laminated leather.

@Dwight that is the advantage to your method, no wrinkles. Ill have to try this one out on the one im working on. Usually it isnt much of an issue with pancake style, but foldover or ones with folded belt loops it is.

Chris Andre does his with 2 layers of equal weight. I do this when I want a lined holster and I can say it is very stiff. My method is different than Dwight. I just glue 2 layers together and treat it as I would normally. I haven't read the article but I do know bianchi was a fan of using suede linings, in which case would be lighter in weight and adhered to the heavier holster body. I'd recommend 2 layers if 4/5 oz for owb and 3/4 for iwb.

Nice collection there

I don50/50 on pancakes. The only time I think the offset molding would benefit on a pancake is if the feller is very thin. Even then, i keep my slots relatively close to the gun. About 1" to center of the slot. This xdm is quite a brick. Im looking into better carry weapons at the moment. It doesnt fit my fat hands either. The digging wasn't too bad but I agree I can extend the sweat guard a bit more. I've seen some reverse avenger style bbp holsters without the wing. That I think would allow more versatility in placement, but I like the thought of the wing helping keep things in place even though its mostly the belt

Nice. I made a bag and have an old vac pump. Its more finding space to use it. I have to clear my bench off and its a pain to have to do that. One day ill figure something out space wise haha. There's never enough of it it seems. I might look into the vac bags like that, as it is I have to continuously run the pump so, might be better anyway

@Dwight I will give it a try. I tend to lean more 80/20 on iwb/bbp but haven't tried all flat. I used my cowboy outlaw to stitch it. I have a diy vacuum press but its a pain to drag out and set up. More often than not i hand mold. I am trying to build up that skill but there's only so much you can do with a brick like this xdm. @wizard of tragacanth thanks for the suggestions. Ill try on the next one without molding inside the trigger. The sweat shield i made short to prevent foldover. I usually make them too long but I can tweak that some too.

Del fatti inspired my design here. I think its more comfortable that traditional iwb. I used 6/7oz holster strap from ALD and resolene finish. It is what i call a semi-flatback where the front is molded more than the back so it wont dig so bad

Nice

I agree. Comfort and security/ function should come together to make a good holster. It's subjective to each person but those comments let you know you did a good job.im Im always learning but finding ways to make iwb comfortable is a challenge. Especially for myself being a tub o lard haha!

Thanks, I think ive got the method figured out, im going to see about making one for my other auto. It is a nice design and pretty unique in think

This is 6/7oz (thats why the detail is crisp like it is). The built in s curve reinforces everything allowing the use of lighter leather. Because of that and the curved front edge, its the most comfortable holster ive worn or made. I can move around and sit with it no problem and I hardly know its there. Im a big guy so everything iwb kinda pokes and prods but this one is much more comfortable in comparison, and this is a full size 1911 too.

Looks good

Thanks for the kind words. I'm gonna have to look for a set of maple grips now haha.

That would look nice. Curly maple is awesome looking stuff

Thanks!

Thanks, I like how it came out, its a really clever design too

Thanks, it is a fun design to put together

@Hildebrand looks good to me man. I like basketweave. Looks like it'll work great! I use mine every day

I revised my pattern and came up with this. It is based on Lou Alessi's design but i created the pattern based on photos. It is made from a single piece of leather.

I think so, mouths can be tricky too sometimes

Thank you, the eyes are what I try to focus on most, they are the most important I think. They are the first thing you would notice if they were wrong for sure haha

Thanks @chuck123wapati and @DocReaper I appreciate it