Tac

Simply STUNNING!

Kimber "Ultra" series 1911 (3 in barrel- with the hammer "COCKED" and the thumb safety "ON") Smith & Wesson M&P .45 (full sized) Sig P-239 Sig P-220 compact/P-245 Browning Buckmark 5.5 inch barrel More to come, as these are just a short list of guns that I have had to use the real firearms for in order to make holsters recently... -Tac

Great work Eric! I love the videos. Well shot and very well explained. It amazes me how much we share in common as it relates to technique, tools and style. Thank you for sharing! (I wish these videos were around when I was just starting out and trying to figure things out. It would definately have shortened the learing curve and saved a lot of leather in trial and error!) -Tac

Holster turned out very nice.... But I gotta agree, that is the UGLIEST gun I have seen in recent memory.... and the inards look like a Rube Goldburg contraption... Now I know I am getting "old"... I'll stick to my S&W, Ruger, Colts and 1911's... Bronson.... I have experienced that malfunction on a couple of S&W revolvers too..... they are a PIA to clear. You seem to have found the same solution most that have had that experience did.. I used to use a peice of brass rod for that purpose. Called it my "range rod".... It worked pretty good for tapping lead bullets back out of the barrel when some reloader forgot a powder charge too..... -Tac

Andrewski... I don't have an answer to your conundrum, but I can tell you what I use... For most of my pancake style holsters, I use 11-12 oz for the back portion (with sweat shield) and 7-8 oz for the front of the holster. I find that this gives a nice detail to the front molding of the holster and a stiff, rigid support to the back of the holster, which aids in retention and preventing the holster from flopping or moving on the belt. Like USMC MP, I only wet my leather for a couple of seconds under warm tap water before starting the wet molding. The leather is completely wet, but not soaked.... -Tac

+1 for a "Kit", Ray! I have a drill press that I don't use and could leave chucked with it... Right now, I am doing it all by hand (canvas method) and I don't have the desire to mess with the 50/50 wax making process... Let me know what the price is and where to send the check/money order! :-) -Tac

I dip dye in oil dye after construction and wet molding. Once the holster is dry from the wet molding, I dip it for a brief second or two and let the excess dye drip off, then hang them up to allow the dye to dry. Couple things to remember.... this only works if you want your thread the same color as the holster and if you have any metal hardware in the holster construction (snaps, rivets, etc.), you will have to wipe the dye off before you start handling the holster or it will rub off on everything... My dos centavos... -Tac

Those turned out awesome! I would love a set with the white diamond in the center of the grips! Those would look so sweet on my stainless Sig GSR 1911! Damn, now I have another project to work on.... :-) -Tac

I recently purchased two of them... One for a 1911 and one for a Beretta 92. Both are appropriately sized and will work for holster making purposes just fine... I recently sold the 1911, as it was a copy of a railed gun, and I needed one without a rail... Still using the Beretta 92 though, with no problems. Too bad they don't make more models/versions.... they would save me a lot of money on Blue guns. -Tac

I have never seen leather grips before, but the idea sounds kind of cool.

Thats a very cool "twist".... I like it...

Looks very good! My only comment is about the holster.... looks like it could be a hair longer... Other than that minor point, I like it!

SOLD! Thanks for looking.

I have a Blackhawk! "Demonstrator Pistol" (orange version of a "blue/red gun") that I ordered and ended up not having a need for. It is a 1911 with a light rail frame. (I thought I was ordering a standard frame 1911...) Anyway, it is for sale or trade if anyone is interested. I'll take $30 + shipping for it. It is new in the box. I would also consider a trade for a standard frame blue gun. If anyone is interested, let me know. Pictures: Anyone interested, please shoot me a PM. Thanks, -Tac

WoW!.... And the knife is pretty phenominal too!

Bobby... Not my post/holster, but a "LW Operator" is a Light Weight (aluminum frame) 1911 series handgun from Springfield Armory, that has a light rail on the dust cover forward of the trigger guard. Troppy.... Very nice holster. Well exicuted and very clean.

Denster... WOW... Those are fantastic examples of some very clean work. I love the style, the cut and the perfect execution.... Well Done, Sir!

Google search John Bianchi's video series on holster/gun belt making... He is a master in this area of leather craft. Another great tutorial DVD is Dusty Johnson's "Holsters" DVD from Pleaseant Valley Saddle Shop. Dusty's DVD came with a pattern pack as well as the instructional DVD.... Good luck. -Tac

I have made a few sheaths out of 7-8 oz leather and a couple out of lighter leather... alot has to do with the size of the knife and what it's being used for.

RWP... that is Ostrich skin that I laminated to 7-8 oz. veg tan (rough side to rough side) with contact cement, then stitched up. The inside of the holster is smooth and the outside has the ostrich texture. The ostrich skin is very thin (2-3 oz if I had to guess) and came already tanned that color. I like it. My customer liked the holster so much, he came back for a double mag pouch and a light/baton case in the same format, in order to have a matching set. Good luck with your new gun and please post a picture of your choice in gun-hide... -Tac

Either tape a dowel rod about the same size/diameter of the sight (slightly larger wouldn't hurt) to the barrel, from the front sight back to the rear sight and wet mold/pattern the holster with it attached.... Or, depending on the style of holster, figure out the location of your front sight and it's path of travel during the draw, before you sew the holster together, and sew in two leather strips with enough space between them to allow the front sight to pass between them without catching.... for the "dowel rod method" and a front sight that tall and square, you might look at using a flat sided "carpender's pencil" as your "dowel". You can either cut or sand it flat on the bottom to reach the height you need to protect that sight track during the molding process. Using a standard round dowel to reach that height of the tall front sight would probably create a large round tunnel... where a flat carpenter's pencil would allow a flat sight channel. -Tac

Here are a couple examples of holsters I've made for my favorite model of handgun... -Tac

Wow! thats cool.. looks like lots of work and thought went into that one. The gun looks like it just came off the set of "STAR WARS"....

Don't worry about trying to "fill in" the gaps, just sand them smooth... I use the unscented "Nutrigena" brand glyserine soap that you can by at any drug store and I rub it right on the seam to coat it, then burnish with a piece of canvas, rubbing in only one direction.. the canvas creates friction/heat and that is enough to help "melt" the glyserine soap into the leather. As said by those before, "Nice job". That is a very good first project and I am sure like the rest of us, you learned a lot in that first go... They only get better from here!