Hicks02

I did one show and would like to do another. I had fun, but everything mentioned so far happened to me. About the only thing I sold were the holsters I had lying around for years. I still have holster that I made for the show left. It seems like it should work, I just can't figure out how to make it worth while. I was advised to take something to do and a pretty lady to sell the stuff. And for what guns to take holsters for, I was asked for a ankle holster for a full sized 1911. I hope this helps. JH

The Bianchi videos are good stuff. I have Dusty Johnson's also but they do not compare to one another. Check out you tube for "carry" holsters. I am sure there are more videos out there that are good these are the only ones I have experience with. I still go through a lot of trial and error and a lot of hair pulling. I hope this help and good luck. JH

Springfield Leather. They have a add on here. I use 10 oz Herman oaks for hunting knife sheaths. I have not made many sheaths though. I hope this helps. JH

Thank you. JH

WOW! That is nice all the way around. JH

This is a sheath I made a couple of weeks ago. I have not made very many sheaths, until resently. The local gun shop has been getting custom knives in, the knives are great but the sheaths are not the same quaility. So long story short they asked me to make their sheaths. Let me know what you all think. I always want to get better. JH

Thank you all for the kind words. I would like to say that this holster came out perfect on the first try. I have made a couple holsters to accommodate a red dot before. These guys go shoot prairie dogs with these type of pistols. I was nervous that when the customer put the rig on that it would fall down around his ankles, it didn't though. The pattern for this holster took quite a few tries to get it close. Then I still had to do some trimming on the leather around the eotech. I made the mag pouch out of 6 oz scraps. And again the pattern took several tries and I still had to trim the leather, finally after a couple dry fittings it all came together. The mag pouch is held on with t-nuts and screws. It is detachable, but I think it would be really hard to get it back on. Thanks again for the comments. JH

This a cross draw for a ruger mk II with a removable mag. holder. The color in lite brown oil dye. Leather is 10 oz HO. It took a lot of thought on my part to figure out what the guy wanted and how I was going to put it all together. There are somethings that I would do different, but the customer was very happy. I also made a 2" wide belt to go with it. I did not weigh the holster and gun, but this set up is heavy. As always let me know what you all think, I have a thick skin and always want to improve. JH

The hammer maybe to light. I had the same trouble with mine. I had to sharpen and strop mine quite a bit. It is still not as sharp as it needs to be. It still takes several whacks to get through two layers of 7/8 oz leather. Hope this helps, JH.

Wow! That is low humidity. I am sure here in Missouri our's a lot higher. I guess I will have to wait longer. I hand dye all of my stuff and I tend to get a little carried away with how many coats of dye I put on. Thanks again for the help. JH

It should have been dry. The humidity in the house is low, we have wood heat. I dyed some other holsters at the same time and have not wet them yet, so they have dried for another day ( 2 days total). I am getting ready to wet them and see if I have different results. I hope you are right and I can mark it down as a lesson learned. Thanks for the reply and I'll post if the same happens to the others. Another question is do you all clean or deglaze the leather before dyeing? Thanks again JH

Herman oaks. JH

I have a bit of a situation. I made up a holster last night (stitched and dyed). Tonight after I wet the holster there were a lot of dark spots all over the holster. I am not sure what caused this. I used feibings oil light brown. I know there will be dark spots where the boning takes place, but this looks like water spots. I hope this will go away when it is more dry, but it is not looking good. Any help would be great. thanks, JH.

I don't think I would double 8/9 oz. I have made them before by lining 7/8 with 3/4 oz. The holster was firm and solid. Make sure the belt attachment is strong! also I would recommend a wide belt. 9 inch barreled guns are not made for quick draw. I would want to know the customers opinion and what he has in mind for the use. This is just my opinion and wish you good luck. JH

What you are saying would probably work, but it seems like a lot of extra steps. I mold my holsters on a curve during the wet forming. I punch the belt slots and put a scrap of belt leather through them. That way the holster is molded to the belt and has a curve molded in. I hope that this makes since. JH

I am with Troop. I started out hand stitching. A lined ranger belt would take me a day to sew. I started not wanting to start a new project due to the amount of time the sewing would take. Then I got a machine and my stuff looked bad! After some practice I was able to get the look I wanted. I still have trouble with the machine every now and then with thin leather, but I am glad I have it. What ever route you take practice is the key. I hope this helps, JH.

Thanks for the help guys. Since I don't do bags or stirrups, I think I will save my money. JH

These are some the recent holster I have made. Sorry for so many pictures in one post, I couldn't pick out just one to share. As always let me know what I can improve on.All holsters were made with 7/8 oz Hermann Oaks and I used Angelus acrylic finish. This is for an XDm, I know others have made this style before. I wanted to try something different. IWB for Kimber Pro Avenger style for 1911 Pancake holster for PK 380

Is that the holster plate or stirrup plate? JH

Thanks. I have not had trouble yet. I have had my machine for 3 years now. Since I have never used anything else I just wanted to know if I was missing out on something. Thanks again. JH

I was wanting to know about a holster plate for sewing machines. I have a toro 3000 and was wandering if theses plates or others make a difference. Thanks for looking, JH.

I have some of my early holster lying around here. It is always nice to see how far you come. My first holster was a hard as a rock and put together with scraps of this that and the other. The stitching was terrible. But I have stuck with it and have been able to sell what I make. I still make some holsters that end up in the scrap pile. Good luck in the future and don't give up.

I use a pencil. One of those big fat ones or a carpenter's pencil. I don't like to use a ballpoint pen because I might get ink where I don't want it. Pencils that have soft lead don't seem to mark the leather as much and the unwanted lines are easy to get rid of. that just my thought. JH

I am a normal quite person. Few things get me worked up guns and leather are two of the main ones. When people ask me what I do, I tell them I make holster and I can see their eyes glass over. Then I think to myself, why did they even ask if they didn't want to know. After that reaction I don't even bother telling them I teach the Missouri ccw class. I guess that's ok I love what I do. JH

I don't like to use the bellies for much of anything. I the ones I have seem to be very porous with a lot of grain texture. I do have 2 boys that use a lot of scraps to make stuff for their mom. I buy all my leather form springfield leather, I think from now on I will see about them cutting off the bellies. I just hate paying for something that won't get used. And as bad as the latest bellies were I can't even make something for myself out of the. With the way the economy is I need to save as much as I can. Thanks for sharing your thought and the picture.JH