Yellowhousejake

Hmmm, all food for thought. I need to experiment on some scrap. DAve

No, I do not wet the leather before dying. How much do you wet the leather? Casing wet or just a quick wipe down and a minute to soak in? I do use NFO before dying a customer holster, but I let it dry/cure for 48 hours before dying. I left this holster in the dye for about 15 minutes, no idea if that is long enough. Or, clearly it was not ;^) I only tried dip dying because every other attempt on scrap leather from the same hide was mottled when spraying or using a dauber/sponge. I have watched Mike Dorsett's videos so many times I have them memorized. My dye never looks like his 100% of the time. DAve

I have had hit and miss luck with Dying Saddle Tan Fieblings. Sometimes it goes on even and looks great, other times it goes on blotchy and looks terrible. I have tried sponges, airbrush, dip dye, all with no luck. Oddly enough my best luck has been dying Springfield Leather craft squares. Every attempt on quality Herman Oak looks uneven. Here is a picture of my latest article holster. A copy of a late 1930s Berns Martin for a S&W N frame snub. This was dip dyed and still came out splotchy. I can't help but think I am doing something wrong here. Any thoughts? DAve

I will be there shooting my M1D and dragging along a new participant. I am thinking about making databook covers for the auction next year so I have been researching journal covers and the like. I also want to try my hand at tooling holsters as well. DAve

You know MBM? I bought a CO2 laser cutter just so I could make stamps. I burn them into acrylic and epoxy the stamp onto a piece of steel plate. So far, they are holding up very well with my arbor press. At $150 dollars for a custom brass stamp, I need make only one more acrylic stamp to break even. Thank you for the compliment. DAve

Avenger Style thumb break. S&W M&P 9/40. Black basketweave 8oz Herman Oak veg tan leather. 1mm Ritza raspberry and turquoise stitching. I'm getting better at this, I think. DAve

I think the thread is too large if you think it looks chunky. I use 4mm stitching irons, a bargin set of Aiskaer for diamond holes and a set of 4mm Sinabroks when I have room for a very obvious stitchline. I use 1 mm Ritza thread and it does not look that big. You could drop down to a .6 Maine thread and I think it would look less bulky and appear "tighter". DAve

Gotch ya. Thank you. DAve

Nicely done! I have some caiman but the holster design I was looking to use it on has proven to be difficult without very thin borders on the window (an avenger style). Did you back the caiman in the window of the outer later Or, did you use three layers. Outside, lining with Caiman, backside? DAve

It was, the revolver I made it for was not the revolver the sample holster was made for. I bought a well worn out holster for a S&W M36 to tear apart. I had to lengthen the body 1 1/4" to fit the H&R. The biggest problem I faced, three tries to get it sized right, was leather compression. I disassembled the old holster and laid it flat for a tracing and it came out too small, twice! Looking closely I could see the outside of the leather was wrinkling up. The inside was not stretching out (originally it compressed) and the outside was compressing. Once I realized what was going on, I added the thickness of the leather to each outside edge and then the holster came together. The next one I am going to try is a Berns Martin front opening belt holster for a N frame S&W. If they like the article and want me to continue writing them. DAve

The Detective Gatzette, a print publication for https://snubnoir.com. I offered to do a series on old holsters. I will make a classic holster and use it for a few weeks reporting on what we learned over the years as applied to modern holsters, or what we left behind and shouldn't have. Not sure if they will print it, we will see. DAve

I just finished this for an article on holsters. It is a copy of a Federal Man holster I made for a H&R 732 I did not have a holster for. 8oz Herman Oak, Ritza 1mm thread, Saddle Tan dye. The suicide strap was an interesting feature on the early versions of this holster. It "looked" like a suicide strap but the snap was a rivet and the inside end was a thumb break. Allegedly, the bad guy would try to take your weapon by pulling on the strap but it would never let go. I didn't have such a rivet so I installed a pull the dot snap 180 degrees out. An interesting Tom Threepersons design holster. DAve

I agree, it is likely Jay-Pee. They often had shops like Buckhiemer make holsters for them to sell under their brand name. I have a Buckhiemer Semi Shoulder belt holster that is marked Jay-Pee. I believe a shop called Arsenal (maybe?) did the same, selling to government agencies like the FBI. The spring clam shell shoulder holsters were popular from the 1930s forward. I have a very old ElPaso Saddlery for a Detective Special and an early 60s Brauer Brothers for a Police Positive Special that are identically made. Do you a picture of the holster? DAve

Beautiful work. From the finish, design, and craftsmanship it is first rate. DAve

But, did the gun fit or was it too thick when worn after the gun was in it? DAve

Great looking holster. I really like the color. DAve

Two suggestions. To use vinegaroon (disolved iron in vinegar) you must first degrease the steel wool, 30 minutes in acetone and then completely rinsed with clear water. Once done it needs to seep in the vinegar for several weeks. When it stops reacting you need to filter it through a coffee filter. When it is done it will dye leather black almost immediately. You will not have to wait to see if it works. Degreasing is key, the oil they put on steel wool to stop it rusting will make a mess of things. Fabric dye. In the US it is sold as Rit Dye and is available in most grocery stores. Does a fine job if you first wet the leather and then dunk it in warmed dye solution. I hope that helps. DAve

I did the same thing for several holsters until I saw a ewwtube video that instructed you to line the stitchline up so that it goes away from you. Then when you hold the pricking iron to the marks it is running from six oclock to 12 oclock. You make your first set of holes and then move the iron farther away putting the tooth closest to you in the last previous hole and punch again. That way you can see that the iron is standing straight up. From your point of view, the stitchline is running vertically instead of horizontally and you are pricking away from you. Does that make sense? DAve

Tandy, Springfield Leather, and others have them. JRMClips has them in multiple sizes. https://jrmclips.com/thumb-break-stiffeners/ I used to make them when doing holsters for myself but it is time consuming. I started buying them when I decided to investigate holsters as a side hack. Thank you everyone for the kind comments. My wife and friends tell me the holsters I have been making look good, but I only see the flaws when one is done. Nice to get an outside opinion. DAve

It is a stiffener. I makes certain that the thumb break happens instead of the leather bending. DAve

First holster I have done that left the house. Not for me, not hanging up with my other failures. It is a 1911 BBQ holster to go to a silent auction in a charity event for Ovarian Cancer Research in honor of Marty Brown. 8oz Medium firm veg tanned leather. Hand stitched with 1mm Riza thread in Marty's favorite colors. Black Fiebling's pro dye. Two buffed coats of Resolene sealer. The reinforce is hand stamped with MBM and a surround. (MBM = Marty Brown Memorial)

Thank you Dwight. I molded it with a simple vacuum bag (Food Saver). I have tried pancake and Avenger styled holsters both, I carried my Commander 1911 in an Avenger for many years. But, my job requires I disarm as Federal Law keeps me from carrying everywhere I have to go. So the paddle makes sense for me. I discovered, after many many tries, that if I turn the gun back towards my hip like an avenger holster it hides quite well. Better than most Kydex OWB holsters do. That little twist on the position moves that big Python grip back towards my body and a shirt will cover it. I will make the next basketweave one with no vacuum bag. I wondered also if dying with a dauber might put the dye deeper in the leather next time. DAve

I finished these up a month or two ago and I have been carrying them to find things to improve. I am happy to say that these are likely th fifth version, but they are good to go. I used the Python holster in a Claude Werner class two weeks ago and it was perfect. Not sure why my basket weave (First attempt) looks so poor. I think I stamped it too deep or maybe I should not have used an airbrush to dye it. Once the holster body wrapped around the revolver it showed un-dyed leather. I need to work on that. Over all I am happy. Critical observations welcomed, and encouraged. 8oz Herman Oak for the holsters, .08mm Ritza Tiger thread, hand stitched. The King Cobra paddle is two layers of 6oz stitched and glued. The Python is a single piece of 8oz. I think the single piece is enough. DAve

They do not hand polish lacquer on the bottom of a dinning room table. Nor do they paint the back side of a portrait. Some makers will, if you want to pay them for it. I am sure if someone wanted a maker to stamp a holster inside, outside, and backside some would happily oblige and bill the their time accordingly. Not doing what customers will not pay for is not lazy. DAve

I am not certain I will like the antique either. But, I will try it and see. DAve