1911 Holster

[DeWayne Hayes]

Hi folks, I'm still pretty amateur and new to holster making (have more experience with knife sheaths), but here's holster #4 - made for my 1911 Commander model Colt. 

I wanted a lined holster, and decided to use thinner thread to somewhat approximate a factory machine stitched holster. I did switch to heavier cotton thread at the welt just for strength. This is the first time I've used a stitch groove and when combined with the thinner thread, it really laid them down! 

I have to say, the welt is the hardest part of these things - getting all my holes to line up is nothing short of engineering and prayer! Always thrilled and slightly amazed when it works.

As for details - Tandy leather, 6/7 ounce. Some sort of thin liner leather I bought at Hobby Lobby. Sprayed the Fiebings Pro Dye English Bridle with a Preval sprayer. Edges painted with Fiebings edge coat foam tipped applicator. Then finished with Fiebings Leather Balm w/ Atom Wax. 

It's certainly not fancy, but I'm partial to really simple, smooth leather. I appreciate the artistry of tooling, but for my own taste, I just like a nice smooth leather finish. 

Thanks for a great forum!

DeWayne

 

 

The welt! Seven layers of leather - always a nail biter to see if holes will line up. What a joy it would be to use a machine and do it in about three seconds!

[chuck123wapati]

that is top notch my friend, i love it.

[DeWayne Hayes]

On a 1911 holster, if you're carrying "cocked and locked," that leather thumb strap really gives a feeling of safety, as the strap prevents the hammer from hitting the firing pin should the gun somehow try to fire. That's really the only way I'd be comfortable carrying cocked and locked.  

[AlZilla]

Very precise, clean work and it should give you years of service. I think the texture of that particular piece of leather is quite nice, too.  Since you mentioned thread size and strength, I'll note that size for size, nylon or polyester thread has a higher tensile strength than cotton.

The usual standard mentioned around here for service/duty gear is size 277 thread which has a breaking strength around 45 pounds.  Since I doubt any perps are going to try wrestling your weapon from you, I think you'll be ok ...

Do you glue your welt stack before you punch and sew it?

Edited November 26, 2023 by AlZilla

[DieselTech]

Nice looking holster. Looks great to me. Great work.

[DeWayne Hayes]

46 minutes ago, AlZilla said:

Very precise, clean work and it should give you years of service. I think the texture of that particular piece of leather is quite nice, too.  Since you mentioned thread size and strength, I'll note that size for size, nylon or polyester thread has a higher tensile strength than cotton.

The usual standard mentioned around here for service/duty gear is size 277 thread which has a breaking strength around 45 pounds.  Since I doubt any perps are going to try wrestling your weapon from you, I think you'll be ok ...

Do you glue your welt stack before you punch and sew it?

Hi Al, I don't honestly know what this thread is - I picked it up at Tandy. There is a number on the label that says 1227-02, but I don't know what that means. To be on the safe side, on the belt loop, I double stitch (fully back stitch) so the belt loop can't tear apart from the holster (one would hope!)

And yes, I do glue the welt before I stitch, but I punch my holes first. Reason being, I don't have a punch that will go all the way through all layers at once, but also because even if I did, I don't want the punch coming out on the back side in odd, unaligned places. so I punch holes in the outer shell where I want them, and then glue the welt to one side, punch all the way through it, and then waller out the holes just a bit on the back side of the welt so I have an easier time hitting those holes coming through the other side of the outer shell. I also use several needles as locator pins when I glue that opposing outer shell side down to the welt. Those help me make sure the thing doesn't twist too badly while I'm trying to press it down in the right spot. It's a kind of brain surgery! 

[Cattleman]

Thats a very nice looking piece of gear. Love the simplicity.

[MarshalWill]

Clean holster. I like that. Good work. Yeah, going through all those layers of leather can be fun. Nice job.

[Bert03241]

Great lookin Holster

[Gezzer]

Some times " less is more " .  Nicely done !!!!!!!!!

[Hags]

A machine is not always the answer for thick leather.  I have sewn welts this thick with my class 3, but you really have to pay attention.  Sometimes it's just easier to break out the awl! Sometimes I've taken an old #25 needle, put it in my drill press, and used that to punch (no drill!) my holes. Worked pretty good. Just make sure it stays lined up. Nice job by the way!

[DeWayne Hayes]

Sorry all, I want to clarify one thing - the thread I used on the welt area is linen, not cotton. Tandy waxed linen. I don't know why I was thinking cotton, I just knew it was natural, not nylon.  I like the nylon since the ends melt nicely. But I can see use for both, for sure.