Completed my first holster!

[ApexPredator]

I have a large frame .44 mag that I plan to hunt with and needed a holster for it. I bought a nylon holster, but it's just not what I was looking for. I'm a romantic at heart! I decided to make one. I obtained bunches of info on here, rolled up my sleeves, and started to work. I found a remnant on the auction site. It is 10+ oz vegetable tan. I figured it would be hard to work, and it was. I made several mistakes along the way, but learned from each one. My biggest mistake came after molding the almost complete holster around my revolver. It was taking forever to dry, and I'm impatient (character flaw). I decided to put it in the oven at 170 deg. for a couple of hours. After an hour I went to check on it, and wouldn't you know the temp had somehow settled on 350!!!! Luckily, I had placed an wooded spoon handle in door to leave a crack for air circulation. Never attempt this, because it didn't work out so well. The holster shrunk in all the wrong places. After it was almost cool, I put gun in it and started to try and straighten it out. I got it mostly back to shape, but couldn't save the welt. It was nice and even, and beveled perfectly before. Now it was shriveled up inward away from the main holster body. Nothing to do, but live with it. There wasn't enough edge past the stitching to sand and re-bevel. Any way, here it is.

Hopefully photos will post here like other boards!

[Randyc]

I think all in all you built yourself a nice holster. It's well fitted to the pistol and you did a great job on the tunnel loop design and stitching. Leatherworking is a constant learning experience. I thought about using the microwave once, glad I didn't!

Randy

[Art]

Hi Apex,

If you screwed-up, you sure didn't make it very obvious. If the holster is for right hand, put the thumb break on the other side for anatomy sake. The design is very good for the first time. I like the finish and the photos are excellent.

Art

I have a large frame .44 mag that I plan to hunt with and needed a holster for it. I bought a nylon holster, but it's just not what I was looking for. I'm a romantic at heart! I decided to make one. I obtained bunches of info on here, rolled up my sleeves, and started to work. I found a remnant on the auction site. It is 10+ oz vegetable tan. I figured it would be hard to work, and it was. I made several mistakes along the way, but learned from each one. My biggest mistake came after molding the almost complete holster around my revolver. It was taking forever to dry, and I'm impatient (character flaw). I decided to put it in the oven at 170 deg. for a couple of hours. After an hour I went to check on it, and wouldn't you know the temp had somehow settled on 350!!!! Luckily, I had placed an wooded spoon handle in door to leave a crack for air circulation. Never attempt this, because it didn't work out so well. The holster shrunk in all the wrong places. After it was almost cool, I put gun in it and started to try and straighten it out. I got it mostly back to shape, but couldn't save the welt. It was nice and even, and beveled perfectly before. Now it was shriveled up inward away from the main holster body. Nothing to do, but live with it. There wasn't enough edge past the stitching to sand and re-bevel. Any way, here it is.

Hopefully photos will post here like other boards!

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

Nice job, especially for a first holster. If you're like me, that welt is gonna bother you until you make another holster. Stay away from the oven and post some pics of the next one! BTW, welcome to the forum.

[Knifeknut]

Looks a hell of a lot better than my first attempt. Nice work!

[Regis]

Very nice & neat work for 1st holster

[K-Man]

Actually there are some of the top names in the holster-making industry who use an oven to dry their holsters. They just don't do it at quite that high of a temp.

Nice job on your first holster - turned out very well.

[Srigs]

Nice job for your first holster. I love the dye job on it... what do you use and how did you apply it? if you don't mind me asking.

[JRedding]

It may be your first holster but it's a pretty dang nice holster. I hadn't thought of it in years but your easy bake story jogged my memory. I knew a saddlemaker who had what he called a hot box he'd came up with to dry things out in a hurry. It was just a plywood box, his was about two feet wide and three feet tall with a door in the front and a couple of shelves that slipped in and out easily. It had an opening cut out in the back and he heated it with a small electric room heater , it was just a little one like you'd get to plug in and warm up a bathroom or something and he used the ones with a fan in them to blow the warm air into the box. He'd set the little heater just outside the opening in the back so it would get enough fresh air it wouldn't overheat and shut down and close the door and let it run. The combination of the heat and the fan circulating the air dried things out in a hurry and it wouldn't bake anything to death. His didn't have any vent holes cut in it but the door was real sloppy so if your door closed tight I'd think you may need to cut vent holes to let it circulate. That's just what I could remember about it I'm sure you'd kind of have to figure it out for yourself if you wanted to build one but that's what I could remember about his. Someone here is always trying to find ways to dry things out and I've seen this work so I thought it may be and idea someone could make use of.

Edited March 14, 2008 by JRedding

[David]

Great holster,

But keep your wet leather away from heating appliances....maybe you can lay it over heat outlet in your floor but stay away from ovens. I've shared this before but here goes again. I decided to "dry" my first piece of leather work it was a checkbook.. notice I said WAS. After drying it looked like and was about the size of a potato chip. Let those projects dry on their own.

David Theobald

http://www.theobaldleather.com

[K-Man]

But keep your wet leather away from heating appliances....maybe you can lay it over heat outlet in your floor but stay away from ovens. I've shared this before but here goes again. I decided to "dry" my first piece of leather work it was a checkbook.. notice I said WAS. After drying it looked like and was about the size of a potato chip. Let those projects dry on their own.

I disagree. Perhaps you had a bad experience, but to tell others not to do it is not right. If it's done properly, it will work well for you. How do I know? Lou Alessi, of Alessi Holsters (been in business for 30+ years making holsters) uses an oven to dry his holsters. He's literally made thousands of holsters that way. So I think I'll follow his lead, if I was so inclined, rather than someone who's only been doing this craft for a far shorter time.

Edited March 14, 2008 by K-Man

[paris3200]

Lou Alessi, of Alessi Holsters (been in business for 30+ years making holsters) uses an oven to dry his holsters.

I seem to recall Lou stating that he dryed his holsters around 110 degrees. I was watching the food network last night and they stated the lowest temperature a home oven could substain was around 175. Lou must use a warming oven.

Jason

[David]

I seem to recall Lou stating that he dryed his holsters around 110 degrees. I was watching the food network last night and they stated the lowest temperature a home oven could substain was around 175. Lou must use a warming oven.

Jason

Thanks Jason,

Sometimes the obvious escapes some. 110 degrees can be achieved with a floor heat outlet or a hair dryer. But a cooking oven or microwave....will be bad news for the average leather worker. I watched Jessie James ride his copper chopper for 45 minutes without touching the handlebars....but I don't think I'll follow his experienced example.

But all this shouldn't take away from an excellent post and a really nice working holster.

Edited March 14, 2008 by David

[Randyc]

I seem to recall Lou stating that he dryed his holsters around 110 degrees. I was watching the food network last night and they stated the lowest temperature a home oven could substain was around 175. Lou must use a warming oven.

Jason

Lou uses a convection type oven to dry his holsters. The convection ovens allow him to maintain low heat.

Randy

Edited March 14, 2008 by Randyc

[Art]

I have found that a wooden box (or an old Aluminum box they used to wheel food trays around in in hospitals) with a couple of lightbulbs hooked up to a cheap thermostat works pretty good for a drying box. The lightbulbs burn any humidity out of the air in addition to providing heat. I keep it in the furnace room where it stays warm all the time so the lightbulbs never have to cope with winter weather. I think the low humidity is probably more important than the temp. It is either that or move to Arizona.

Art

Lou uses a convection type oven to dry his holsters. The convection ovens allow him to maintain a low (110 degree)heat.

Randy