J-Frame OWB Holster

[JoelR]

This is the first holster I have made for another person. I'm generally happy with the design and the edging, not so happy with the boning and color quality and so-so with the hold-open strap design - I was looking to make something a little different. The dye was appiled with a brush after assembly which may be the reason for the non-uniformity. The finish is resolene and a little too shiny for me. I like the water repelency the resoleen adds, but am not too fond of the shiny appearance or the plasticy feel. Maybe airbrushing next time will limit some of that. All stiching was done by hand. Comments\suggestions on how I can improve? Sorry for some of the pictures - cell-phone camera.

Edited August 27, 2009 by JoelR

[troop]

This is the first holster I have made for another person. I'm generally happy with the design and the edging, not so happy with the boning and color quality and so-so with the hold-open strap design - I was looking to make something a little different. The dye was appiled with a brush after assembly which may be the reason for the non-uniformity. The finish is resolene and a little too shiny for me. I like the water repelency the resoleen adds, but am not too fond of the shiny appearance or the plasticy feel. Maybe airbrushing next time will limit some of that. All stiching was done by hand. Comments\suggestions on how I can improve? Sorry for some of the pictures - cell-phone camera.

i have made several holsters for that j frame smith. the semi- pancake style is the most requested of all the holsers i make... one thing i learned in making the semi-pancake is when i bone it. i have to be carefull not to indent the trigger guard too deep or to mold it too tightly. i found that like the full pancake style, it grabs tighter on the gun when worn. this makes it very dfficult to draw, especially with that particular j frame. looks good though. are you using the eco-flo dyes? i had problems with them as well. i switched to the feibings and my dying is much better. on leatherpros.net i was given the names of non acrylic finishes such as tan kote and bag kote that aren't as shiny and wont crack.

by the way how long have you been doing holsters?

Tony

[JoelR]

Thanks for the tips. I wore the holster and the draw is what "I" like in a holster - Initial hard resistance with a sudden release. Unfortunately I do not own a J-frame so I could not try it with the real thing. Right now I am essentially making holsters for people at cost so someone else is paying for my practice supplies (and a little extra to cover the cost of supplies for my own holsters - so many guns, so little leather...).

The dye is some ALL-IN-ONE from Tandy. Bought it on a whim and liked the color on a small single speed-loader pouch - don't trust the sealant properties though.

This is my 5th holster (an M&P 40 slider, a tuckable for the M&P, a similar holster to this one for a COLT 1911, and a tuckable for a COLT 1911). Only other items I have ever made out of leather was a Tandy knife pouch kit (20 years ago) and two speed loader pouches to practice stitching and play around with some super fast access designs for IDPA legal pouches. Both pouches are dyed with the same dye - go figure...

Edited August 28, 2009 by JoelR

[troop]

well keep it up cause you're on the right track. soon enough you'll have more orders for holsters than you can do.

[brinyar]

Looks good. I like the style of the reinforcement piece wrapped around the cylinder. Nice, clean design.

[katsass]

Hi Joel, Nice work on that little rig, keep it up! This is the style of OWB holster for the J-frame S&W's that I have the most call for. I use Feibing's oil or spirit die almost exclusively with an acrylic finish airbrushed on. The body is two layers of 4/5 oz veg tanned leather bonded together (rough side to rough side) and saddle stitched all around. Mike

[troop]

Hi Joel, Nice work on that little rig, keep it up! This is the style of OWB holster for the J-frame S&W's that I have the most call for. I use Feibing's oil or spirit die almost exclusively with an acrylic finish airbrushed on. The body is two layers of 4/5 oz veg tanned leather bonded together (rough side to rough side) and saddle stitched all around. Mike

Mike, the holster looks great. when i saw your name katsass i wasn't sure if it was kat sass or kats ass until i saw your stamp on the belt loop. that is AWSOME!! i laughed my head off.....lol

[TomLine]

I like my J frame holster to be a little deep because the center of gravity is so high on it. A retention strap solves that too.

[katsass]

Good morning Joel, the name actually is "Kats Sass" Leather. The name ccomes from the fact that my wife (Kathleen, hence "KAT") is my sounding board, quality cintrol and final inspector. If she doesn't like it, I hear about it. Kats Sass. The logo just seemed to draw itself. Mike

[JoelR]

Got feedback from the purchaser. Turns out I need to remember to teach others how to measure their firearms when needing specifics. Their firearm has a 4" barrel and not the 2" barrel I designed the holster for - they meaured from the frame and not the forcing cone. Forturnatly I designed it so the barrel could exit the bottom of the holster. They say they are fine with it (the owner's wife was the one who asked me to make it as a gift to her husband), but I'm not satisfied. Gives me an exchuse to make another holster for this frame.

To this point, my holsters have been single-piece hides. I'd like to play around with two-layer next but I have noticed that the holsters I have made for myself show scrapes where the sharp metal rubs the hide - specifically the slide release and magazine release of my 1911 in my tuckable flesh-side-out holster. I assume this is normal... Anyone have any recommendations on what types of leather to use as the liner? Kevin had recommended some 2oz calf he had to pair up with the 6-7oz I am using now. Thoughts/suggestions?