Question about leather weight for holster

[liveneasy]

I'm working on a pattern for my next attempt at a holster for my Bersa. I have read the discussions about lined vs unlined and the best leather weight to use. The Bersa is a fairly light gun and I would like to make a lined, molded, OWB holster for it. My question is would two pieces of 4-5 oz leather, glued and sewn together smooth side out, produce a sturdy holster with a good service life.

Unfortunately the selection of veg tan leather in this area is very limited. It's either 10 oz bellies or 7 oz and less hides and I've got enough 4-5 oz to make the holster.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Greg

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

Two 4/5 oz. glued and stitched will work fine. It might be just a tad heavy for your pistol, but no worries. I always stay away from bellies. They aren't good for anything to do with holsters except maybe figuring out new patterns.

Edited March 26, 2008 by BOOMSTICKHolsters

[liveneasy]

Two 4/5 oz. glued and stitched will work fine. It might be just a tad heavy for your pistol, but no worries.

Thanks... I got essentially the same response from another forum member via email so I've decided that since I only have a small piece of 4/5 anyway I'd construct the holster from a single piece, leave it unlined and stitch on a wide top sweat band that will incorporate a rear belt loop and thumb break straps. Not sure how it will turn out but it will give me a chance to incorporate all the construction steps I've read about on the forum while gaining a bit of experience. I'll post some pictures when I get it done.

[Srigs]

You can post pictures of your design before you cut the leather and ask for suggestions. We will be glad to help.

With 4-5 oz is a bit light IMHO but two layers or two layers over the opening area and attachment area would work well. I like 7-8 oz myself and single or double shoulders work great. 7-6 or maybe 5 oz for IWB/pocket will work great.

Keep up the good work and ask questions.

[TwinOaks]

Looking good so far as I can tell!

Something you might want to consider: A lighter weight holster will take less room ( I know, I know, we're talking fractions of an inch here) than 8oz, and you can modify your carry options to eliminate some of the drawbacks. One example is to build the holster to ride under the belt instead of attached to it. Thinner leather is a plus here, and you use the belt to stabilize the pistol in the holster, in conjunction to the thumbstrap, which helps retention.

Mike

[anubismp]

I'm no expert and I havent been at this long but I've been using 4-5 oz leather for my IWBs with success. I've made them for some seriously heavy guns and haven't had any issues. I would imagine for an OWB thicker would be better though.

[bitone40]

I do a lot of bersa 380 holsters and I use 8 oz all the time, you can look at my pictures in the link in my signature, there are some different styles for the 380 and they are all 8 oz