1St Holster Attempt

[prodgi]

Not a total failure I guess. The idea is to make my father a holster for fathers day.

Not too happy with the stitching around the trigger guard, the belt loops look pretty bad and it rides a bit too high. The later of the two are an easy fix and will be if I end up giving it to him. Not really ever worked with leather before, it's kinda fun, I hope now only produce a finished product I'm happy with, it all comes with doing right.

Anything else I'm missing before I get much further on attempt #2?

Sorry about the size of pic, I'm having a hard time getting one to post at all?!

A quick question, Is 1/4 inch the proper spacing around the parameter of the gun for the stitching? I intended for the gun to seat down a bit more but it would not go and farther.

[particle]

Kinda hard to tell with the tiny picture, but it looks like a great start! Now that you have the first holster made, the second should come even better. I usually have to build a mock-up out of scrap portions of the hide just to tweak the stitch line, cut lines, etc. Now that you can see what you didn't like with the first one, you can address it on the second one.

1/4" offset around the gun is too little. It varies depending on the thickness of the gun, but try 3/4" offset around the gun. If you want the bottom open, offset the bottom about 1/4" beyond the barrel of the gun to protect the muzzle. If you curve the muzzle area inward, this will also help to stiffen the leather at the muzzle to help reinforce the opening at the muzzle-end of the holster.

Edited May 25, 2010 by particle

[troop]

for the stitch line around the gun, i make it half of width of the gun plus a 1/16th of an inch. will make it about 1/16th of an inch less than half in front of the trigger guard. works good for me. i use 8-10 oz W/C.

[NoahL]

You guys are all scientific--measuring stuff, and all . When I did my first holster (which I just posted today, so I'm no expert ) I added half the width of the gun to both sides of my tracing of the gun, which worked out pretty well for me, I think.

[prodgi]

I'm a bit confused.

Half (or so) of the width or thickness?

[prodgi]

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k45/PRODGI/garysfacebook092.jpg

Maybe this will be a better pic?

Edited May 25, 2010 by prodgi

[NoahL]

I'm a bit confused.

Half (or so) of the width or thickness?

See my pattern below:

That is the pattern I started with for the fold-over holster I made. The right edge of the image is where the paper pattern is folded over (which would be centered along the top of the gun), and you can see how I accounted for the thickness of the gun by leaving a margin around the entire gun that is approximately equal to half the thickness of the gun

[particle]

It should be mentioned that only allowing for half of the thickness of the gun does not allow for things like molded or stitched sight channels. It also assumes you can make almost perfect folds in the leather. Leaving too much around the gun can lead to a sloppy fit or a holster that wears out too quickly. But leaving the stitch line too close to the gun will also produce a holster that is very difficult to draw the gun from. Failure to allow for a sight channel will result in leather fuzz all over the front sight and eventually could lead to a weakening of the leather where the front sight begins to scrape it in two.

If I were to follow the 1/2 thickness method, I'd probably add 1/8" on the bottom of the gun, and 1/4" on the slide for the sight channel - at least in front of the ejection port - then drop back down to 1/8" if I was feeling motivated.

[NoahL]

It should be mentioned that only allowing for half of the thickness of the gun does not allow for things like molded or stitched sight channels. It also assumes you can make almost perfect folds in the leather. Leaving too much around the gun can lead to a sloppy fit or a holster that wears out too quickly. But leaving the stitch line too close to the gun will also produce a holster that is very difficult to draw the gun from. Failure to allow for a sight channel will result in leather fuzz all over the front sight and eventually could lead to a weakening of the leather where the front sight begins to scrape it in two.

If I were to follow the 1/2 thickness method, I'd probably add 1/8" on the bottom of the gun, and 1/4" on the slide for the sight channel - at least in front of the ejection port - then drop back down to 1/8" if I was feeling motivated.

Sorry, I should probably note how I achieved that "half the thickness" part. I taped a pencil along the top of the gun to allow for a sight channel, then set the gun on the edge of the folded paper so that the pencil was centered along the fold, then laid it down on the paper. My "half the thickness" also accounts for a sight channel--sorry for forgetting to mention it.

[prodgi]

Thanks for all the input, it is helping a lot.

One more quick question, the holster was finished a few days ago, I did dye the back (rough side of leather) and did not seal it with anything. The smooth side I used Snow-seal as a sealer. Problem is, as you may know, that the dye on the back side is rubbing off. What should I seal it with. Is there a link or tutorial that can give me a detailed process for dying and sealing? I've just been trying to figure this stuff out on my own.

Thanks advance. I wish I found this forum a few weeks ago!!!

[NoahL]

Thanks for all the input, it is helping a lot.

One more quick question, the holster was finished a few days ago, I did dye the back (rough side of leather) and did not seal it with anything. The smooth side I used Snow-seal as a sealer. Problem is, as you may know, that the dye on the back side is rubbing off. What should I seal it with. Is there a link or tutorial that can give me a detailed process for dying and sealing? I've just been trying to figure this stuff out on my own.

Thanks advance. I wish I found this forum a few weeks ago!!!

I didn't dye the inside of the holster I made, but I did give it a coat of Sno-Seal. I would imagine Resolene will be a popular answer to this question, though.