Spring Steel For Summer Special Style Holster?

[RWP]

hey guys, im thinking of trying to make a "summer special" style of holster like the milt sparks ones for my next project and the one thing that completely confuses me is the "strip of spring steel" in the mouth of the holster, i understand what its for, to keep the holster open if you ever have to draw your gun, but im not quite sure how to go about 1. getting the spring steel, and 2. actually sewing it into the leather. also i was wondering if anyone could pm me with the best method of actually molding the front of the holster to where it shows the slide line along with the ejection port and trigger guard where applicable? thanks guys!! :D

[Dwight]

I'm not sure where you got the "spring steel needed" information, . . . 'taint necessary.

Properly molded, . . . properly finished, . . . properly sewn, . . . it'll hold open.

The "best method of actually molding the front of the holster to where it shows the slide line.........." comes from a pile of scrap leather you form into holsters and practice boning and molding them.

They're also good for giving to your friends and shooting buddies, . . . they'll sometimes trade for a box of shells or something.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited June 28, 2010 by Dwight

[RWP]

I'm not sure where you got the "spring steel needed" information, . . . 'taint necessary.

Properly molded, . . . properly finished, . . . properly sewn, . . . it'll hold open.

The "best method of actually molding the front of the holster to where it shows the slide line.........." comes from a pile of scrap leather you form into holsters and practice boning and molding them.

They're also good for giving to your friends and shooting buddies, . . . they'll sometimes trade for a box of shells or something.

May God bless,

Dwight

thank ya dwight i appreciate the info! looks like i'll need a bone folder from tandy! ( too bad i live halfway between chattanooga and atlanta that means i gotta pay tandy's crazy shipping prices lol) seriously though thank ya

[Dwight]

thank ya dwight i appreciate the info! looks like i'll need a bone folder from tandy! ( too bad i live halfway between chattanooga and atlanta that means i gotta pay tandy's crazy shipping prices lol) seriously though thank ya

You may want to re think spending your money for their bone folder. The tools you need are easily made or "liberated" from other sources. One of the most used is the rounded end of a "sharpie" pen, . . . it will bone areas around the trigger guard, barrel, shroud, etc. . . . a flat bladed scredriver that has the corners VERY SMOOTHLY SANDED OFF to make a rounded spoon, then bent over at about a 30 degree angle, . . . a 1/8 and a 1/4 inch ball bearing brazed onto opposite ends of a rod.

Mold the weapon as best you can with your fingers and thumbs (cut them fingernails off close) then go to the boning with the tools. There are no books, no broshures, no videos that I know of, . . . but practice and trial and error will soon educate you. One of the guys that I met on another site swears by his butter knife for boning out the ejection ports on 1911's, . . . use what you got.

The key, . . . most important point about the tool: it must be smoother than old Kruschev's bald head, . . . no scratches, dinks, etc.

May God bless,

Dwight

[gruntpain1775]

I use a deer antler for boning. Cut off one of the times that was really smooth from wear and it is perfect for boning.

[BigRiverLeather]

I logged on today to put up a post about getting the steel in a reinforced mouth, then I saw the OP beat me to it. Nobody has answered his question yet, other than you don't need it. I agree, a well built holster with the proper weight of leather and construction should stay open. However, the market demands this feature. There are many buyers out there who insist on having this.

If you have ever seen and felt a Summer Special or a VMII, the steel used inside of those holsters is VERY rigid. I'm confounded on how they acomplish this. DOes MS have some special sewing rigs that allow them to sew inside a small radius like there is in the mouth of a holster? I find it hard to believe they bend it after they stitch it in flat. They are all to consistent without any damage to the leather. MS is not the only one. TT does it, Brigade does it, Del Fatti does it. 4 of the biggest names in the biz are doing it.

I've done it on one of my holsters, the DLC which is similar to the VMII. I have a customer who owns a steel fab shop and I asked him for his thoughts. He gave me a variety of different spring steel materials and some not tempered, different thickness and withds etc. Some of what I had was steel banding amterial for banding things to pallets. I used something similar to this though it was not rigid enough for what I wanted to accomplish so I epoxied 2 of these pieces together. I stitched it in after it was bent by hand. What a PIA!

I want to know how that heavier steel rieinforcement is placed into the mouth of the holster. Not interested in hearing about how it is necessary though.

Anyone?

[Denster]

OK! I've never done this but if I were going to this is how I would go about it. The simpelest way would be to get some music wire about .040 thick. It is tempered to a soft spring temper. That means bent past a certain point it takes a set and holds its shape. Form it into a enlongated loop 1/2" shorter and 1/2" narrower than your leather reinforcing collar. This gives you room to sew. While the holster is still flat put it under your collar and glue the collar in place and sew. Should provide all of the necessary reinforcement. You could do the same thing with flat stock on the order of .030 O1 tool steel if you have the means to heat treat it.

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

Sew the leather reinforcement over some 20 gauge galvanized sheet steel and bend it by hand over your dummy gun before finishing as you normally would. You may be surprised how rigid this feels between the tension in the leather and the sheet steel.

If you aren't satisfied with the sturdiness, experiment with different pattern sizes and sheet steel weights until you get the right results for your application.