Couple Of New Holsters

[Big O]

[troop]

very nice Big O!! what are they finished with?

Tony

[RWP]

very niceeee! and hey if ya dont want that revolver and the holster i'll take em off your hands for ya lol seriously, great job i like em

[Big O]

very nice Big O!! what are they finished with?

Tony

Resolene and water. Somewhere in the general vicinity of 50/50, as several here have recommended.

I'd love to find something that has about HALF the shine.

very niceeee! and hey if ya dont want that revolver and the holster i'll take em off your hands for ya lol seriously, great job i like em

LoL! Thanks, but I don't think their ACTUAL owner would have appreciated that.....

[katsass]

Resolene and water. Somewhere in the general vicinity of 50/50, as several here have recommended.

I'd love to find something that has about HALF the shine.

LoL! Thanks, but I don't think their ACTUAL owner would have appreciated that.....

BigO: a comment, if you don't mind, from a grumpy old man. On your wheelgun holster you might like the result a little better if you narrow that puppy down some. There seems to be quite a bit of leather between the trigger guard and the stitching. This can lead to the holster loosening up over time. I generally try to keep the welt as close to the trigger guard as possible, basically just enough room for the stitching.......and the fold should be tight around the the top strap of the gun. You'll end up with a more sleek line to the finished holster...be it wheelgun or auto. The resulting belt loop will not show much either, but will still do the job quite well. Just a suggestion. A couple of pics of each type (wheelgun & auto) as examples. Mike

[Big O]

The guy I made it for liked the western design, so I started out with the intent to make it much like a western holster:

I thought it fit quite well at that point. But he wanted it molded, so I molded it before applying the finish. I was a bit surprised at how much "open space" there was after that.

[dickf]

Resolene and water. Somewhere in the general vicinity of 50/50, as several here have recommended.

I'd love to find something that has about HALF the shine.

It could be the method that you're using to apply it. I use an airbrush with a solution of ~ 50/50 water to resolene and get a dull finish. I usually force dry the holster with a hair dryer after they've been sprayed. It looks like you might be brushing or dipping yours. I'd recommend giving the airbrush a try.

This is the finish I get when I use the airbrush

The western style holster isn't really my thing, but the overall design is okay. I think the stitch line should definitely be closer to the gun and the outline of the pattern should flow a little more. I think I would have also narrowed the cutout in the belt loop to the width of 1" or so. I'm unsure of the purpose of the bottom slot cut in the Beretta (I think that's what it is) holster? The lower cutout created some thin pieces that are failure points. Other than that, it looks like a solid Avenger with adequate grip clearance.

Anyway, good progress - keep practicing!

[Big O]

Dick, I might just try the airbrush route. I've got two airbrushes left over from my custom truck obsession days.

Yes, I brushed the finish on.

The lower cutout in the Beretta holster is a second belt channel. The holster may be worn either strong side or crossdraw. More stable in the former than the latter, which is what I explained to the customer.

[Big O]

What hardware did you use in this holster to attach the belt loops to the body of the holster? Pull-the-dot snaps? Line 24 snaps? Chicago screws?

[dickf]

I think you'll really like the way the topcoat comes out with the airbrush. It's much more even and consistent.

The straps are fastened with a machine screw through the male part of the snap into a tee nut. The snaps are hard-action Line 24's.

You should consider that avenger pattern and make changes as necessary. If your customer has a gun belt, I don't see how he/she will wear it using the lower slot and it also creates an unnecessary point of failure, in my opinion.

Edited November 12, 2010 by dickf

[Big O]

You should consider that avenger pattern and make changes as necessary. If your customer has a gun belt, I don't see how he/she will wear it using the lower slot and it also creates an unnecessary point of failure, in my opinion.

The crossdraw position does not use the belt slot, as your photoshop clearly shows. Hence my earlier comment that it's not as stable in that position.

Look, a "jack of all trades" is, of necessity, a master of none. This customer wanted a multi-tool. Should I have sold him pliers, AND two screwdrivers, AND a file, AND a saw, AND a knife, instead?

[dickf]

The crossdraw position does not use the belt slot, as your photoshop clearly shows. Hence my earlier comment that it's not as stable in that position.

Look, a "jack of all trades" is, of necessity, a master of none. This customer wanted a multi-tool. Should I have sold him pliers, AND two screwdrivers, AND a file, AND a saw, AND a knife, instead?

Then don't make it. Have some standards when it comes to safety. It's not a bad thing to turn someone down because you feel their request is unsafe and potentially dangerous/deadly to themselves or others. You might prevent someone from getting hurt and your peers will respect you more for it. If it's something that you feel you must make, then spend time to refine the pattern to get things just right.

With that, I'm giving you constructive criticism - it's nothing personal. You're saying that this holster, that someone is using with a loaded firearm, is meant to be hanging on the belt by that 1 little piece of leather and nothing else. This is one of the most reckless things I've seen regarding holster designs. That holster with it's loaded cargo is going to be flopping all over the place. Hopefully the user doesn't need to run or do anything else physical while wearing it.

[Big O]

Then don't make it. Have some standards when it comes to safety. It's not a bad thing to turn someone down because you feel their request is unsafe and potentially dangerous/deadly to themselves or others. You might prevent someone from getting hurt and your peers will respect you more for it. If it's something that you feel you must make, then spend time to refine the pattern to get things just right.

With that, I'm giving you constructive criticism - it's nothing personal. You're saying that this holster, that someone is using with a loaded firearm, is meant to be hanging on the belt by that 1 little piece of leather and nothing else. This is one of the most reckless things I've seen regarding holster designs. That holster with it's loaded cargo is going to be flopping all over the place. Hopefully the user doesn't need to run or do anything else physical while wearing it.

You're right. While I did test the holster out, and it seemed perfectly stable in both positions, that might well change with time and wear.

I apologize for taking it personally, and getting snippy.

This is a design I've been struggling with. I made one previously, for a Taurus Public Defender, that was more stable and secure, but also monstrously large. It might just not be practical in anything other than a pancake design.

Any ideas, anyone?

[Nooj]

Nice looking holsters, Big-O. I especially like the shape and two-tone on the smaller one :-)

As far as the dual carry thing (strongside/crossdraw) I wonder if you could use another layer for the strongside beltloop, and that way the two carry options wouldn't be going under the same piece. So you'd be able to stitch along the tunnel for the crossdraw carry , making it more stable. It would make it a bit fatter on the backside though... Does that make sense? I was just thinking about how to stablize it a bit and still keep both wearing options.

Keep up the good work, bud!

Nooj

[Big O]

Nice looking holsters, Big-O. I especially like the shape and two-tone on the smaller one :-)

As far as the dual carry thing (strongside/crossdraw) I wonder if you could use another layer for the strongside beltloop, and that way the two carry options wouldn't be going under the same piece. So you'd be able to stitch along the tunnel for the crossdraw carry , making it more stable. It would make it a bit fatter on the backside though... Does that make sense? I was just thinking about how to stablize it a bit and still keep both wearing options.

Keep up the good work, bud!

Nooj

Thanks!!!!

A bit......complicated, but that might be just the ticket!