My First Holster.....comments Wanted

[colt1911]

Hey yall! I just finished up my first holster and wanted to post up here for comments. This is my first post on here, but ive been reading on here for a while....picking up tips, advice, and ideas where i coujld. All comments welcome....good or bad!!!

[TexasJack]

When you compare this to others you've seen, what do YOU see that's different? Sometimes that alone can help you find areas to improve.

The one thing that stands out to me is that the edges look 'fuzzy'. They need to be slicked better.

'Course, that may be partly caused by the huge size of the photo. It sorta magnifies everything.

Overall, looks pretty sturdy and a good job for your first.

[mattsh]

First off - welcome aboard! Always glad to see new members on the board.

My .02:

The design is well done. It has good overall lines, curvy and not blocky.

The stitching looks good, as best I can tell.

The molding could be a little sharper, maybe done when leather was too wet?

The sight track needs to be only from the ejection port to the muzzle, if you run the sight track the complete length of the slide over time that extra gap will get loose and you will lose retention.

Overall a good first holster that looks well and is functional.

Nice pistol as well. I really like my Para's.

Good job.

[colt1911]

When you compare this to others you've seen, what do YOU see that's different? Sometimes that alone can help you find areas to improve.

The one thing that stands out to me is that the edges look 'fuzzy'. They need to be slicked better.

'Course, that may be partly caused by the huge size of the photo. It sorta magnifies everything.

Overall, looks pretty sturdy and a good job for your first.

Ya sorry about the huge picture....i wasnt aware i had to resize it.....not much of a computer guru.... What pixel size do yall usually use when you upload pictures?

The one thing im not happy with is when i cinch my belt tight, it crushes the holster pocket making it hard to draw the pistol...and almost impossible to reholster afterward. I think moving the belt slots a little farther away from the holster pocket might remedy this though.

Here's a smaller picture....hopefully

Edited November 12, 2010 by colt1911

[colt1911]

First off - welcome aboard! Always glad to see new members on the board.

My .02:

The design is well done. It has good overall lines, curvy and not blocky.

The stitching looks good, as best I can tell.

The molding could be a little sharper, maybe done when leather was too wet?

The sight track needs to be only from the ejection port to the muzzle, if you run the sight track the complete length of the slide over time that extra gap will get loose and you will lose retention.

Overall a good first holster that looks well and is functional.

Nice pistol as well. I really like my Para's.

Good job.

Thanks for the input!! Thinking back now, the leather was too wet....plus i couldnt find anything smaller than the rounded end of my stitch groover. I looked for half an hour for a sharpie and couldnt find one for the life of me....my girlfriend keeps tellin me i need to put stuff where it belongs.....im startin to think she might be right!!! lol. Ive got 2 more in the works....one for my Para P10 and one for my new XDM 3.8. Ill post them when i finish em up on my next days off

[Reaper]

like it very much. nice gat too

[Big O]

For a first try, that looks GREAT!

I'd want the stitch lines a little closer to the outline of the pistol, but that's something I've wrestled with a lot myself.

There's something in the finish that looks odd in the first picture. Could be gouges from boning, could be hairs from the brush you used to apply the finish. Hard to see.

I really really REALLY like the concentric stitching.

[dickf]

Welcome aboard!

Your first holster looks really great! The belt slide is a very old, yet workhorse of a pattern.

I would agree with the other posters that the stitch line is much too far away from the gun and should be brought in. The leather was clearly too wet when you decided to mold it and that's why the boning isn't sharper (not to mention you weren't prepared with the right tools). The excessive wetness is also what produced all those crinkle lines that Big O was wondering about.

What weight leather did you use? When you molded it, did you bend the sides in a little to mimic your hip? If you make your holster flat, when you put it on it will want to collapse. Molding on a curve combined with leather that is of adequate thickness will prevent this. The fully loaded Govt. 1911 is a heavy gun, so thin leather won't cut it. I'd recommend 8-9 oz or so for this application.

Anyway, for a first try, it looks leaps and bounds better than mine! Keep it up and don't forget: we like pictures around here.

[particle]

I agree with dickf - you need to curve your holster while it's still wet to help make sure it doesn't have to flex too much when the belt is tightened down. Excessive flexing will break down the holster in short order. Here is a photo of a 1911 pancake I made a while back. I mold my holsters on a flat surface, then bend the wings by hand as a final step in the molding process until I can look straight through one slot, out the other slot, and the view not be blocked by the back side of the holster.

[colt1911]

Welcome aboard!

Your first holster looks really great! The belt slide is a very old, yet workhorse of a pattern.

I would agree with the other posters that the stitch line is much too far away from the gun and should be brought in. The leather was clearly too wet when you decided to mold it and that's why the boning isn't sharper (not to mention you weren't prepared with the right tools). The excessive wetness is also what produced all those crinkle lines that Big O was wondering about.

What weight leather did you use? When you molded it, did you bend the sides in a little to mimic your hip? If you make your holster flat, when you put it on it will want to collapse. Molding on a curve combined with leather that is of adequate thickness will prevent this. The fully loaded Govt. 1911 is a heavy gun, so thin leather won't cut it. I'd recommend 8-9 oz or so for this application.

Anyway, for a first try, it looks leaps and bounds better than mine! Keep it up and don't forget: we like pictures around here.

Thanks for the warm welcome yall! Im using 7-8 oz. leather.....the lowest grade leather Tandy had...it was on sale. I didnt see any point in spending the extra money at this point in the game for top grain when i wasnt sure if this hobby would turn out. Plus i kinda liked the visible grain and scars...lol. Will top grain mold and bone easier or finish better than the cheap stuff? Is it easier to work with? Is there any difference in em besides the visible attributes?

I bent the sides in a little but not near enough. Thats one of the many things i learned after the fact. The crinkle lines might be the remains of the barbed wire border i stamped around the holster pocket. They faded alot after the molding.....another lesson learned.