Wallet Holster?

[Sixer]

I just picked up a new little Kahr P380 and decided to try my hand at a wallet holster.

The result was not quite what I had in mind

My biggest issue is trying to keep the back side of the wallet holster FLAT. No matter what, when I attempt the wet molding and insert the pistol, both sides of the holster end up bulging out.

Could anyone give a few tips on how to wet mold a holster on one side only?

Thanks in advance!

[pete]

I just picked up a new little Kahr P380 and decided to try my hand at a wallet holster.

The result was not quite what I had in mind

My biggest issue is trying to keep the back side of the wallet holster FLAT. No matter what, when I attempt the wet molding and insert the pistol, both sides of the holster end up bulging out.

Could anyone give a few tips on how to wet mold a holster on one side only?

Thanks in advance!

I've made 6 so far. No problem as you have had. I cut the back piece to size,cut the "holster" part, wet and bone it, let it dry, and trim- if needed . Then I sew it to the back,

pete

[Sixer]

I've made 6 so far. No problem as you have had. I cut the back piece to size,cut the "holster" part, wet and bone it, let it dry, and trim- if needed . Then I sew it to the back,

pete

Thanks Pete,

Maybe that's where I'm going wrong... I've been sewing the two sides together before I do any of the boning, just like I would with and OWB or IWB holster. I guess I never thought to wet mold / bone the holster side before sewing the two sides together! I'll give it a shot.

[Normow]

Thanks Pete,

Maybe that's where I'm going wrong... I've been sewing the two sides together before I do any of the boning, just like I would with and OWB or IWB holster. I guess I never thought to wet mold / bone the holster side before sewing the two sides together! I'll give it a shot.

I would wet mold it right on the bench top. Tack it down in the sewing channel. You can use tacks recommended by Stohlman, sprayed with polyurethane to keep them from darkening the wet leather. My 2 cents.

[olliesrevenge]

It is possible to build a flat molded holster without going the old school route of casing, and wet molding the outer piece (& using tacks to hold it down, etc ) before hand sewing it onto the back piece. I did it as a matter of necessity because I'm using a machine to sew and it wasn't possible to get the stitch line as close as I wanted to the outline of the gun (particularly on the trigger guard side) with the machine since the stitch line is butted up against a "wall" of leather.

The trick is to cut the outer piece of leather larger (significantly so) than the inner piece, since it is the one wrapping around the gun. It is a tricky process to get just the right amount of leather bunched up on the topside when building a holster this way, and if you decide to try it, be warned - heartache awaits you (don't use your prime cuts of leather for starters). I'm hesitant to post a "formula" for doing this, because each gun is different; a Glock will require more "excess" leather on the topside than say, a 1911.

If you don't mind holes cut in the outside of your holster, you could go the "Aker" route and make a relief cut in front of the trigger guard that will significantly reduce the geometric complexity of finding the right amount of "excess" leather, as it allows the outer molded piece to simply fold down 90 degrees at the triggerguard and the dust cover. If you study the holster on the front page of this site...

http://www.akerleather.com/

...you'll get the idea.

If you just want to build one of these and you are hand stitching, my advice is to go old school and take Pete's advice. If you want to build a bunch though, and / or you are machine sewing, it might be worth it to "do the math".

Believe it or not, the Glock 19 holster in the photo's below was glued up, and stitched on my Tippmann Boss before wet molding.

The mag pouch was built the old school way where the outer piece was molded first, allowed to dry, then stitched to the inner piece.

[TexasJack]

I took a small piece of wood and made a 'dummy' pistol first. (Those little semiautos are pretty square and don't take much shaping.) I wet molded one layer of leather on a board, using the dummy gun. Once dry, it can be sewn onto a flat piece of leather and any final fitting done with the real gun. Then another piece of leather is glued to the rough side of the flat part and sewn together so that the flat side is stiff enough that the pistol won't "print" in the pocket.

[Bronson]

I've done pocket holsters where I only wet the one side of the holster I want molded. It seems to work on thin guns.

Bronson

[Rayban]

Here's one I just completed, wet molded the front side first, then stitched it to the back panel. In this case, the front part is 5-6oz. the back is 8-9oz.

[TwinOaks]

....Get a piece of plexiglass, aluminum, steel, old cake pan,(anything thin but rigid) and place it between the gun and the back panel when you do your molding. That will let you do the majority of it without bowing the back piece. Then remove (unless it's really thin) and do the final molding for retention. I have a piece of 1/16th inch SS I use for this. After removing the 'shim' it's just a tiny bit more molding to have everything where I want it.

[Mattkcc]

I'm a retired LEO and while I'm new to making holsters, I'm an old hand at carrying. I carry a S&W 38 snubby and a little Ruger 380. I started making my own due to being a lefty and I didn't like what's on the market. I make my holsters for the front pocket since even my little 380 is tuff to conceal in the back pocket, also there are tatical reasons for wanting it the front. First I don't wet mold any leather in the finger guard or any tight place, also I don't mold past the center of the trigger guard. When I grab my gun I want it to come out of the holster. I have the grain side against the gun and the flesh side on the outside. This helps ensure a smooth draw and the flesh side provides friction against the pocket. Another reason not to do much wet forming is I don't want the gun "printing" on the pocket. The holster is supposed to conceal the gun not advertise it. I find no difference in comfort with having the back total flat vs somewhat shaped. I also stitch about a half inch from the edge, this way I can trim the holster if my new pants pocket is smaller.

I make mine from one piece of leather folded over and I have more the one holster for each gun. The reason for this is simple my pants pockets vary in size and so must my holsters. The commercial holsters are made one size fits all, that means they have to make it for a small pocket so it will fit any any pocket. When you use the holster in pants with a larger pocket it wont sit where you want it. It will flop forward or back or even on its side. Also I want the handle of the gun toward the top of the pocket so I don't have to dig down in the pocket to find my gun, more of a issue with the little 380.

Another problem that I'm going to have to tackle is sweat. It is highly corrosive and will quickly rust a blued gun. Since my 380 is blued its back to the drawing board. I'll probably need to make the holster in pieces. The back which is against my leg will be made up of a piece of plastic sandwiched between two pieces of thin leather. The plastic will act as a vapor barrier and hopefully protect my gun. The front will be a separate piece of leather with no vapor barrier. When I make a new pocket holster I wear it all day and until I go to bed for several days to see how the holster performs first is it comfortable if not it gets scrapped, I don't want to feel like I'm toting a gun and is the gun held securely and not shift around in my pocket.

Edited November 28, 2010 by Mattkcc

[Sixer]

Great info guys! Can't wait to give some of these methods a try and see what happens.

Thanks for all the help