Horse Hide

[luvthegun]

Greatings to everyone. I have been crawling around here reading just about everything. I have been making holsters for about 3 months. Out of cowhide. Seen an ad here for horse butts. And started thinking. Is horse better than cow. Is it harder to work with? Does it accept dye the same? And should I give it a try? Going to see if I can post some pics of a couple holsters I made.

[Shooter McGavin]

Horsehide.... just read an interesting article regarding horse vs cow on Friday while I was looking for pre-cut horsehide belt liners ( no joy, BTW ). The article I read was written by a man who says he has 30 years experience working with both cow and horse, and he feels that the cow will outperform the horse in all aspects of gunleather. If youre interested in reading it, I'll scour through my browser history and see what I can dig up.

The PF9 holster looks great, I like the concept of the clip on with the built in cant. Most clip types ride straight up.

The Bersa holster I'm going to nitpick a couple of things. The first being the trigger guard coverage. Theres a lot of trigger and trigger guard exposed. Dont know if its a real safety concern, but most prefer a bit more coverage, builders and end users alike. Second, You might find it better to move you belt slots away from the gun a bit. Unless you plan for that to be between the pant and belt, you might find some difficulty with the slots that close. The slots themselves look nice though. What did you use to cut them out with?

_dan

[marine mp]

Andy Arratoonian from Horseshoe Leather Products has been making leather product for 35 years. He has a good article on cow vs. horse for leather holsters on his horseshoe leather site. The holsters look great. I agree with Dan to some extent on the trigger-guard area. Not so much about the coverage, as it looks o.k., but that the trigger itself is molded into the leather. For me, thats a bad concept. As you are holstering the weapon, it could accidently go "boom". Also, the belt slots look to be at different angles, I myself like to keep them at the same angle, although that just my preference. All in all, Great job. Semper-fi Mike

[luvthegun]

Thanks. The PF9 I really like. When talking to people some said they like clips others said the holster would pull out with the gun. So was thinking if the gun was on a cant then the draw angle would be ina way tio cause a pinch effect on the belt when drawing. So far it has worked.

The Bersa. Even though the gun is empty (no mag and I unload all firearms while working on them) I forgot to decock. That being said it is not possible for the holster to pull trigger all the way back to fire. Especially in DA. Holster was designed to be carried decocked and safety on. The belt loops were cut with a 1/4 inch round punch and then finished with wood chisel. Then burnished with sanded down dowl in hand drill. The angle I am working on. I will post a pic of one I finished today. That are straight.

As far as horse vs cow. Seen some 36 X 14ish horse for 12 bucks. Didn't say how thick. But seemed like a good buy. I crank out about 4 to 5 holsters a week. Sell them on ebay for a couple of bucks. Just enough to buy more material. I learn more by doing. Remember before Feb - never touched leather. I think I'm doing well. I love working with leather. It is one thing I can focus on. Brings me peace. Thanks

[Rayban]

Is horse better than cow. Is it harder to work with? Does it accept dye the same? And should I give it a try?

I would like to address your questions based on my limited experience with horse hide.

Horse seems to be more dense...tighter, if you will....than cow.

I wouldn't say it's harder to work with, but different. It doesn't mold as easily, not does it carve and stamp as easily as cow.

It certainly does not dye the same as cow.....horse ends up being kinda splotchy.....I have much smoother results with cow.

Should you try it? For sure......the butts that Springfield sells for $10 is a great deal and enough leather there to do several projects....then YOU can determine if horse is for you.

[luvthegun]

I would like to address your questions based on my limited experience with horse hide.

Horse seems to be more dense...tighter, if you will....than cow.

I wouldn't say it's harder to work with, but different. It doesn't mold as easily, not does it carve and stamp as easily as cow.

It certainly does not dye the same as cow.....horse ends up being kinda splotchy.....I have much smoother results with cow.

Should you try it? For sure......the butts that Springfield sells for $10 is a great deal and enough leather there to do several projects....then YOU can determine if horse is for you.

Thanks for the info. So horse is much harder to work with. Is it worth the effort? I wouldn't mind being able to say I worked with horse. But need there to be a good reason to try. I find cowhide easy and fun to work with. So is this something people look for in a holster? Horse hide? Does it hold up much better than cowhide?

Thanks again

[MADMAX22]

Just limited experience working with horse not with holsters yet but with a few other smaller projects. What Rayban said was pretty much spot on. I have experienced all the same trials and errors. I think with horse since it is denser you can get away with a little thinner leather then you would with cow but its not like you really get much of a choice in thickness with horsehide. I think horse wears very nicely. It burnishes up and seems to handle the elements pretty darn well. I personally have really liked how it looks after it has been used for a while.

Like Rayban said get a couple or one of the $10 dollar butts and you will have plenty of good usable leather to try out.

[joke55]

I bought one of the horse butts, but haven't used it yet. I also bought some 1 1/2 inch wide horse strips that I have used. They are much denser than cow, but seem a little more brittle when finished. I used the strips in place of cow on a couple projects, and not really sold on them. I may try to oil the leather more before working with it and see if that helps, but found it cracking on bends that weren't that sharp.

[rdb]

I use horse all the time. It's great to work with. Cuts smoothly. Molds nicely. Just not a carving type leather. The butts you buy are not that big, and thickness varies all over. You can get at least one strong holster out of one butt, using the stronger edge of the hide. Money wise it's a good deal.

Here's a sample:

[JRCHolsters]

I pretty much only use Horsehide. I don't really find it harder to work with, just different. I am surprised you are having cracking issues. Try wetting it a touch more before bending it. It has a tighter grain and I personally find it requires a bit more moisture to work with. I really like the character of the leather when done.

[BigRiverLeather]

I've used quite a bit of horsehide and actually enjoy working with it. I burnishes beautifully and easily. I was scared about the dye problems at first, but have never really had an issue with it. I'll bet I've had more problems with dying cow than horse (brown!) Maybe it is because I usually airbrush it.

As far as cracking, I'll bet it's a lower grade cut that already has some cracking in it. I've spread it around quite a bit to try to find who has the best hides. The very first piece was the best one I ever got, from Pete at.....damn, can't remember the name, someone here knows who I'm talking about. This year he only has 4-5 ounce left I guess. Been thinking about ordering some and doubling it up and make lined horsehide.

Brutten's (spelling) Village sent me some very nice ones to. The cheap ones for $10-$12 each have usually sucked.

For IWB, Horsehide ROCKS! It's thin and very comfortable.

I find it is no harder to form or bone my leather than cow.

[luvthegun]

Thanks for all the responses. I think I will give it a try. But first I am going to try a stingray inlay. Working with leather is like crack to me. Had my first taste in Feb of this year and I have not been able to stop. And I don't want to stop.

[Reaper]

I'm using horse butt to line the inside of IWB straps. Makes them more durable, stiffer and should work well with Sings and Belts for guns I would think.

[Timbo]

Horse hide is great stuff......If I could buy it in the same sizes and weights as cow.....I would never buy cow again. The edges are so easy to burnish and look great. It is denser and will outlast cowhide by a long shot. It is a little harder to mold and tool. If you will rub some saddle soap on it before you start tooling you'll find that your swivel knife will glide right over it. When stamping the images burnish better than cow too.

If given a choice between hard rolled and soft rolled (Seigel has both) choose the soft rolled. Use the hard rolled for strap goods and soft for everything else. Several years ago I got some 8-9 oz horse and they were pretty long pieces too. I made myself a belt and will probably never have to make myself another.

Tim

Edited May 1, 2011 by Timbo

[woodandsteel]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have a question about Horsehide for you IWB holster makers.

I've heard horsehide holds up better to sweat than cowhide. Is this without a finish like Resolene? How do you finish your horsehide holsters?

I live in the humid South and sweat A LOT. I'm wondering if horsehide would have any real advantage over cow once both are properly finished.

[Rayban]

I've been using Resolene (50/50 mix) and I'm liking the results. It doesn't end up having too much of a sheen to it.....more natural looking and I likie...

[1911 Operator]

Andy Arratoonian from Horseshoe Leather Products has been making leather product for 35 years. He has a good article on cow vs. horse for leather holsters on his horseshoe leather site. The holsters look great. I agree with Dan to some extent on the trigger-guard area. Not so much about the coverage, as it looks o.k., but that the trigger itself is molded into the leather. For me, thats a bad concept. As you are holstering the weapon, it could accidently go "boom". Also, the belt slots look to be at different angles, I myself like to keep them at the same angle, although that just my preference. All in all, Great job. Semper-fi Mike

Molding in the Trigger Guard could only effect the trigger if there was enough room in the holster for the gun to pass farther down. The gun line stitching prevents the gun from going down far enough for any molding to effect the trigger. Unless the molding is in the top edge, then there would be a problem. I did see a situation where a CCW'er had a older well used, didn't look well cared for holster that the top edge was pinched and formed a "V" and the corner of the V contacted the trigger, because the gun had room to continue traveling down, it did go BOOM, it didn't hit the owner, but made a new drain hole in his car. moral of the story, pay attention to the condition of your leather.