Ok Im Finally Proud Of One

[Wareagle50]

hey yall this is my my best work so far. horse butt body with elephant overlay. i messed up the dang belt slot and my edges are not perfect but i am proud of this one. please let me know what yall think of it, good and bad.

i want to say thanks again for all the help and inspiration from members of this forum. i wish i woulda found it long ago.

TRAE

also, the belt loop on the back shoulda been closer to the front edge of the holster to pull it in closer to the body.

TRAE

Edited June 29, 2011 by Wareagle50

[King's X]

Wareagle

Any proud you should be! Very nice inlay work. Clean!

[Wareagle50]

thanks alot, im not real happy with my boning work but this was my first try at it.

[Eaglestroker]

thanks alot, im not real happy with my boning work but this was my first try at it.

Yours for the 1911 turned out fantastic. I had the same problems with my early work and have gone for the 'less is more' approach on boning with my later work. Keep at it!

[jlaudio29]

If i may suggest one thing. Your belt tunnel on the back appears to be to close to the belt loop on the back, with these to close together, while wearing the holster youll probably notice the top of the gun(front of the holster) will tend to want to twist out away from your body.

Ill show you too picks, the first is of a alter made holster with the belt tunnel moved foward, the second will be of the first holster i made with it to close to the rear tunnel.

Hope this helps. Other then that is looks pretty good!

[Wareagle50]

thanks for the pics . that helps a lot. i could kick myself for not putting the tunnel in the correct spot . live and learn i guess.

[Dwight]

I also suspect that you are trying to do the boning with the leather in a pretty wet condition.

For the boning to really look good, . . . you have to be patient and let the leather get back to a good "cased" condition, . . .

At least that has been my experience, . . .

May God bless,

Dwight

[Wareagle50]

dwight,

i might not have waited long enough but i thought i did. i did the boning with the handle of a butter knife so i thought mabye if i used the correct tool it would look better. this was my first time trying it so i hope to get it right , or at least get better, next go rround. could you tell me how you do it and what tools you use?

[particle]

Wareagle50 - you can buy a good bone folder from Springfield Leather. I personally wet my holster, then while the holster is fairly wet, I begin to "find' the shape of the gun with my fingers. I use double layers of 8-9oz leather (totals about 1/4" thick), and that can be pretty hard to manipulate if the leather isn't wet enough. However, if the leather is too wet, you'll be like a dog chasing his tail - it's fun to watch, but he just keeps running around in circles... As the leather begins to dry out, you can begin refining the detail of the holster with your bone folder's smooth edges, then proceed to the sharper edges of the folder to cut in the detail. I like to use a pear shader to help make the indention in the trigger guard area.

You might also take a look at the craft section of your local art supply store - look for their clay modeling tools. You should be able to buy a set of wooden modeling tools with various edges, shapes, curves, etc. Sand them smooth, seal them really well, then buff them smooth and they should last a long time. Or, you can just use them as-is, and they'll probably work just as well, though they may wear out more quickly.

[Big O]

You've ALMOST got an Avenger design there. Why not step over the edge? Combine the rear belt tunnel and the front reinforcement piece into one wraparound affair.

You might round the corners a bit more, and bring the stitching a wee bit closer to the edge.

And move the sweat shield 1/4" back from where it looks perfect on the pattern, because it always automagically shifts forward about that far when you fold the leather over......

Also, my pet peeve: grip clearance. Looks a little tight.

Nice job, though. I made my first holster for that very model of pistol. It was an abomination, and I wasn't happy with the 2nd or 3rd attempts, either. It's a tough one to get right, and unforgiving on the belt, either digging painfully into you, flopping around, or printing obviously against cover garments.

[Wareagle50]

Wareagle50 - you can buy a good bone folder from Springfield Leather. I personally wet my holster, then while the holster is fairly wet, I begin to "find' the shape of the gun with my fingers. I use double layers of 8-9oz leather (totals about 1/4" thick), and that can be pretty hard to manipulate if the leather isn't wet enough. However, if the leather is too wet, you'll be like a dog chasing his tail - it's fun to watch, but he just keeps running around in circles... As the leather begins to dry out, you can begin refining the detail of the holster with your bone folder's smooth edges, then proceed to the sharper edges of the folder to cut in the detail. I like to use a pear shader to help make the indention in the trigger guard area.

You might also take a look at the craft section of your local art supply store - look for their clay modeling tools. You should be able to buy a set of wooden modeling tools with various edges, shapes, curves, etc. Sand them smooth, seal them really well, then buff them smooth and they should last a long time. Or, you can just use them as-is, and they'll probably work just as well, though they may wear out more quickly.

i did my wet molding pretty much like you said but i think the butter knife was a bad idea.

modeling tools, great idea. thank you.

[Wareagle50]

You've ALMOST got an Avenger design there. Why not step over the edge? Combine the rear belt tunnel and the front reinforcement piece into one wraparound affair.

You might round the corners a bit more, and bring the stitching a wee bit closer to the edge.

And move the sweat shield 1/4" back from where it looks perfect on the pattern, because it always automagically shifts forward about that far when you fold the leather over......

Also, my pet peeve: grip clearance. Looks a little tight.

Nice job, though. I made my first holster for that very model of pistol. It was an abomination, and I wasn't happy with the 2nd or 3rd attempts, either. It's a tough one to get right, and unforgiving on the belt, either digging painfully into you, flopping around, or printing obviously against cover garments.

big o,

thank you for your advice sir. its funny you say that cause i intended on rounding that corner off but i cut my stitch groove without thinking about it so i just left it alone. i didnt have a big enough piece of the black elephant to make my betl tunnel or i wouldve done as you said. putting my overlay on first messed up my plan a bit though. im gonna keep trying to get one perfect.

thanks to all who responded.

TRAE