New P220 Iwb Holster

[Shooter McGavin]

So after seeing the threads started by forum member nas for his #4 and #5 holster projects which were inspired by the Occidental Phoenix design, I decided to take a stab at it myself for a friend who carries a P220 and just happened to be looking for a new IWB holster. I convinced him to let me try out this new design, to which he agreed without even knowing what I had in mind.

I cut leather for this on Tuesday, and pretty much have it finished today. It was certainly tricky in spots, especially where the front and back sections of the forward wing meet up at. This was also my first attempt at a sewn in sight channel and I'm very pleased with how they worked out.

Material used is 7/8oz Hermann Oak leather, shark sttrips from Springfield, Fiebings Pro Oil dyes in Mahogany and Black, Angelus 610 on the black, and my mix of Super Sheen and Satin Sheen on the mahogany.

So anyway, heres the results. I hope he likes shark!

[cjcinin317]

Awesome looking holster! Been wanting to do a sewn in sight rail. Any tips?

Agian great looking work and a really cool design.

[Shooter McGavin]

Awesome looking holster! Been wanting to do a sewn in sight rail. Any tips?

Agian great looking work and a really cool design.

Thanks!

For the sight channel I used some ~11oz leather strips about 0.30" wide. I cut them to run from the bottom of the holster to the top of the ejection port. Spaced out 1/4" from each side of the centerline, and glued them in place. On each piece, the stitching was done near the inside edge in a very deep groove, and the outside edge was bevel heavily with a french beveler.

Good luck on your project!

[cjcinin317]

Thanks for the info. I'll give it a shot on the next one. Wish me luck.

Thanks again.

C.J.

[Wareagle50]

That serves as a reminder that I still have a long way to go.

very nice sir.

[Haystacker]

I'm impressed.

[particle]

Very slick! Is that basically a clam shell design with reinforcements sewn on before folding the holster closed? Nice looking holster. Can I ask why you used different finishes on the black and mahogany?

[Shooter McGavin]

Thanks all!

Adam, I just wanted the black to be glossier than the mahogany, which it is, but didnt show up as such in the photos. Not sure why that is.

As far as construction method, you are correct. I sewed the back piece on with the Boss, then wet the wing and bent it back 90 degrees. I then wet and bent the front section at the wing and glued the front section in place. The entire front panel is hand sewn because I couldnt get the Boss tight enough into the bends.

Heres a crappy progress pic from the iPhone

[particle]

Cool - thanks for the pic. Makes total sense. Not sure I'd ever seen any his holsters before.

[mmirob]

Wow such nice detail work. Did you dye after all the stitching was complete and holster completely assembled? If so, did you just mask and airbrush or paint it on?

[evandailey]

Shooter, whose leather are you using?

[Shooter McGavin]

I generally do all my dye work after the holster has been wet molded and dried in the hot box. I use wool daubers for the most part, however, when there are stitched on panels such as this, I get as close as I can with the dauber then finish with a 3/8 wide flat artists brush. That lets you get in under the edges of the panel some if they are properly rounded and burnished. For the edges I use burlap wrapped around a wood slicker and saturated with the yellow paste saddle soap. After they are nice and smooth I use that same artists brush to apply whatever dye I use on the edges, in this case it was black.

This was made with Hermann Oak leather purchased from Springfield Leather.

Thanks!

[woodandsteel]

Very nice! I was just thinking about trying this style the other day. Could you post a picture of the sight channel from the inside?

[Shooter McGavin]

I forgot to snap pics of the inside. Sorry

[nas]

really nice holster! i have plans for another spinoff of the occidental for my next holster. each time i find something i can tweek to make it better for my needs.