Holster Process

[mrfixit]

New guy here, couldn't find exactly the answer i need.

Im making a holser, OWB fairly simple. Have a pattern I made, and its looking good so far. What I have a question is on the actuall process order.

So far I have

cut the pattern

trimed

beveled edges

tooled (limited border pattern)

dyed

????

next would have to be glue, sew, case i think

what then? What or how do I put a protective finish on?

I already know this holster is going to be a practice run. The color went wrong. I was using Feibings Cordovan and it came out almost black, not what I was looking for. i wanted a redish brown, or a brownish red. So i'll play with dyes and do it again. I'm going to finish this one to see what all problems with the design come up and how to fix them.

Do i have the process right so far?

What and how to finish? oil?

Looking forward to the ideas.

[TwinOaks]

-glue, sew, ........refinish the edges that shouldn't have been done until you have the front and back in place.........stitch, case, mold to gun of choice, heat to set the molding, oil less than you think you need and wait for it to soak in and equalize through the leather, apply finish / top coat / sealer.

You're final step will be to protect the leather, so for most beginners I recommend using Katsass' formula of 50-50 Mop-n-glo to water, sprayed on if you can, or dipped. Let dry. Let dry some more. Apply light coat of neutral shoe polish and buff. If you have other things to use for the final coat, by all means please feel free to experiment. Using the home made Resolene is pretty straight forward, CHEAP, and it works......for those who don't want to spend money trying out different finishes.

[jlaudio29]

Go to youtube and search for "how to make a leather holster" find the 3 part tutorial posted by Particle, he is a resident member on here.

[Josh Ashman]

-glue, sew, ........refinish the edges that shouldn't have been done until you have the front and back in place.........stitch, case, mold to gun of choice, heat to set the molding, oil less than you think you need and wait for it to soak in and equalize through the leather, apply finish / top coat / sealer.

You're final step will be to protect the leather, so for most beginners I recommend using Katsass' formula of 50-50 Mop-n-glo to water, sprayed on if you can, or dipped. Let dry. Let dry some more. Apply light coat of neutral shoe polish and buff. If you have other things to use for the final coat, by all means please feel free to experiment. Using the home made Resolene is pretty straight forward, CHEAP, and it works......for those who don't want to spend money trying out different finishes.

Mike,

I usually make western style gun rigs however I do get the occasional concealed carry type order and I'm not familiar with heating to set the molding. I have heard it mentioned on here a few times and I'd like to give it a try but I'd rather not experiment too much. Would you be willing to go into a little more detail on this? Or, can you point me to a thread that goes over it in more depth?

Thank you,

Josh

[mrfixit]

Mike,

I usually make western style gun rigs however I do get the occasional concealed carry type order and I'm not familiar with heating to set the molding. I have heard it mentioned on here a few times and I'd like to give it a try but I'd rather not experiment too much. Would you be willing to go into a little more detail on this? Or, can you point me to a thread that goes over it in more depth?

Thank you,

Josh

I would like a little more info as well. I have made a few knife sheaths, and after casing put them in the oven on low heat and used a hair dryer as well. They came out hard as rawhide which was what I wanted in that case.

Thanks for the video suggestion, I had seen that but it had been a while.

[mrfixit]

-glue, sew, ........refinish the edges that shouldn't have been done until you have the front and back in place........

I see what you are saying now. But I had to burnish a couple edges because they wont be a full overlap when sewn. If i dont burnish now, I cant later. Hope that makes sense.

After gluing and sewing I will go back and sand the exposed edges even then burnish.

[markush]

Mike,

I usually make western style gun rigs however I do get the occasional concealed carry type order and I'm not familiar with heating to set the molding. I have heard it mentioned on here a few times and I'd like to give it a try but I'd rather not experiment too much. Would you be willing to go into a little more detail on this? Or, can you point me to a thread that goes over it in more depth?

Thank you,

Josh

Here's a recent thread with some Holster "baking" information. http://leatherworker...=1 This sites search feature does a good job if you can use the right keywords. I remember reading this thread and "toaster oven" was mentioned, so that's what I searched for. Hope this helps, good luck.

[TwinOaks]

Markush beat me to it.....must've got off work earlier That thread pretty well sums it up.

Mrfixit, I'm glad you see what I'm talking about on finishing joined edges. And you are correct that there are parts that need to be burnished prior to assembly. There's been more than a few holsters pictured on here (some of mine, too) that the edges were finished before assembly and didn't match up exactly, or worse, they had to be cut back and it changed/ruined the stitches' distance from the edge. It actually wastes less leather than most folks realize to make the edges a little wide and cut down to size. At least, it wastes less leather than having to scrap an entire holster......

I avoid using alcohol for casing because I typically color before assembly. Adding the alcohol to leather colored with spirit dyes is just asking to be relocated from the living room to the dog house.

[Nooj]

Be sure to do your gluing, even and sand your edges, BEFORE you make your stitch grooves. I made the mistake of grooving before bonding the front to back and evening the edges... I didn't have as much extra on that back piece as I thought I did- so the space between my stitch line and edge is uneven, after I sanded the edges :-( Not fun!

Nooj

[katsass]

Mike,

I usually make western style gun rigs however I do get the occasional concealed carry type order and I'm not familiar with heating to set the molding. I have heard it mentioned on here a few times and I'd like to give it a try but I'd rather not experiment too much. Would you be willing to go into a little more detail on this? Or, can you point me to a thread that goes over it in more depth?

Thank you,

Josh

Josh; For molding my holsters I sog them down well with water, stuff the shooter in a heavy plastic freezer bag and wrap the bag tightly around said gun. No need for tape or anything. Stuff that shooter down in the soggy holster and mold the leather tightly around the gun, leaving the gun in place. Now, the idea is two fold; first remove all (or as much as possible) moisture from the holster rather quickly, and, second, bring up the heat level to NO MORE THAN 150 degrees (F) while doing so. Out here in the desert, even in Indian Summer as we have now, the ground temp can hit 150 to 165 degrees. In summertime I just sit the gun & holster on an old (smooth) box and allow old Ma Nature do the rest. In wintertime, I place it inside of a larger box on some sort of pedestal and direct a small electric space heater (equipped with a fan) into the box. I have a few holes in the backside of the box to allow a smooth flow of warm air over the holster and moist air to escape. Hope this makes sense and helps a bit. Of course one can manufacture a more permanent drying cabinet which directs warm air up, around and through the cabinet, allowing for a good air flow which is the mechanism that removes the moisture, and the heat which 'sets' the leather. Mike

[Josh Ashman]

Josh; For molding my holsters I sog them down well with water, stuff the shooter in a heavy plastic freezer bag and wrap the bag tightly around said gun. No need for tape or anything. Stuff that shooter down in the soggy holster and mold the leather tightly around the gun, leaving the gun in place. Now, the idea is two fold; first remove all (or as much as possible) moisture from the holster rather quickly, and, second, bring up the heat level to NO MORE THAN 150 degrees (F) while doing so. Out here in the desert, even in Indian Summer as we have now, the ground temp can hit 150 to 165 degrees. In summertime I just sit the gun & holster on an old (smooth) box and allow old Ma Nature do the rest. In wintertime, I place it inside of a larger box on some sort of pedestal and direct a small electric space heater (equipped with a fan) into the box. I have a few holes in the backside of the box to allow a smooth flow of warm air over the holster and moist air to escape. Hope this makes sense and helps a bit. Of course one can manufacture a more permanent drying cabinet which directs warm air up, around and through the cabinet, allowing for a good air flow which is the mechanism that removes the moisture, and the heat which 'sets' the leather. Mike

Thanks Mike, that makes a lot of sense. As soon as time permits I'll give it a try.

I worked for a survey company based out of Prescott Valley, AZ for years. I spent one summer going back and forth between projects in Bullhead City, AZ and Earp CA. I can understand why you don't need a special box to dry things out most of the year.

Thanks again for the info, best regards.

Josh

[katsass]

Thanks Mike, that makes a lot of sense. As soon as time permits I'll give it a try.

I worked for a survey company based out of Prescott Valley, AZ for years. I spent one summer going back and forth between projects in Bullhead City, AZ and Earp CA. I can understand why you don't need a special box to dry things out most of the year.

Thanks again for the info, best regards.

Josh

I live about a two hour drive from Bullhead, Laughlin, and the river. Ma and I periodically make a run over there for some 'get-away' time. They have more humidity than we do, but we both have the heat. Mike