First Holster Need Some Advice

[glockanator]

Cut my pattern out and all glued up. Any suggestions on sewing this bad boy up? This is my first holster.

[wizard of tragacanth]

Are you going to cut belt slots for attachment? If so, it's hard to tell from the pic but it looks like the slots will be rather small, maybe not. My recommendations are to wet mold the holster, cut the belt slots, sew as closely to the gun as possible and hopefully, round off the square corners at the bottom of the holster a little bit.

For sewing, I use a drill press with a 1/16" bit to drill the holes. Tandy sells waxed linen thread (or waxed nylon) and stitching needles (10 pack). The 25 yard spool of thread will do at least half a dozen holsters.

After sewing, sand the edges, dye the holster if you want, slick the edges and finish with a top-coat.

Nick

[mlapaglia]

Get a pack of #0 Harness needles from Tandy. The needles with the large eye are a pain to use as they get really hard to pull through the hole. If you don't or cant use a drill bit, like no drill press to keep the bit 90 deg to the leather, get a diamond awl and use that to poke your holes. You will also need an over stitch wheel and a groover. Before you get anything buy "The art of hand sewing leather" By Al Stolhman. It will answer all your questions about sewing. You want to use a saddle stitch on the holster.

The picture below is an example of my first holster with all its mistakes. The stitching at the top strap is ok but the line around the trigger guard was so bad I had to add the second line to get the to stay in the holster. I show you this so no matter what mistakes you make it will be better than this one,

Get the book, read it twice, then make sure you are close to your trigger guard when you stich that side of the holster. The second picture is of my second holster and the stitching is better although it could have been a little closer to the trigger guard. The last picture is an approximate stitch line as I really could not tell where the gun is inside the holster. IT should give you an idea on what to do. If not let me know and Ill try to help more.

Don't be afraid of messing up, its only leather. You have a good start at a holster. Read the book and give it a shot.

Michael

Edited November 16, 2011 by mlapaglia

[glockanator]

Get a pack of #0 Harness needles from Tandy. The needles with the large eye are a pain to use as they get really hard to pull through the hole. If you don't or cant use a drill bit, like no drill press to keep the bit 90 deg to the leather, get a diamond awl and use that to poke your holes. You will also need an over stitch wheel and a groover. Before you get anything buy "The art of hand sewing leather" By Al Stolhman. It will answer all your questions about sewing. You want to use a saddle stitch on the holster.

The picture below is an example of my first holster with all its mistakes. The stitching at the top strap is ok but the line around the trigger guard was so bad I had to add the second line to get the to stay in the holster. I show you this so no matter what mistakes you make it will be better than this one,

Get the book, read it twice, then make sure you are close to your trigger guard when you stich that side of the holster. The second picture is of my second holster and the stitching is better although it could have been a little closer to the trigger guard. The last picture is an approximate stitch line as I really could not tell where the gun is inside the holster. IT should give you an idea on what to do. If not let me know and Ill try to help more.

Don't be afraid of messing up, its only leather. You have a good start at a holster. Read the book and give it a shot.

Michael

Thanks for the advice! This is the pattern I am using

http://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/p-1042-big-gun-comfort-by-bill-mckay-series-1e-page-5.aspx

As far as sewing could I use one of these? Or would it be better to use just a needle and thread?

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/1216-00.aspx

[mlapaglia]

Thanks for the advice! This is the pattern I am using

http://www.leathercr...-1e-page-5.aspx

As far as sewing could I use one of these? Or would it be better to use just a needle and thread?

http://www.tandyleat...ts/1216-00.aspx

Those are great if you are making sails or tents. It will not give you the quality of stitch or look as good as using a manual Saddle Stitch. A saddle stitch is strong and will not unravel if one of the threads break. The lock stitch that the sewing awl does will unravel if it breaks. It looks like a great tool and for the right purpose it is, but its not a good idea for sewing a holster.

I looked at your pattern and from the one on the left it looks like I got the layout of the stitch line pretty close. Thats thanks to all the folks here who listened to and responded to my constant questions about stitch lines.

Michael

Edited November 16, 2011 by mlapaglia

[Dwight]

A saddle stitch is strong and will not unravel if one of the threads break. The lock stitch that the sewing awl does will unravel if it breaks. It looks like a great tool and for the right purpose it is, but its not a good idea for sewing a holster.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to seriously disagree with the final comment. All sewing machines use a lock stitch, . . . and the vast majority of commercially produced holsters are done on sewing machines.

In modern holster making, . . . in many cases, . . . the stitching can be just so much decoration on top of a properly molded holster that was cemented together and will only come apart under severe duress.

Hand stitching, using a saddle stitch, has it's place, but to infer that it is vastly superior to machine stitching is simply not a valid comment.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited November 18, 2011 by Dwight

[mlapaglia]

Dwight,

Either I explained it wrong or you misunderstood. My reference was the sewing awl in this line, "but its not a good idea for sewing a holster". I firmly believe that the saddle stitch by hand is better than the lock stitch done with the sewing awl when done on leather by hand. If not I would expect most of the saddle makers that hand sew to use the sewing awl instead of the saddle stitch. Sewing machines were not a consideration in my comment.

In the drawing below I feel the label "hand stitch" should read "Saddle Stitch".

I do not have a sewing machine so I will not attempt to comment on the quality or durability of its stitch.

Sorry if I did not explain it clearly.

Michael

Edited November 18, 2011 by mlapaglia

[TwinOaks]

Glock...

Get a diamond (cross section) awl, a pack of needles from walmart, and "How to Hand Sew". You can use a fork for your stitch spacer if you need to, all you're doing is making marks to tell you where the holes go.

I have to agree that the "stitching awl" is not the best tool for the job. It's fantastic for making repairs where there were already stitches, but not for making the hole AND the stitch. However, unlike a sewing machine, it does NOT provide even tension for each lock stitch.

Starting out, you need to learn how to hand sew - it'll teach you the value of proper construction. If you can't afford a thousand bucks for a sewing machine, no big deal. Katsass hand sews all his leather and it looks superb.

On the layout phase, Michael had one part backwards - do your edges first, THEN layout your stitch line. That way even if you have to adjust the shape, the stitch still stays a constant distance from the edge. Read Hidepounder's tutorial on how do finish edges. Once you have all that done, give it a light coat of olive oil, let it get a sun tan for a couple of hours, and hit it with two coats of Mop-n-glo (wiped on lightly and let the first one dry before adding the second).

[katsass]

Glock...

Get a diamond (cross section) awl, a pack of needles from walmart, and "How to Hand Sew". You can use a fork for your stitch spacer if you need to, all you're doing is making marks to tell you where the holes go.

I have to agree that the "stitching awl" is not the best tool for the job. It's fantastic for making repairs where there were already stitches, but not for making the hole AND the stitch. However, unlike a sewing machine, it does NOT provide even tension for each lock stitch.

Starting out, you need to learn how to hand sew - it'll teach you the value of proper construction. If you can't afford a thousand bucks for a sewing machine, no big deal. Katsass hand sews all his leather and it looks superb.

On the layout phase, Michael had one part backwards - do your edges first, THEN layout your stitch line. That way even if you have to adjust the shape, the stitch still stays a constant distance from the edge. Read Hidepounder's tutorial on how do finish edges. Once you have all that done, give it a light coat of olive oil, let it get a sun tan for a couple of hours, and hit it with two coats of Mop-n-glo (wiped on lightly and let the first one dry before adding the second).

The only thing I'd add would be to dilute the Mop&Glo 50/50 with water. Mike

[glockanator]

Thank you all for your input I was considering getting one of these bad boys to make my holes. Thoughts?

http://www.tandyleat.../88043-535.aspx

or

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/Tools/8065-295.aspx

Edited November 18, 2011 by glockanator