Molding Tooled Leather

[Matt Alsaker]

Silly question with a simple answer I'm sure......I've tried making a couple holsters with some basic designs I carved onto them. When I wet the leather to mold it around the firearm, the tooling gets destroyed. Should I be sealing with an acrylic sealer before I wet the leather to mold it? My carvings aren't great, but the few details I do get carved in I'd like to see on the holster once it's molded.

Thanks

[Dwight]

Matt, . . . for the most part, . . . tooling on holsters and molded holsters are kinda like the power vs speed thing with engines.

You can always have either one, . . . but it is really hard to have both.

The best way I have found for the few I have done, . . . take a pattern you KNOW IS CORRECT.

Do all your tooling on the piece of leather you want tooled. Let it dry, . . . bone stinking dry.

Put the holster together, . . . stitching, edging, all that sort of stuff, . . .

Lightly dampen the inside of the holster with a wash rag or something like that, . . . DO NOT GET THE OUTSIDE WET.

Force the gun down into the holster and very gently add some molding details with your fingers.

This is about as good as it gets from my perspective. Others may have better advice.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Matt Alsaker]

Thanks Dwight. This processes worked really good.

Matt, . . . for the most part, . . . tooling on holsters and molded holsters are kinda like the power vs speed thing with engines.

You can always have either one, . . . but it is really hard to have both.

The best way I have found for the few I have done, . . . take a pattern you KNOW IS CORRECT.

Do all your tooling on the piece of leather you want tooled. Let it dry, . . . bone stinking dry.

Put the holster together, . . . stitching, edging, all that sort of stuff, . . .

Lightly dampen the inside of the holster with a wash rag or something like that, . . . DO NOT GET THE OUTSIDE WET.

Force the gun down into the holster and very gently add some molding details with your fingers.

This is about as good as it gets from my perspective. Others may have better advice.

May God bless,

Dwight