Holsters So Tight Needed To Use Wax Paper...not Mine!

[markush]

I read it all the time..."My new holster was so tight I needed to use wax paper or a baggie etc. to loosen it up." I just saw pics of a guy using baggies on his 1911 and mags to loosen up his new Milt Sparks VMII holster and mag carrier?? I've made a dozen holsters now and none of them have been even close to needing to be stretched out. I can understand certain guns with say accessory rails and the like being molded too tight around the rails but a slab sided 1911 or mag carriers being too tight?? How do they get them so tight? Are they using undersized molds?

Does my molding/boning process have something to do with it? I've used the actual guns to mold/bone my holsters so I've wrapped them in a single thin layer of saran wrap, stuffed them in the wet holster molded/boned, let then sit for between an hour or two then pulled the gun. If anything moved when I removed the gun I make sure the leather was back in place, inside the trigger guard etc.. Then I let it air dry between 24-48 hours. With this method I get a good fit but it's nowhere close to being too tight!

Edited March 28, 2012 by markush

[Eaglestroker]

The tighter the stitch line, and the faster you remove moisture (think oven) the tighter the holster. I couldn't tell you exactly what causes it but I have experienced it.

It's strange because my process hasn't change a whole lot from over a year ago when I first started. The bigger difference is experience. My first holster holds the gun well - but it doesn't have the 'click' something I would make now does.

Here's a sloppy photo of a loaded L-frame (minus one) in one of my more popular holsters, upside down:

Edited March 28, 2012 by Eaglestroker

[Shooter McGavin]

Most people cant get their guns or mags in my holsters at first, or out of them for that matter. A tight stitch line is important, quality leather is important, plus I think they shrink up a bit as they dry. Sometimes I'll bag stuff overnight before I send out out so at least the customer has a sneaking suspicion that I sent them the right holster

Eaglestroker is pinching the end of the barrel between his fingers in that pic, dont let him fool you

[markush]

All of my holsters have passed the hold it upside down and lightly shake thing. I could probably tighten up the stitch line some here and there but I'm using Hermann Oak so the quality leather part is covered. I did use a fan to dry one of my holster and it shrunk up in the wrong direction....vertically...so the muzzle end moved up and the mouth moved down...both about an 1/8" . My patterns are drawn so they are only about an 1/8" long at the muzzle, so when that one shrunk up that 1/8" I decided to go back to regular ol still air drying. Would heat make it shrink even more then that? If so all my patterns would have to be redone some.

[Eaglestroker]

You gotta cheat somewhere, Shooter.

Mark: In my experience I've never had leather shrink to that degree with heat. Maybe it's luck? Every time I heat dried a piece I got a tighter fitting piece, so I build an oven. My pattern doesn't change no matter what choice I make in drying. Doesn't mean I'm right!

[JoshLSTV]

All the holsters I've made the guns click into place and can be held upside down while shaking. However, the gun shifts around a little bit in the holster. Is that normal?

Edited March 28, 2012 by JoshLSTV

[Dwight]

When I do a holster, . . . I don't use saran wrap, . . . plastic baggie, . . . just the gun itself.

And the gun is never in the holster as long as you say you do yours. Mine gets molded, . . . and it is out, . . . all in all about 10 minutes, max.

I also air dry mine, . . . most of the time over a light heat source, . . . nothing special, . . . maybe a fan sometimes.

If you really want tight holsters, . . . get a vacuum pump, . . . bag, . . . and vacuum form the rascals. The first one I did with my vacuum bag was a wrap around for a 1911 full size out of 4/5 leather. Once it dried, . . . I had to jam it down in to get it in, . . . almost thought I'd have to cut it off the gun.

I don't do all, . . . not even a majority with the vac, . . . mostly molded with the old thumbs, . . . but as the arthritis gets worse, . . . the vac bag will get more use.

May God bless,

Dwight

[JoelR]

My experience: If your stitching is nice and close and you dry the holster without a dummy or actual gun in place, there is a good chance the holster will be tight. Many of the dummy guns are undersized and must be stretched even if dried with the dummy in place. Most recently, I had a holster made for a Glock 37 that was dried with the dummy in place. Knowing that there are some issues with the Glock dummys being undersized, I pre-stretched the holster by wrapping the dummy with 6mil plastic and letting it sit for a few days before delivering to the customer. The actual gun was snug but not overly tight, but the retention strap needed to be stretched a bit to work on the actual gun when it was slightly loose on the dummy. When I mold with a real gun and leave the gun in place as the leather dries, the final fit is perfect with no slop and a nice, reassuring 'click' when fully seated.

[rkleather]

I have had issues where the gun fits in perfectly (pancake style) after it has dried. Then when its on the gun belt, on my waist, it is more difficult to remove from the holster. When its on the belt it pulls the holster snug tightening the leather around the gun. What am I doing wrong? I keep wearing it thinking it just needs to break in.

[Shooter McGavin]

rkleather: It will break in over time. Something else you can do is to curve the belt slot wings when wetforming the holster.

as an example:

[JoelR]

Dry the holster with the gun in place and a belt through the loops while wrapped around a 5 gallon bucket. A little wool scrap behind the holster will keep it from getting a smooth spot where the leather meets the plastic.