4Th All Leather Holster, Criticism Welcome

[renegadelizard]

Hey all, Here is my fourth all leather holster. Ive made quite a few hybrid holsters, but just got started with all leather...the first was from the sticky posted on the Mexican double loop..it turned out great, but i dont have any finished pics...the second was Lobo's enhanced avenger, and well, it holds a glock...not very pretty, but it holds...the third was for a Taurus 85, and although it looks okay, the pancake design lacks good rentention..im not sure what went wrong...but here is the fourth...i think it turned out rather well, but then again, im still new to this, so what do you guys think???

[particle]

Looks great to me! It's hard to tell, but do you bring the top of the holster above the top of the cylinder at all? If not, that's one area you could adjust on your pattern to help increase retention. The only problem with going above the cylinder is you have to go high enough to allow enough room to flare back out to create a funnel to clear the leading edge of the cylinder. Also, be careful you don't pinch it down too tight at the top of the cylinder or it'll obviously create too much retention.

You can also increase the indention a bit more at the front edge of the trigger guard to help 'snap' it into the holster.

One thing to keep in mind is the sharp edges on the front/back of the cylinder can abrade the thread over time on the inside at the reinforcement piece area where the cylinder drags across the stitch line.

I don't enjoy doing revolver holsters at all - they're much more difficult than semi-autos. I think you did a fantastic job on yours!

[renegadelizard]

Looks great to me! It's hard to tell, but do you bring the top of the holster above the top of the cylinder at all? If not, that's one area you could adjust on your pattern to help increase retention. The only problem with going above the cylinder is you have to go high enough to allow enough room to flare back out to create a funnel to clear the leading edge of the cylinder. Also, be careful you don't pinch it down too tight at the top of the cylinder or it'll obviously create too much retention.

You can also increase the indention a bit more at the front edge of the trigger guard to help 'snap' it into the holster.

One thing to keep in mind is the sharp edges on the front/back of the cylinder can abrade the thread over time on the inside at the reinforcement piece area where the cylinder drags across the stitch line.

I don't enjoy doing revolver holsters at all - they're much more difficult than semi-autos. I think you did a fantastic job on yours!

Thanks Particle...praise coming from you is indeed highly appreciated..i just watched a couple of your video's and am amazed with your work....the customer wanted this to be a simple range holster. Ive been an LEO for 18 years, so I figured, what makes a good range holster.., ease of draw and reholstering, easy on and off, all day comfort, and sex appeal...we all love flash, but clean lines and business built say so much more than rhinestones...the customer is also female, and it is her first custom holster, so ride height and cant was an isssue because she simple had no idea what would be comfortable...(this led to me wearing my pants low on my hip, walking about the house trying to figure it all out..so not a good look for me) ...so i cut the leather at the top of the cylinder and slightly flared it out, for spedy draws and reholstering...i spent alot of time in the trigger guard area, and before I dyded it, it would snap in...after dying it lost the snap, but still holds well enough when belted up...I need to get a pear shaped shading tool to really get the leather down in there...i tried to cut a stich groove on the inside of the reinforcement piece with my freehander, but i think all i accomplished was pressing a slight channel in the leather..my freehand groover is ground a little funky and not very sharp yet..still trying to figure that one out...I stiched the front seam and left the back open sort of hand pinched the leather all around to figure out the back stich line..then transfered that to my pattern (saw your tip on correcting your pattern) ..all in all, im pleased with it..i still need to be more careful with my tools..and I agree..revolvers are a bear to do other than the western rigs...next up is another avenger style for a glock...hopefully it will turn out better than my last one...thanks again for all the tips and tricks you post on here...it is greatly apriciated..

Don