andyb Report post Posted August 18, 2012 I have been reading through a bunch of the holster threads and thinking once fall gets here I may try my hand at making one. On the fitted holster, such as pancake or OWB holsters for a 1911, most of the holsters are wet-formed to the firearm. The forming seems very tight up against the stitching in many sections. Now I realize when wet-forming the holster, it has already been sewn together. My question is if you are sewing the holster together with a sewing machine, are the leather pieces relatively flat, or are they pre-formed somewhat, or is one of the "blue guns" inside the holster when sewing it, or???? It looks like it would be difficult to sew the leather pieces together where the stitch line is right against a sharply formed section, but I find it amazing that the holster could be sewn together flat and then be wet-formed after sewing to match the contours of the firearm as well as it does. And a follow-up question, if a lined pancake holster was made using 7 oz leather for both the exterior as well as lining, would this be way too thick for machine sewing and wet-forming? I only ask because I happen to have a bunch of 7 oz leather laying around. Andy B. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Craw Report post Posted August 18, 2012 Hey Andy! Most of us have developed patterns for the firearms we make holsters for that are developed from "dummy" guns or the real thing, that involves tracing around the firearm and then adding some additional room to lay out the stitch line. The holster is then sewn, without the gun. The leather is then dampened or "cased" and then the gun put back into it damp, and formed by hand. 7 oz. leather is just fine for both parts. Tandy has a book by Al Stohlman that will teach you the basics. I got that book in 1981 and it was the basis for all the holsters I've done since that time. There is a member on this site named Particle. He has a video of his method that will answer the questions you have asked and a few you haven't even thought of yet! Have fun with it! Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
particle Report post Posted August 18, 2012 Hi Andy - a 7oz face with a 7oz lining will result in panels nearly 1/4" thick - much too thick to detail form. Lined leather is even stiffer than unlined leather of the same overall thickness. Wether or not it's machine sewable will depend on the machine. The edges will be nearly 1/2" thick. You can look at my website in the How's it Made section a http://www.adamsleatherworks.com/hows-it-made/ to see the videos Mike is referring to (thanks Mike!). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andyb Report post Posted August 18, 2012 (edited) Thanks guys for the replies! I didn't realize 4 layers of 7 oz would be almost 1/2" thick at the seams. Yes, that would be difficult to work with. I think I will pick up some thinner lining leather. I watched the holster forming video. Amazing! I never would have thought you could form it like that just by wetting it and pushing the leather against the firearm. It looks like the holster in the forming video is unlined. Maybe I'll just go with some 7 oz unlined. Andy B. Edited August 18, 2012 by andyb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
