Members JeffChastain Posted August 30, 2012 Members Report Posted August 30, 2012 (edited) holsterHey guys. Been scouring through this forum for the past few months, learning a ton, and trying out alot of stuff too. I've been making holsters for about a month now, but I've been using cheap drum dyed leather from Hobby Lobby, and that stuff doesn't mold or tool. I went to Tandy yesterday and picked up some good leather. Caught a good sale and got a nearly 20 feet for 55 dollars. Anyhow, I sat down tonight, made a holster, and proceeded to actually mold and bone it. I learned alot during the process. Spent about 30 minutes molding and boning. Used the handle of my edge beveler, and a sharpie. What do you guys use to mold and bone, besides your fingers? I'm attaching a picture, and I'd like some honest critque. I realized I didn't stitch closely enough to the firearm, but I didn't realize it until I started to molding process. The firearm was very hard to get into the holster to begin with. I know in the picture the stitches don't look straight. Not sure what happened in the pic, but they are straight. Anyhow, enough with my rambling. Any advice and critque will be greatly appreciated! Edited August 30, 2012 by JeffChastain Quote
IngleGunLeather Posted August 30, 2012 Report Posted August 30, 2012 Hey guys. Been scouring through this forum for the past few months, learning a ton, and trying out alot of stuff too. I've been making holsters for about a month now, but I've been using cheap drum dyed leather from Hobby Lobby, and that stuff doesn't mold or tool. I went to Tandy yesterday and picked up some good leather. Caught a good sale and got a nearly 20 feet for 55 dollars. Anyhow, I sat down tonight, made a holster, and proceeded to actually mold and bone it. I learned alot during the process. Spent about 30 minutes molding and boning. Used the handle of my edge beveler, and a sharpie. What do you guys use to mold and bone, besides your fingers? I'm attaching a picture, and I'd like some honest critque. I realized I didn't stitch closely enough to the firearm, but I didn't realize it until I started to molding process. The firearm was very hard to get into the holster to begin with. I know in the picture the stitches don't look straight. Not sure what happened in the pic, but they are straight. Anyhow, enough with my rambling. Any advice and critque will be greatly appreciated! Not seeing any pics Jeff. Quote Ingle Gun leather
Members JeffChastain Posted August 30, 2012 Author Members Report Posted August 30, 2012 Sorry about that. Not familiar with the site yet. There's a photobucket link at the beginning of the post now. Quote
Denster Posted August 30, 2012 Report Posted August 30, 2012 Sorry about that. Not familiar with the site yet. There's a photobucket link at the beginning of the post now. The molding looks pretty good for a first attempt. The general design of the holster could use some work. Those wide rounded ears reminded me of our current president. Keep working at it like I said for a first attempt that is better than most. Quote
Contributing Member SooperJake Posted August 30, 2012 Contributing Member Report Posted August 30, 2012 (edited) Looks better than my first try. You will find there are better leathers out there than what Tandy sells, and often for less per Sq. Ft. Hermann Oak ( available through vendors that support this website, and directly from HO, and W&C ( so I hear but still await my first order, week 7, I think) are much better for tooling and forming. I have also noticed that when I dye the holster, it ends up stiffer than an non-dyed one. Not sure why that is. Perhaps one of the experts will chime in. Jake Edited August 30, 2012 by SooperJake Quote Once you know what the magician know.... it isn't magic anymore.
Members renegadelizard Posted August 30, 2012 Members Report Posted August 30, 2012 Do yourself a favor...go to springfield leather company's website and order a Herman Oak single shoulder in the 7/8 or 8/9 ounce range...this is great leather for holsters....molding isnt hard but it does require firm fingers and I have found that a bone folder and a modeling spoon help out a lot as well..some of the guys on here also like a pear shaped stamping tool when doing the trigger guard area... Quote Havoc Holsters
Members katsass Posted August 30, 2012 Members Report Posted August 30, 2012 (edited) From the old grump: Well, seems that it's all been said - at least mostly. Remember that the 'ears' (that are reminiscent of our current prez's) are out there to provide a place for belt loops, that's all. ( I personally like the descriptive term "ears" - it's mo-better than "wings") They don't need to be humongous.. As to leather, again, do yourself a favor and purchase your stuff from a REAL leather supply outfit - there are a number of them listed here on the forum. As do many however, and FWIW, I use Springfield Leather. Tandy was once a pretty good outfit --- 40 or 50 years ago -- taint so now. Buy shoulder leather or you'll be wondering what the hell happened to your project after a little bit of time down the road. In my experience, Tandy seems to try to sell a bunch of belly leather, which will end up sagging out of shape like some old lady's --- --- uh -- stockings, yes, that's what I was thinking of --- stockings. As you said yourself, you need to tighten up your stitch lines, and I think you need to work on your stitching - when done properly, hand stitching (notice I didn't say "sewing") should look better than a machine's ---- sewing. Stitching and sewing are two different critters - IMO. (Some say I'm just a little anal about stitching) Overall it doesn't look too bad, and for a first go at it, it's a pot-load better than many. Keep it up. Mike Edited August 30, 2012 by katsass Quote NOTE TO SELF: Never try to hold a cat and an operating Dust buster at the same time!! At my age I find that I can live without sex..........but not without my glasses. Being old has an advantage.......nobody expects me to do anything in a hurry.
Chief31794 Posted August 30, 2012 Report Posted August 30, 2012 Do yourself a favor...go to springfield leather company's website and order a Herman Oak single shoulder in the 7/8 or 8/9 ounce range...this is great leather for holsters....molding isnt hard but it does require firm fingers and I have found that a bone folder and a modeling spoon help out a lot as well..some of the guys on here also like a pear shaped stamping tool when doing the trigger guard area... Another great thing about Springfield Leather, if you don't need the whole shoulder you can buy what you need, they sell Hermann Oak for less than Tandy's leather and will take an order for as little as 2 Sq Ft. They are truely a Service Oriented Business giving customers what they want. They are also very knowledgeable, call the order in, you get a person, ask a question you get an answer, if you aren't sure what you need they'll ask you what you're going to use it for and then suggest to you the best product for the project. They also sell Tandy products at Tandy prices. Chief Quote "Life's too short to carry ugly leather"
Members JeffChastain Posted August 30, 2012 Author Members Report Posted August 30, 2012 Thanks for the advice and for checking it out, guys. Katsass, Renegade, Jake, I actually was looking into springfield leather co, but happened to sell a guitar and end up with cold hard cash in my hand, and there's a Tandy store an hour from my house. I'm not a patient person. :/ The clerk at Tandy actually also told me that once I tried Herman Oak or Wickett and Craig that I wouldn't be back to buy leather from him, but I paid 2.99 per sq. ft. for this stuff, and it isn't all that bad. Usable for sure. Katsass, you were talking about the belly leather stretching over a period of time. Are you suspecting that's what I've gotten here? The guy told me they were single shoulders, but we know how salespeople can be. On the molding and boning, you've all said it looks okay for a first shot. Can you give me pointers? Can you point out what is good and bad about the boning I did? Thanks a bunch, fellows! Quote
Members JeffChastain Posted August 30, 2012 Author Members Report Posted August 30, 2012 Why is my boning not as crisp as others I've seen here? Quote
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