P938 First Real Holster

[Cornbread]

Hello all, I joined the sight a couple of years ago and did a little research on making holster and working leather. I made a couple of attempts at making holster but resulted in one butchered piece of leather and one pancake vice grip "holster" both of which went into the trash and hung up my leather working hat. So this Christmas I decided to try my hand at it again. I researched more and this is my 1st real functioning holster.

Couple things I noticed. My Stitches are crooked in some areas, a groover and an oversticher things would help a lot. I need to work on my burnishing. Need more patience.

Have a question too. The rough side of the leather was very "fuzzy". I ended up pulling up alot with a plastic brush on my dremel then burning it out. What it a better way...skiver? I hope i got my terminology right. Thanks for yall's critisism!

[mikesmith648]

nice work for a new first attempt.....keeping the stitches straight takes practice..........keep up the work

[CowboyDan]

Hello all, I joined the sight a couple of years ago and did a little research on making holster and working leather. I made a couple of attempts at making holster but resulted in one butchered piece of leather and one pancake vice grip "holster" both of which went into the trash and hung up my leather working hat. So this Christmas I decided to try my hand at it again. I researched more and this is my 1st real functioning holster.

Couple things I noticed. My Stitches are crooked in some areas, a groover and an oversticher things would help a lot. I need to work on my burnishing. Need more patience.

Have a question too. The rough side of the leather was very "fuzzy". I ended up pulling up alot with a plastic brush on my dremel then burning it out. What it a better way...skiver? I hope i got my terminology right. Thanks for yall's critisism!

I just made my first holsters, and I know you could have done a LOT worse (like me!).

A groover and over stitching wheel (sometimes called pricking wheel, though those are sometimes a different tool) are absolutely invaluable to me in stitching.

The fuzzy side can be burnished down a bit to smooth it out if it's exposed. A piece of smooth wood (sanded paint stir stick), tempered glass, etc.. will work. If it's really bad then you will need to use a skiver to shave it off and get it somewhat smooth even if it's going to get glued to something.

I've been told that this is more of a problem on the cheap leather than the higher end hides. I believe it. I had some really thick stuff a while back that was terrible on the backside (large flakes coming off & kinda stringy) and had to skiver it off just to get the contact cement to hold the hide in place.

[JLSleather]

a couple of attempts at making holster but resulted in one butchered piece of leather and one pancake vice grip "holster" both of which went into the trash ...

Yeah, me too. Some of the early work probably left people wondering just what that cow did to ME! Listen to the stories, some o' these folks was born knowing how to suck, fill a diaper, and make a holster Personally, I prefer the honest ones (and the Jarhead insignia don't hurt nuthin').

So, bare bones from an old Jarhead who's interested in holsters. This is a bit much, but I like that a guy was honest enough to look at the early work and pitch it, but came back to hit it again anyway.

The 'fuzzy' on the back of the leather is the leather. Get a decent piece, that comes without that.

The front piece on yours, I like. It's new and different - and that's probably what I like about it. Follows the contour of the weapon nicely too.. tha's jus good practice.

The back of that piece, maybe not so much. That little curve on the top right (to where it meets the holster body) is just extra work and doesn't gain anything.

I would keep the slot (in the panel) narrower. The issue is not the slot, but rather what is left and the more material you can leave there the better. Standard punch width (about 3/16" is plenty). Yes, a 1/4" thick belt will fit that easily... no point in the long version explanation here.

Oh, and suck that stitch line in a bit (but, you knew that).

You carry that Sig yourself? Lemme know, and I'll get you a pattern designed for that 938 if ya like. It's free - for just being honest enough not to say you're going to use it if you aren't.

[Shooter McGavin]

That came out really nice cornbread!

It takes a while to discover just the right window of opportunity to burnish the edges. When i started I always tried to do it when the leather was too wet.

Then one time I forgot about a holster for a few hours and when i went back to it to burnish, the egdes polished up like glass, and it was one of those "so this is how its supposed to work" moments.

[chiefjason]

i'll second JL. I like the line on the front. Doing two ostrich knee accents with similar lines right now for P238's. For the belt loop, I never have material in front of it. I cut the loop straight down. Hard to do with a full leather accent though. Easier with the ostrich, it's thinner and lays under the leather anyway.

Use liquid saddle soap for burnishing. Rub a bit on the edge and go to town. A 50/50 mix of beeswax and paraffin wax help fill in any voids that are left. Rub on and burnish in.

Buy better leather next time. Paying for a higher grade should result in a less fleshy back side. Fleshy usually equals belly. And belly usually equals softer leather. However, if you are buying by the foot instead of the side you may have to specify that you want a clean back. I've bought good leather by the foot and still gotten belly leather. As a bonus, better leather burnishes easier too. Fleshy leather does not want to burnish sometimes. Too soft.

I carry a P238 in a similar avenger style and really like it. Good choice.

Edited March 21, 2015 by chiefjason

[JLSleather]

Just to be clear, I'm talking about leaving material at the LOOP... leaving the LOOP broad as possible.

[Modad2010]

Nice job on your first holster. It definitely looks better than my first. If you need info on burnishing check the sticky from Hidepounder. Bob is one of the best and actually teaches classes at trade shows on how he does it.

[BigRiverLeather]

Good Job on that.

As others have said, higher quality leather like Hermann Oak and Wickett and Craig will have much nicer backs. However, that probably doesn't help you if you have a big shoulder or side of leather, probably from Tandy or similar. I'll tell you what works for me is to put the flesh side of the leather to a sanding drum. I have one in my drill press and I use it all the time for many other things as well so if you don't have one yet, get one. I use a 4" drum and keep a smaller on (2") handy but for anything else I'll use my dremel with a sander bit. Just be sure to give it a good brush to knock off any bits that may have come off of the sander. A rough grit like a 60 or 80 works well. I've not tried it but hitting it with a higher grit afterwards may smooth it out even more.

Regarding the little piece on the backside of your holster that was pointed out with a question mark - Whether intentional or not, that actually provides a little support to keep the mouth open. I bring mine up like that to, in fact I often cover the trigger guard depending on the gun. More importantly, at least to me, is I run the leather all the way around the sweat shield. It helps keep it rigid in one of the areas that can tend to get loose and floppy, even with guns in them.