What Happens When You Lose A Holster?

[Colt Hammerless]

You get a new and better one. I recently finished this one up for my friend. It's a lefty IWB for the H&K P2000sk. It's got 30 degrees of forward rake per his request (I use a lot of rake on my own personal rigs as well.) It's 8 oz. Hermann Oak that was given a long dip dye in full strength Angelus Cordovan. It's very red in the sun, and a nice dark color under indoor lighting. Finish is two good dips in Angelus 600 cut 50/50 with distilled water. This holster is a replacement for one I made him a couple of years ago. He can't find the other one as it's buried in a box in his garage somewhere! He has a better chance of finding the Ark of the Covenant in there. It's all well and good, as that one was one of my earliest pieces, and wasn't all that great.

Paul

[mikesmith648]

very nice

[Steven Kelley]

Looks great. Love the color and clean lines.

[TexasJack]

I agree! Nice job.

[Big O]

Beautiful!

GREAT job on the edges.

[troop]

lookin' good Paul!

Tony

[Steve75]

Nice results. I like the way your dye job turned out. Good job!

[Colt Hammerless]

Thanks everyone. I'm pretty new to dip dyeing, but it seems to be working pretty well. I've been using Hidepounder's method on edges for a while and it works great. Now I just need to be able to do them faster.

Paul

[sangmort]

Wow! Beautiful work! ~

[Chef niloc]

I love it, it's one of the nicest holsters I've seen. Could you post a picture of the backside? It on a belt being worn would be nice to see too.

[Colt Hammerless]

Chef, I don't really have any good pictures of the back. Here's the nicest one I could find.

I don't have any pics of it being worn, sorry.

Paul

[backroadexplorer]

Hello Paul; Great Work Sir. I like your username.

I inherited My Grandfathers 1903 .32 Hammerless & I was wondering if you own one have you made an IWB Holster for it?

I'm just getting into Holster Making and could use a couple ideas.

Here is a pic of My First Holster

Again Great Work!

Brian

[Colt Hammerless]

Wow Brian! A wet molded revolver holster right out of the gate. That was not easy. Good work. The color looks very nice and even as well.

I do own a 1903, and made an IWB for it as my first ever leather project. I've made a number of OWB and IWB holsters for it since then. I'll actually be writing a thread about a few of them tomorrow (it's late and I need to sleep), so be sure to check it out. If you have any questions just ask.

Oh, and I see this is your first post. Welcome!

Paul

[backroadexplorer]

Thank You very much Paul. My younger brother has made a couple & He was a great help.

My stitching is a little rough but i've learned alot from here. I am Very Proud of how it turned out for my first attempt.

Also Our first attempt at using a Food Saver Vac. System to help mold the Holster.

[dickf]

You get a new and better one. I recently finished this one up for my friend. It's a lefty IWB for the H&K P2000sk. It's got 30 degrees of forward rake per his request (I use a lot of rake on my own personal rigs as well.) It's 8 oz. Hermann Oak that was given a long dip dye in full strength Angelus Cordovan. It's very red in the sun, and a nice dark color under indoor lighting. Finish is two good dips in Angelus 600 cut 50/50 with distilled water. This holster is a replacement for one I made him a couple of years ago. He can't find the other one as it's buried in a box in his garage somewhere! He has a better chance of finding the Ark of the Covenant in there. It's all well and good, as that one was one of my earliest pieces, and wasn't all that great.

Paul

Really pretty holster! I love the depth that dip-dying yields and your holster is a perfect example of it.

Those P2000's have a jacked up trigger guard, don't they?

[Colt Hammerless]

Backroadexplorer, I've yet to use any type of vacuum for forming, but would like too in the future. It looks like the food saver works pretty well.

Dickf,

It is super jacked up! I don't know why they make it so wide near the grip. Makes getting the stitch line right a guessing game.

Paul

[Whit30]

Incredable holster and finish! Thanks so much for sharing how you achieved it. I have a question on th dip dye. will it last longer and give a better shine and look? and is there a down side? will it crack eaiser, flake off or not last as long as standard hand dye?

Last question, I would love to make a holster and belt that looks just like the holster Colt Hammerless made same color and all. Will the constant wear for a concealed carry belt/holster dyed this way last as good as other type of finishes or not too long. Thank you for all of the advice and ideas in advance!

[Colt Hammerless]

Dip dying is faster and generally less likely to have streaks in it than doing it with say sheeps wool or a sponge brush, etc. It also allows good penetration of the leather, compared to using an airbrush. Dye won't crack or flake off as it doesn't sit on top of the leather, like paint would. It pentetrates into the fibers of the leather. Although there will be some pigment that doesn't penetrate and will need to be buffed off of the surface. As to your last question, the dye is not a finish. It's simply a coloring agent that goes into the leather fibers. Finish is a seperate product that will seal the leather and give it some shine. It both penetrates the leather (somewhat) and stays on the surface creating a barrier against the dye rubbing off, as well as having sweat and dirt stain the leather. The finish I used on this is called Angelus 600, which is an acrylic. There's a similar product from Fiebing's called Resolene.

Paul