Ruined A Weeks Work Messing With A Liner :(

[Boriqua]

So its the first time I ever tried lining a holster. It is for a stainless gun but is one of a kind and engraved so I wanted extra protection against rubbing. I used a piece of 8-9 tooling leather for the body and then used 1.75 tooling leather for the inside as I didnt want to use anything soft. When I want a smooth inside I have used a 4/5 inside with a 6/7 outside but this time I wanted a thicker outside to get a deeper tooling.

I glued the 1.75 to the 8/9 together with wedgewood contact cement, weighted it down and let it sit about 16 hours. When I was ready to form the holster some I wet the inside and outside of the holster and bent it into the place and form I wanted. It was going to be a soft wetmold and I made it tight through the stitching.

The very first time I stick the 1911 in there the Mag Release caught the edge and .... DOOM!

I am assuming it is because I had wet the inside thinner leather but seems the liner would have caught there eventually anyway. the peel back is above the sew line so sewing the two pieces wouldnt have helped.

I am going to remake this holster. Obviously I am not going to sell it now but I dont want to give up on lining for certain holsters. I did some searches but dont see anyone addressing the peel up. Thanks everyone for any help

[RoyalLeatherDesigns]

Burnishing your edges will help eliminate this problem. Sand your edges really well with 150 grit then burnish it with whatever burnishing method you use and seal it this will eliminate this problem. In my opinion that holster can still be repaired by peeling the lining a little more re-glue it sand it burnish it and seal it. You can make it look like one piece of leather if you dye it a darker color like broken or black. Trust me you can repair that holster.

Ralph

By the way tooling looks good from the little I see

[Bronson]

Don't cover the mag release with leather.

Bronson

[katsass]

FWIW from the grumpy old guy: Of course I'm guessing, however. your problem sounds as though the two layers of leather went together when the cement was too wet. I make almost all of my holsters from two layers of dead cow skin. I have only had that problem rear it's ugly head when (long ago) I got in a hurry and stuck the pieces together almost immediately after applying the sticky stuff. The way I do the job now is to cut the outer shell, either from 4/5oz veg tanned, or 5/6 veg tanned. The inner liner is (usually) cut from another piece of 4/5 oz of veg tanned -- cut a bit larger to preclude alignment problems. I then slather my Weldwood contact cement (the version with solvent in it, NOT the "environmentally friendly" stuff that has far less holding power IMO)) all over the flesh side of each piece. THEN -- I go a procure some form of adult beverage, and relax while consuming about 1/2 of it. NOW I go stick the two pieces together and apply weight to assist the chemical bonding to take place. Then leave it 'till tomorrow. Of course as Bronson correctly states - DON'T COVER THE MAG RELEASE WITH ANY PART OF THE HOLSTER!! The reason for this that it is far too easy for the mag release to be inadvertently pushed when holstering or drawing your shooter. The final result is that (at the range) you look rather foolish trying to make your firearm go BANG without any ammo in it. If it happens to be a personal protection piece and the need for it actually arises, you are then in deep ka-ka. Just my couple of pennies worth. Mike

Edited October 2, 2013 by katsass

[bitone40]

can you notch that section out and make it look nice ? just cut around where the mag release and put a nice curve to blend in the notch and that should be fine. just a thought.

[electrathon]

Try using Renia glue. Amazing stuff, will make you wonder why you are sewing too. It smells very bad if that bothers you.

Aaron

[benlilly1]

Katsass, I just love your post! Everything explained to a T with a little humor added in. Glad to see that you're back in the forum.

[Dwight]

The second thing Katsass mentioned is the second thing you did (IMHO) wrong.

The liner was way too thin. I use at least 4/5 as a liner when I don't use suede.

I also always sew in any and all liners, . . . burnish the edge real good.

That thin stuff will get beat up all too fast, . . . then your customer gets a case of attitude, . . .

But you can also take a heat gun to the Weldwood, . . . I do it all the time with holsters, . . . otherwise I'd be sitting doing nothing most of the time.

It'll dry that stuff really quick, . . . put it together and sew it.

May God bless,

Dwight

[chiefjason]

The key to success is less in making a perfect thing by hand, and more learning how to make the imperfections go away. In short, a master craftsman is not perfect. He knows how to fix his mistakes so you don't see them. Fix it.

My best guess on that would be re glue, edge, sand, and burnish. But if the mag release is hitting that bad, that issue will need to be addressed too. A well placed round punch might do the trick.

[JJLeatherworks]

I want to take all of Katass' posts and make a book out of them.