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.

[Tree Reaper]

I stitch and burnish liners.

I don't see any stitching here.

[Boriqua]

Thank so much everyone!! I was able to save it using all your advise. I notched it so the magazine release had clearance .. wasn't the most elegant since it was done afterward but looks good. Then I sanded down the liner and edge at a steep angle to the inside of the holster and burnished well. Then I sealed all my edges with resplendent. The edge came out really nice and dark. I used it raw and without dye and I think it looks really well.

One more thing to add to my knowledge base. Hopefully soon I can help answer questions and not always be the one asking!

[camano ridge]

Can we see pictures of your finished product?

[Boriqua]

Can we see pictures of your finished product?

OH man !!

I hate showing stuff in front of you guys .. I am just a wee little leather worker compared to you guys so it is a little embarrassing but here goes. The person has a very nice 1911 he acquired that was decorated while it was in service in Vietnam. He wanted something different and so we came to Asian dragon and not Flying evil dragon. He also wanted deep coverage. As much coverage he could get and still be able to draw it. I didnt dye the edges because I didn't want to dye the edges at the mouth. It has ivory grips and I don't trust any sealer to not fail and have dye permanently mark the ivory. I wanted to save the gun from holster wear .. dont know if it is stainless or has a nickle finish but that led me to trying to get that liner in there. At the end I dont think its my best work and told him so but he loved it and wanted it. A dilemma for another post. Anyway You can see more of my dragon here

http://www.boriqualeather.com/army/

and the liner is below .. sigh .. go ahead and beat me up guys.

Thank you again everyone for being so free with your advice

[WScott]

If you made it with the little semicircle, didn't say anything about the tear-out and posted only the last pic, you would get many compliments.

I can see why the customer was happy, your dragon tool work and staining is AWESOME!

[katsass]

Boriqua: Now, I'm not trying to chew you up or beat you down, but here are a couple of things I'd think you need to look at prior to building another holster. First off, since I (basically) quit tooling leather many years ago, I do not offer any sort of comments along those lines. My statements go to design and construction of your piece. I'm not going to get overly technical nor am I going to nit pick, I'll give you some of the BIG things that jump out at me. First, you have a 'wing' or something out there on the side of your holster, as if this were an avenger style rig. BUT there ain't no belt loop cut in. As it is, it serves no useful purpose at all and is just flying along out there all alone. Of course you used it to add more tooling, but without a useful purpose, it leaves one scratching their a--- uh, head wondering what the hell it's there for. The next thing is your method of hanging the rig on a belt. I sincerely hope, pray, and trust that you friend WILL NOT try to hang ANY firearm from this rig -- IT AIN'T SECURE!!. There are many ways of attaching a belt loop - I personally believe that your choice is one of the poorest, and remember, in any applied belt loop, wider is ALWAYS better, Yours WILL stretch,; the stitching will (in time) give up if worn or used as anything else but to stick the shooter into and set it on a table. . You comment on your edge finishing, such as it is. All it would take is a bit more sanding, a finger moistened with water and rubbed on/in some glycerin soap or saddle soap, then on the edge of your piece. Then, with a piece of canvas or denim -- rub the hell out of the damp leather edge. All it takes is a little elbow grease,and some - no special tools. (I personally use Nuetragena (sp?) bar soap on my edges). The result would perk things up a bunch for you. I don't hold myself out to be an expert, I firmly believe that many a self proclaimed 'expert' is just that, an EX - a has-been, and a SPURT - a drip under pressure. I am including a couple of pics of one of my avenger style rigs so that you can see one way of affixing a belt loop on the back of your rig that IS SECURE-- and --- just what the hell that 'wing out there is for. Now please don't think that I make fun of your efforts in any way, we all have quite a few projects. each of which turned into one hell of a fine bad example. Keep at it, you are showing better stuff than most of us did early on. Of course you can take from my comments what you will, after all, you didn't pay anything for them. Mike [/b]

[Boriqua]

Thank you for all your comments Katsass !!! I messed up in that I put up the in progress photos which I had sent to the guy I was making it for. The final does have the belt slot cut in. I used a 1 1/4 pc on the back for a belt loop. Should I go 1.5 inches or in your opinion would that still be to narrow? All the edges including the belt loop interior were burnished using gum tragacanth and rubbed out with a plastic stick.

Keep it coming though. It is my first avenger style holster so I can use any input.

Alex

Edited October 8, 2013 by Boriqua

[katsass]

Boriqua, You holster looks a hell of a lot better with the belt slot cut in. I always make my belts (and ultimately slots) a minimum of 1 1/2", and the following is just one of the reasons why, that when carrying a sidearm, (especially the weight of the 1911 Colt) wider is better. Waaaay back when, I worked with a Detective level officer in the Dept. I was in at the time. He (in his own mind) was a total cloths horse and was a slave to all of the most current fads in the clothing field. We were both in 'plain clothes'. At that time (back then) narrow,(VERY narrow) belts of 5/8"and narrower were the fad. He carried one of the early S&W .357 pistols with a 4" bbl. in a belt holster. After a few months of carrying that shooter on the skinny belt, he began to have gastric problems which got worse and worse over time. Finally he became ill enough to make a run to the local emergency room where they discovered that when wearing that heavy shooter, the belt has a tendency to climb up over his hip bone and rest against the softer area above. This ultimately caused irritation on his innards which finally turned into peritonitis. He was sicker than hell and off duty for a couple of months as the result. A wider, firmer belt would have precluded this, and would have been more comfortable. A double layer 1 1/2" is the minimum width I will make or use myself. Wider is better (in many areas) and firmer is better as far as belt go. Of course these are my feelings - others may vary, but I try to rely on prior experience - be it mine or other's. Mike

Edited October 8, 2013 by katsass

[Reds Leather]

@Boriqua, Sorry to bring up such an old post, but how did you cut your belt slot? That looks very clean!

[Boriqua]

@Boriqua, Sorry to bring up such an old post, but how did you cut your belt slot? That looks very clean!

Hey Reds

It is a oblong punch that I picked up from Tandy

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/tools/punches/3120-143.aspx

I havent handled other brands of punches but as a tool guy it doesnt seem like the best made tool. It is hefty though and does the job. Dont use it straight from the package it will ruin your stuff "personal expereince "

You will need to do a fair amount of sharpening but once its good and sharp it does a great job with little effort.!

If I had to do it over I would look at another brand though.

Alex

[Red Cent]

TreeReaper pointed out something important. I use a machine but I don't think any glued edged is not sewed by me. 'Course with the other problems, it would have happened anyway. I also sew everything (except the welt area. And I don't use welts.) and fold afterwards.