M1912/m1916 Holster Revisited

[roys29]

Here are photos of my replica M1912 holster I just completed.

http://www.ktgunsmith.com/other/M1912-1.jpg

http://www.ktgunsmith.com/other/M1912-2.jpg

This was my second holster; I made a 1916 model for my son. I took the original M1912/M1916 holster patterns found here

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=41199&hl=ghostsoldier&page=3

and made a set of patterns using CorelDraw. I converted the patterns to a .pdf file and posted them here. Please feel free to download them and use.

http://www.ktgunsmith.com/other/M1912_M1916.pdf

Common parts are in black, M1912 parts in red, M1916 parts in blue. Each page includes a 1-inch square to ensure everything is to scale.

The handle rest I made out of a piece of 1/2-inch thick pine. First I cut out the shape, then cut out the notch. I used a belt sander to bevel it width-wise to a narrow edge on the right side, then taper it from top to bottom. I then tapered the top from the top of the notch to the top of the rest. This shape not only forces the grip of the gun outward, but serves as a funnel to make re-holstering easier. For the M1912 holster I hollowed out the bottom to accommodate the leg strap so the handle rest would lay flat onto the leather; this is not necessary for the M1916 model. I coated it with 2-coats of polyurethane, then molded 3-oz leather around the shape. The rest of the holster and parts went together pretty easily.

The brass hanging washer I fabricated out of a piece of 1/8 flat brass. The original pattern calls for a rivet; good luck finding that! I cut out a very rough circle slightly larger than 1-inch. I drilled a 3/16-inch hole in the center, but not all the way through. I then cut the head off of a 3/4-inch female Chicago screw and silver-solder it into the 3/16 hole. I then chucked the assembly into a drill and with it spinning used files to round and radius the washer. Pretty cool, huh?

[Pounder]

roys29

Thanks for posting the patterns and great work on the holsters.

[Constabulary]

Holy Cow - this is a really nice holster. I´m a bit US military crazy an like these holster more than any other. Do you has a stamp for the embosed US on the flap?

[J Hayes]

Thanks for the pattern

[roys29]

Ok, I cheated a little bit! I have a hobby table-top CNC mill that I used to mill the US stamp out of 1/2" aluminum. I purchased the mill off of ebay many years ago and use it to fabricate parts, gun grips, stamps, etc. It is a MAXNC 10CL which you can see here http://www.maxnc.net/product_p/maxnc10.htm . If you're real careful you can carve the US in the leather using normal leather carving techniques. Trace the US pattern onto cased (wet) leather, cut the outlines with a swivel knife, then use a smooth backgrounding tool to stamp down the background around the letters. Practice with scrap leather first!

Edited October 4, 2014 by roys29

[Constabulary]

any chance that you can make a stamp for me - well depends on how much you´d ask for it

I´m not really making holsters but I sometime come across some really nice original M-1916 holsters from WWI and WWII but some of the stamps are quite "faded" so I would be great to have a tool to give them back the original appearance.

[roys29]

Constabulary,

I'm not sure that would be a good idea. It's not that I couldn't make one for you, but my stamp is not an exact copy, it's an approximate, looks good to the naked eye, probably not the same size/shape as an original stamp. If you tried to over-stamp an original holster it would probably make a double image which really wouldn't look good.

I took the original M1912 drawing that had the US image on it, traced it with CorelDraw, then created the CNC code from that tracing; so it's close, but I really wouldn't want to overstamp a real M1912/M1916 holster for fear of ruining the original.

[camano ridge]

Roy, where did you get the brass rivet and burr you used for the holster swivel? Been looking around and found one place where I can get larger copper rivets and burr. but yours looks nicer.

[roys29]

Camano, to tell you the truth I cheated! I have a small hobby CNC mill at home that I used to mill the brass hanging washer. I milled a piece of 1/8 flat brass down to .100 thick, milled a 3/16 hole half way through one side, then cut it out 1.00 inch in diameter. I cut the head off of a 1/2 inch long steel Chicago screw and silver soldered the threaded part into the 3/16 hole. I then put the assembly in my drill and with it spinning, used a file to radius the front edge, and 400-grit paper to polish it. I used 1/4" eyelets on the two leather hanging parts which the 3/16" female Chicago screw fit into very nicely. The slotted head of the Chicago screw sets against my hip so it doesn't show, but the 1-inch brass head looks authentic.

[camano ridge]

Roy, thanks for the info. I was hoping you had a supplier I didn't know about. It turned out really nice.

[SRT]

Thanks a million for the pattern. I love that style and will post pics when i make one.

[DoubleBarP]

I have not visited the forum in some time but was looking to see if there was a pattern here.. Much to my surprise after 2 years the 1912, 1916 holster threat is still alive and well.. Kind of cool really.. Kudos..

Double Bar P