Ruger sp 101 Holster short barrel

[Goldwing]

Well I purchased this revolver last week and thought I would try to make a couple of holsters and belts for it. I have never made a formed holster before but I thought because of the price of the ones at the gun store what do I have to loose. The angle on the belt could be better but it fits pretty good. One I made to remove the holster from the belt without taling off the belt. I put velcro and a stud to hold in place. Had a buckle on it first won't fit through the belt loops even with a very small buckle. The second one I made to conceal better the belt on the outside holds the gun tighter to the body and the open end does not bulge out because of the extra leather around the barrel. I hand stiched the first one. What machine do most of you use for stiching holsters? Thanks for you comments in advance!

[Randyc]

Very interesting first holsters. That's the first time I've seen a belt modified to fit the holster. Yankee ingenuity has triumphed again. What type of leather did you use for your belts and holsters? The belt slide kinds of resembles an ostrich print. Your stitching appears to be uniform and overall not bad at all.

For stitching, I use an Artisan Toro 3000. It's a very nice saddle stitcher with probably the best customer service you will find.

Keep building them holsters and don't forget to post more photos.

Randy

Edited November 27, 2008 by Randyc

[Goldwing]

Thanks Randy for the imput. The leather I used is 10 oz tooling leather on the first holster. Ostrich print leather on the second one about 8-9 oz. Never made one before not sure what is the best leather to use ? Thanks for the imput on the Toro 3000 how thick of leather will it sew? I do have a Neels sticher but it is limited to the lighter thickness of leather. I hand stiched the first one and used the Neels on the belt only to hold the velcro in place. Used Neels to stich the ostrage print holster. What kind of foot options does the Toro have to offer? The close stiching on my Neels ,seems to be very hard to do because of the foot, doesnt let me get that close to what I am stiching in tight places. What size thread do you use on your holsters? Thanks in advance for the imput.

[Randyc]

Thanks Randy for the imput. The leather I used is 10 oz tooling leather on the first holster. Ostrich print leather on the second one about 8-9 oz. Never made one before not sure what is the best leather to use ? Thanks for the imput on the Toro 3000 how thick of leather will it sew? I do have a Neels sticher but it is limited to the lighter thickness of leather. I hand stiched the first one and used the Neels on the belt only to hold the velcro in place. Used Neels to stich the ostrage print holster. What kind of foot options does the Toro have to offer? The close stiching on my Neels ,seems to be very hard to do because of the foot, doesnt let me get that close to what I am stiching in tight places. What size thread do you use on your holsters? Thanks in advance for the imput.

I use 6/7 oz. vegatable tan leather for my pocket holsters and throat bands. I usually use 8/9 oz. for my fold over tunnel-loop belt holsters, but some times use the 6/7 oz. for my lighter weight pistols. I'm currently working up a design for a pancake belt slide holster. I will be trying a combination of th 6/7 and 8/9 oz. for that holster.

I've never seen vegetable tanned leather in a print, so I'm assuming you used a chrome tanned leather for your 2nd holster? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

A word of caution, the salts use in the chromium tanning process can harm a pistols finish, so use that holster for a learning experiance.

Every holster I build is a learning experiance.

The Artisan Toro 3000 and 4000 are both heavy duty stitchers rated to stitch up to 3/4 of an inch of vegtable tanned leather.

I use 277 weight thread for my holsters. I believe you can use up to around 346 weight thread in the Toro's. Any more questions, just ask.

We have a lot of really talented people on this forum who will answer your questions.

Randy

Here's a link to Artisan

www.aritisansew.com