Belt slot punches.....

[HBAR]

Mine are from Texas custom dies.  I have one that is 1 1/2" by 3/8" which is good for heavy gun belts smaller than 1 1/2" . I also have one that is 1 3/4" which is nice for heavy 1 1/2 belts.

They are straight oblong.  They cost me $80 plus shipping.

I had one develop a crack immediately and it seemed like I was being blamed for it. Which Im guessing was a misworded or poorly worded email to me and me being overly sensitive and annoyed. I sent it back, they fixed it. I wasnt sure that it was going to last the second time, however its still going good.  I think they have good products for a decent price.  My experience wasnt perfect but I would probably buy from them again. 

You will not regret having the punch to do your slots. I see pics here of people doing it with round punches and then cutting the material between. Im sure it can be done neat and clean, but most of the attempts look like crap.  This will solve that for you.  Punch the hole, run the backside edge, dye and burnish and your belt slots will look great.

Edited December 17, 2016 by HBAR

[CaptQuirk]

7 minutes ago, HBAR said:

You will not regret having the punch to do your slots. I see pics here of people doing it with round punches and then cutting the material between. Im sure it can be done neat and clean, but most of the attempts look like crap.

As a person who just attempted to do curved belt slots by hand, I agree 100%. Was that $80 each, or for the pair?

[HBAR]

each plus shipping.  its costs money to do things professionally. It will make your slots look like you know what you are doing AND it takes about 2 seconds to cut the slots with the punch. That should be worth something to you, it was to me.

As far as curved slots, I think its more of someones gimmick. I have tried both ways. I dont see any necessity in doing them that way. Im sure somebody thinks they look cool, but I think they just drag on the center of the belt more. Potentially  scratching a belt.

[CaptQuirk]

@HBAR- I agree 100% with you about the time saving and quality of results. I couldn't tell you how much time I put into those two slots, and they were far from being what I wanted. As for the curved slots, I used them on a small of back holster, so that the guy could have a little adjustment on the position. I don't do a whole lot of holsters with belt slots, but just one was enough to know it sucks doing them by hand. Straight slots aren't too bad though.

[TonyRV2]

For what its worth here's a guy on ebay selling a new Osborne 1-1/2" punch for 52.49 shipped.  I have no experience with this punch, just thought I'd throw it out there for comparison.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/C-S-Osborne-No-151-1-1-2-Inch-Bag-or-Oblong-Punch-Made-in-the-USA-/301633930454

[HBAR]

I have a ton of the osbourne punches.  They work fine for slots.  All the ones I have are skinny though. Like the ones you posted.

  I make holsters for men who wear guns all day everyday and use heavy belts.  Just try to get a 1/4" belt through those slots. It sucks. I made holsters with those for a long time. If you punch the slots with the osbourne and then get the holster wet enough you can use your burnishing tool (one of mine is mounted on a drill press) then you can wallow the slot out and it will be larger.  I knew there had to be a better way to do it. I didnt want my customers  to have to jam their belts through the slots.  The new slots are wide enough that they dont have to get a hernia pushing their belt through.  Once again the smaller slots are fine if your customer is using a thin belt, just not a good gun belt.  Comfortable carry of a firearm is made easier with a good holster and a good, rigid, lined belt.

[JLSleather]

My 1/4" x 1 1/2" slots fit quite nicely with lined belts.  Not sure what you're doing differently.  

I've seen them there slots 3/8" to 1/2" wide, and long as they aren't in my holsters I'm okay with that

 

[tnhomestead]

If your cheap you can always punch the holes out and connect using a sharp chisel -- works fine for me until I can replace the rest of my tools! Its easier for me than using a razor knife, and seems to work real good with a round knife.

[CaptQuirk]

@tnhomestead- I used the hole punch and my pocket knife with a straight edge for straight slots. It does ok,, but a real punch would be nice.

[CaptQuirk]

I just got a response from Texas Custom Dies. A curved 1 3/4" slot punch is $125 plus shipping. Weaver has an Osborne  1 1/2" curved for $43. I'm sure it isn't the same quality, but it is either one punch and no leather, or a cheap punch and leather with free shipping for the same price. I can work with cheap