Holster leather

[Mattsbagger]

Would gluing a 5oz and a 3oz together making the holster smooth inside and out. Should be a decent weight. Retention should still be good due to wet forming. Or is my thinking off?I  know some line with suede .

 

[CaptQuirk]

You could actually go heavier on the inside, specially for a heavy pistol. But what you have there is ok.

[Bolt Vanderhuge]

Works good for me. I have used 5/6oz + 3/4oz or 6/7oz + 2/3oz to achieve the same results. Basically giving me an 8 to 10 oz possibility. 

 

[Josh Ashman]

Yup, that's a fine plan. Some do line with suede, but others will tell you lining with suede is the devil. I'm not a fan of it, but it's probably not the devil. 

[Mattsbagger]

Good deal. Thanks everyone. 

[VMTinajero]

The problem with using suede is that it is usually chrome-tanned, which is corrosive to the pistol. If you don't keep your pistol up against the suede a lot, & regularly clean it you might be ok. The other problem with suede is that it picks up grit, & the sliding in & out of your pistol will wear on the finish.

[Dwight]

1 hour ago, Mattsbagger said:

Would gluing a 5oz and a 3oz together making the holster smooth inside and out. Should be a decent weight. Retention should still be good due to wet forming. Or is my thinking off?I  know some line with suede .

 

Actually, . . . if you have never done one of these, . . . you will be pleasantly surprised at the rigidity of it.  The 5 and 3 makes 8 in normal math, . . . but in rigidity, . . . it will become more like a 10 or 12 oz, . . . which is always good for retention.

Personally, I use suede on some of my holsters, . . . the thing about the chrome tanning rusting the gun is an old wives tale far as I'm concerned, . . . even had a guy wrap a piece of 1 inch round stock in suede, . . . stuck it in a safe, . . . months later, unwrapped it, . . . no rust whatsoever.

Suede will however, . . . as mentioned, . . . pick up dust and dirt if given an chance, . . . THAT can be hard on a gun's finish.  The key is to not over oil the gun, . . . most of the time that will take care of the dirt problem.  It can also get wet, . . . and not be noticed, . . . and THAT will cause that beautiful blued S&W or Colt to rust up and make a grown man cry.

Suede also makes a little better retention on these plastic fantastic guns that are all the rage nowadays, . . . in some cases.  The nice thing is that it will compress a tad, where veggie tan won't, . . . and if it does it stretches. 

May God bless,

Dwight

[Mattsbagger]

7 minutes ago, Dwight said:

Actually, . . . if you have never done one of these, . . . you will be pleasantly surprised at the rigidity of it.  The 5 and 3 makes 8 in normal math, . . . but in rigidity, . . . it will become more like a 10 or 12 oz, . . . which is always good for retention.

Personally, I use suede on some of my holsters, . . . the thing about the chrome tanning rusting the gun is an old wives tale far as I'm concerned, . . . even had a guy wrap a piece of 1 inch round stock in suede, . . . stuck it in a safe, . . . months later, unwrapped it, . . . no rust whatsoever.

Suede will however, . . . as mentioned, . . . pick up dust and dirt if given an chance, . . . THAT can be hard on a gun's finish.  The key is to not over oil the gun, . . . most of the time that will take care of the dirt problem.  It can also get wet, . . . and not be noticed, . . . and THAT will cause that beautiful blued S&W or Colt to rust up and make a grown man cry.

Suede also makes a little better retention on these plastic fantastic guns that are all the rage nowadays, . . . in some cases.  The nice thing is that it will compress a tad, where veggie tan won't, . . . and if it does it stretches. 

May God bless,

Dwight

I was thinking that about the rigidity. I have noticed when glued 2 pieces together seemed stiffer than equal weight of single. Now would I have to adjust my stitch line is the 1 million dollar question?

[Dwight]

I never do, . . . the stitch line that works for an 8 oz will work for a 5 + 3 or a 4 + 4, . . . or at least has so far.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Mattsbagger]

Cool. Fanks as they say in London.

[JLSleather]

8 oz is 8 oz (except over the pond, where it's 3mm).  Just a thought, tho.. 2 x 4 oz means a guy only has to buy one weight of leather

 

[Mattsbagger]

Ah yes but I have 5 and 3 in stock.

[JLSleather]

There's something to be said for in hand 

[chiefjason]

9 hours ago, VMTinajero said:

The problem with using suede is that it is usually chrome-tanned, which is corrosive to the pistol. If you don't keep your pistol up against the suede a lot, & regularly clean it you might be ok. The other problem with suede is that it picks up grit, & the sliding in & out of your pistol will wear on the finish.

Most of the very thin IWB or pocket holsters are made out of chrome tanned leather.  And have been for years.  It's stiffer for it's thickness than veg tanned.  Meaning you can get away with thinner leather for the holster.  I'm not talking small shops doing it, I'm talking the big guys, mass produced stuff.  I had heard that and believed it.  But like Dwight said, old wives tale.  The Desantis Sof tuck holster is chrome tanned per their CS.