Holster Liner Material

[DuqQuaid]

I’ve read to use veg tanned for holster liners. Is this a do not deviate instruction?  
 

I already have some super soft supple deer skin but I doubt it’s veg tanned. I don’t currently have any light weight veg tan to use as a liner. 
 

I just got a cz shadow 2, holsters aren’t super common for this one. 

[WolfteverGunleather]

The reason for lining with veg tan is that the chromium salts in chrome tanned leather are harmful to the finish of the firearm over time, so my personal standard is that I never line a holster with anything except veg tan. But I realize there are different opinions on the issue and many holsters exist that are lined with non veg tan leather.

I don’t know where you are located, but do you know if there are other leather workers in your vicinity that might be able to share a small piece of thin veg tan?

[DuqQuaid]

This is a self-taught YouTube assisted, when the little kids are preoccupied endeavor. No nearby buddies. 
 

The only leather store I know of around Pittsburgh is Tandy, and they’re on the other side, 1+ hour away. It’s worth it to pay the shipping costs. 
 

 

I saw a Weaver video saying if I pre-bend the holster for leather layers over 4oz then I can use heavyweight veg leathers. Is this feasible?

Edited July 29, 2020 by DuqQuaid

[Hildebrand]

Definitely stay with the veg tan for a liner.  You can prebend but I routinely use two layers of 4-5 sometimes 5-6oz leather and have never had a problem with it wrinkling when bent.  I always wet the centerline I am bending around inside and out pretty well before bending.  I also have a shadow 2 and am working on a holster pattern.  I highly recommend Sam Adams YT video where he shows how to get the stitch lines and then draw the holster.  Adams Leather Works has a couple similar videos where he details how he gets the stitch lines.  Also not sure how much detail you are shooting for but if you are looking to "bone" the holster for the gun detail to show through a lined holster makes that much more difficult.

Good Luck,

Todd

[Frodo]

I disagree with a veg tan liner

go with a suede type liner, be it Pig, goat or deer or elk

it is soft. veg tan will rub the blue off the gun over time

Edited July 30, 2020 by Frodo

[DuqQuaid]

3 hours ago, Hildebrand said:

Definitely stay with the veg tan for a liner.  You can prebend but I routinely use two layers of 4-5 sometimes 5-6oz leather and have never had a problem with it wrinkling when bent.  I always wet the centerline I am bending around inside and out pretty well before bending.  I also have a shadow 2 and am working on a holster pattern.  I highly recommend Sam Adams YT video where he shows how to get the stitch lines and then draw the holster.  Adams Leather Works has a couple similar videos where he details how he gets the stitch lines.  Also not sure how much detail you are shooting for but if you are looking to "bone" the holster for the gun detail to show through a lined holster makes that much more difficult.

Good Luck,

Todd

Which one is Sam Adams? I’m finding plenty of beer and what’s not beer is Adams Leather. Thanks

 

I have some border line recommended thin enough leather- but it’s that cheaper stuff with an alligator/snake print pressed in it. Would this texture negate the benefits of a lined holster?

[Hildebrand]

Yes Adams leather he is with hank strange. I think you loose a little with the textured leather but it will work fine for practice. 
 

Todd

[Hildebrand]

1 hour ago, Frodo said:

I disagree with a veg tan liner

go with a suede type liner, be it Pig, goat or deer or elk

it is soft. veg tan will rub the blue off the gun over time

@Frodo I am going to respectfully disagree. The suede type leather traps any grit and gunk you bring in when you holster your gun.  Also I think the majority of suede leather is chrome tanned. I will stick with veg tanned liners, a little blue wear is better than a scratch from a piece of trapped grit or rust from the chrome tan chemicals. 
 

Todd

[blue62]

+1 on the veg liner, mine are the same stuff the fronts are cut from, usually 4/5oz for pancakes.

[Dwight]

Like blue62 . . . +1 on the veg tan leather liner.

Generally if I'm lining a holster . . . I cut out my outside piece . . . flip the rest of my leather over . . . cut out the liner . . . put the two together with contact cement . . . sand the edges smooth . . . and proceed with my leather holster making.  I generally use 6/7 oz for both the outside and the liner.

John Bianchi  teaches that technique . . . and he has probably made more holsters than any 20 you can find on this forum all put together . . . I learned from his videos.

The other reason to leave deer skin . . . pig skin . . . etc out of your holsters is they absorb and suck the oil off your gun much worse than veg tan . . . and as mentioned earlier . . . will also become a repository for every last piece of sand, dust, dirt, and other garbage . . . in addition to being softer than veg tan . . . and will mush up, cut, and become ugly . . . very quick.

These are some I've made. . . . all are double leather . . . 6/7 oz . . . most where both pieces are cut from the same hide. . .  next to each other.

The only time I break that rule above . . . I put suede as a liner on my trucker holsters that basically are a chest holster for hunting.  The gun is never in the suede long enough to get chrome salts on it that will hurt it . . . and the suede makes drawing it just a tad more quiet than the veg tan.  Animals have very sensitive hearing. . . so I do that only for my hunting customers.

May God bless,

Dwight

 

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2020 by Dwight