hdgirl1340 Report post Posted January 12, 2009 After 3 tries i'm getting close. The first one i did I didnt make it tall enough and the stitching was in the wrong places. The second one i put in boiling water and left it in wayyyyy to long and it cooked like a piece of meat!! This is the 3rd one....it's getting better but i'm not sure if i should have had it in the hot water just a little bit longer because it's not as firm as the other pervious holsters turned out but i think the stitching and design is getting a lot better! BTW this is a left handed crossdraw style holster. Critique welcome! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greybeard Report post Posted January 12, 2009 Well it looks like you got It! Nice Stitching and I like the High ride Design...minds think a like...P3AT Holster if you don't mind my asking, Why Did you Boil it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hdgirl1340 Report post Posted January 12, 2009 Thank you for the compliment! It means a lot! I still have a longgggggggg ways to go with all this! Here is what i read about boiling leather..it's hardens itm but you really need to be careful with how long you put it in the hot water! http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~Marc-Carlson/leather/hl.html Well it looks like you got It! Nice Stitching and I like the High ride Design...minds think a like...P3AT Holster if you don't mind my asking, Why Did you Boil it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shorts Report post Posted January 12, 2009 Nice holster. I like the stitching as well. As for the boiling water - don't do it At least not for holsters, I don't recommend it. (Looks like te link you provided would be used for armor maybe?) What happens is you get a holster that, as you experienced, cooks. The natural oils are removed and then you basically get a pork rind for a holster. It doesn't flex and it will crack and break if it is bent. Soooo, just my .02 cents. My rule of thumb is if its too hot for your hand, its too hot for the leather. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TroyS Report post Posted January 12, 2009 I agree completely with Shorts! I rarely use anything more than hot TAP WATER for my wet molding. I run it under the HOT TAP WATER until it goes completely limp (which means it's saturated). As long as the HOT TAP WATER soaks your leather, you can form it to do almost anything. And it still leaves most of the leather's natural oils intact. Then once your leather has dried in the form you want, a light coat of neatsfoot oil to replenish the leather's lost oils and BAM! You want the leather to be hard enough to hold the shape but NOT so hard that it would rub the gun's BLUEING off! You've definitely got the shape and stitching down! Very nice work! Maybe some Edge-Kote on the edges but all-in-all, you've crafted a mighty fine holster! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lobo Report post Posted January 12, 2009 I've been making holsters since 1972. I use warm water in the winter because it's more comfortable for my hands. I use cold water in the summer for the same reason. There is no detectable difference in how the leather behaves during or after forming. Nice design, well executed. You're doing good work. Try not to make it any more complicated than it needs to be. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
