Those who have seen the S.D. Myres carved and laced holster
posted by bracebeemer are pretty much in unanimous agreement
that it is one of, if not the one most beautiful holster they have
ever seen, including myself.
That got me to wondering what is the ugliest holster I have ever
seen?
Years ago I was reading Chic Gaylord's great little Handgunner's
Guide. In the book Chic tells us step by step how to make a
Missouri Skin Tight holster.
It looked easy enough so I gave it a shot. It was very educational
because it showed me that I am definitely not a holster maker.
It must be the ugliest example of holster making, at least in my
collection. How about you. Can you beat it?

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In Omnia Paratus

What!!!...No floral carving?? Ha Ha Well the only thing I see is the stitching is a little loose but hey the gun looks like it fits tight. When are you taking orders. do you have one in left hand......LOL..................M*

Jest keep workin at it.....it don't get any easier.


Really though, that looks like a mother-n-law holster.....

A feller can hang it on his mil an send both up in the hills,

and not miss either one if they don't come back...
.

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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

It does the job. Way ahead of leaving your hog leg sitting on the night stand. He probably wasn't going to a BBQ, anyway. Glad he said it was "Missouri" and not Texas, though.

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Randy
Provenance nerd

Nope, you win

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Forged From Freedom

Winner, winner, chicken dinner. That is one ***** holster.

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Fight socialism. Never stop.

I dabble in leather work. Totally for entertainment. Have made a few "rigs" for relatives and myself, but nothing that rivals the work produced by some other SWF members.

So.......I bought a basic Tandy "starter kit" and a package of scrap leather from Hobby Lobby, and here is my first experiment.



Later got some plastic lacing and tried my hand at "carving". Looks a little better, but not much.



It does work, though.

Do I get a "2nd Place Ribbon"?

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Lorin

My first holster was for a Remington .44 army and looked similar to your, but I didn't use a shoe lace. I sewed it. Over 40 years ago, and it still works. I've tried stamping and carving, but no real talent for it. I have over a dozen in the misfit drawer now, and 3 I really like. As you get more practice, you dare to spend some money and get good leather, and it does make a difference. Every once in a while, Springfield Leather has some horse butt, and it makes a really nice holster. Also nice to work with.

skeezix I don't think yours is anywhere near as ugly as mine. We'll see
what the critics say about it, but I would almost wear it in public. But
not to the barbeque. P.S. I like the gun.

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In Omnia Paratus

RV4driver Hmmm..a 5 letter compliment. What could it be?

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In Omnia Paratus

I can't beat either one of these. I don't think it's possible. You both win in a tie.

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Dr. B

Nope, you guys are wrong, based upon any examples shown so far !
Have not seen any examples of nylon or kydex yet ! 😙

They have there place, functionality yes, but not pretty, leather wins for beauty ! 😎

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Wherever my mind isn't
Jim

That's so bad it looks like I made it.

Well, maybe not THAT bad.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Still better-looking than any plastic holster.

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SWHF #448

I still have the first holster I ever made when I was about 13. Actually I didn't make it. It was my dad's. I just dismantled it, switched it to left hand rough out, made a new loop, and re-laced it. I packed my Single Six in that thing wearing it kind of in the back like John Wayne. Here's that masterpiece of leatherwork on the left here.

A Thunderwear rig on a scantly clad 350+ (give or take a 3rd grader) pound man or woman. They don't make that much eye bleach.

OK I'll see if I can dig up some kydex & nylon and really ugly up this
thread.

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In Omnia Paratus

I can't beat yours, but this was one of the first holsters I ever built. The one on the right is my copy of the El Paso Saddlrey holster on the left. Mine is a water formed, saddle stitched cross draw version.



The only way you get better is by practice.

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Will work for ammo.

That's pretty ugly Phil but I've seen worse. Some of the guys I used to work with had duty holsters that were so worn, scrapped up and cracked they look like they were dug up at an archeological site.

Well, it rhymes with ugly, but with an f, who knew?

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Fight socialism. Never stop.

Well if we're going for ugly I think I have you all beat. This was my first attempt at making a holster. I not only made an ugly holster I went over the top and made an entire rig that's extremely ugly!

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SWCA #1917

Xray, that's a beauty.
I told myself I would never show this again but since I see all you other brave souls, my first.

xray is that a pearl handle on your gun? You know what Gen. Patton said
about pearl handles don't you? Well the rig goes right along with the pearl
handles.

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In Omnia Paratus

Folks, we have a new winner.

God help us all if I ever tried my hand at it. What a waste of good leather that would be. I have cobbled up a few knife sheaths but will refrain from posting any pictures to avoid being banned from the forum.

That reminds me of a pair of Western boots my Mom had. We lived in Roswell at the time and my Mom and Dad went across the border in El Paso with friends. She came back with pair of black boots, pointy toe, 10"-12" tall!! and with a flower pattern very similar to your belt and holster. My Mom was about 5'-4" tall so when she wore them , with her pants tucked in, my Dad said it looked like she was being attacked by a flower garden!

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Wherever my mind isn't
Jim

Not only Pearl but FAKE PEARL to boot!😳

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SWCA #1917

These are my recent creation with 10 - 12oz leather in a Wheel gunner style holster and simple open bullet holder for a model 69 .44 magnum. What oz leather do you prefer. I think 8oz is perfect.

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That is without doubt, a truly ugly holster. So far, in this thread, you are, in my opinion, the clear winner of the contest. Darn funny stuff, good sense of humor Phil. Keep up the good work, guys like you keep me in business. LOL!

Cheers;
Lefty

Thanks Lefty. As it happens I am going to feature a couple of your
holsters in my daily offering tomorow. Tune in.

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In Omnia Paratus

I'll be on the road for the day, but will try to catch up at some point.

Cheers;
Lefty

Everybody's gotta start somewhere.
My first.

I needed something to carry my snubby in and factory holsters cost way too much.

I was hooked on leather crafting.
My latest.

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Keep on Chooglin'

Ugliest holster ever? That is a toss-up for me.

One customer returned a holster, reporting the finish was falling apart and the holster no longer provided any retention. When it arrived I saw that the finish was almost completely gone, seriously blotchy overall, leather fibers coming apart, leather soft and floppy. What really caught my attention was a powerful chemical odor. Asked Mr. Customer about that, and he explained that he had gotten some stains on the holster so he washed it in gasoline.

Another customer reported that his dog had gotten to his holster and chewed on it a bit, wanted to know if it was repairable. It was a real chew-toy when I saw it! Not one square inch remained intact.

I couldn't force myself to keep either one or save any photos, so I can't offer anything for this "ugliest holster" competition.

Ray you could start a dumbest customer thread. Looks like you have had
some good candidates. Did both of those customers want to know if they
had a warranty?

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In Omnia Paratus

Obviously some people can destroy anything...

P.44

I had some buckskin lace left over and need the practice, so I
re-laced my ugly holster. I put a hole in between each of the
previous holes and took out that rawhide boot string. What do
you think? Does it help? Can I get an upgrade from ugly to
semi-ugly or maybe disgusting? Your expert opinions are valued.

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In Omnia Paratus

Hey,..I think that looks a little better, if you could incorporate some long buckskin fringe along that seam I think that would top it off!!..Just a thought......................................M*

oh...And don't forget to stamp your makers mark on it as well..................................M*

That fringe is not a bad idea. I saw a photo of Sitting Bull's holster and,
with a fringe, it would look kinda like his.

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In Omnia Paratus

Ya...That's what I thought!!..I know if that were mine and I had made it and it works like it should I would ware it...........................M*

I kinda like it. Idea: Crazyphil's Primitive Holsters.
I think there's a market for them.

Inside one's skivvies...pictures not necessary.

All joking-kidding aside, everyone has to start somewhere. I made one like that when I was probably around 9 or 10 years old. I had a cap gun that I fit to it and brought it into Chic Gaylord's shop on West 47th. Street.

All the cops standing round in the shop, laughed at my crude incarnation of a Missouri Skintite, more or less, but were good hearted really by asking for my "business card" and what other holsters I could make for them. I recall that I wasn't sure if they were serious or just screwin' with me. The latter I'm sure.

By the time I was 14, I could make any holster and make a saddle or any horse goods from scratch. By 21, I was doing that.....and putting felons in the can as my sideline. Some guys figured it was the other way round, it wasn't.

I encourage you to continue, you'll only improve with practice and experience.

But you have to start somewhere and...it usually isn't too pretty.

Cheers;
Lefty

Thanks Lefty. I'm 81 and my Doctors are not very optimistic, so I think
I will just keep having fun. Don't need another career.
PS I posted a couple of "Chicago Rockers" yesterday. Did you see
them?

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In Omnia Paratus

Ok... After seeing all the post and pic's I have come to the conclusion that I will Not try my hand a making a holster.... Thanks for sharing your pic's folks!!

Phil;

Been out of the mix awhile, but saw the photos you posted, thanks for the kind remarks.Stay well.

Cheers;
Lefty

Mblhopo I could not figure how to put a fringe along the edge
without re-doing the entire holster, so I just tried the bolo and
a couple of strands. Did I make a silk purse out of a sow's ear?
Or did I just make an ugly silk purse? Oh well, it's been fun.

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In Omnia Paratus

Hey crazyphil,...Now that does look A little better!!..Also I thought maybe if you slide a piece of rawhide string all the way down and under the stitching then tie rawhide strains off of that to get the fringe look you wanted....Hey I'am not a holster maker by no means, and I'am sure there's a lot of guys here that are, but I think I would enjoy a project like yours myself. probably would not turn out as good as yours did...But hey were having fun trying, I guess that's what it's all about...............................M*

Mblhopo Get a copy of Chic Gaylord's Handgunners Guide. I borrowed it
from our local library. He shows you step by step how to make the so
called "Missouri Skintight". Leave the leather along the edges a couple
of inches wider and cut the fringe right into it before lacing. If you do a
project be sure to show us. OK?

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In Omnia Paratus

Sounds good,...Thanks Phil....................................M*

Great thread. I've considered trying my hand at it, but hate the thought of a cow having to die for what I'm pretty sure would be a very pitiful first several attempts.

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275