Home Made Holsters

[macbullet]

I love leather holsters and I've always been in awe of the guys that post pics of the holsters they've made, both the Pro's and and the amateur's, so I decided to give it a try. I think the old Safariland style holsters were some of the best looking so I sort of copied that design and added the Bear track for my 629 Mountain revolver.

I bought a real nice basketweave holster for a 3 1/2" Model 27 but it didn't fit the 627-5 very well so, again, I copied another design and came up with this one.

I'm having trouble getting the dye from being kinda splotchy and my stamp work needs a lot of improvement but it sure has been fun trying my hand at this. Thanks to all the guys that have posted pics of holsters and I'd like to see more home made leather from anybody. Don't pull any punches if you have comments......I can use all the help I can get.
Thanks.

 

[yogiboobooranger]

I think you are doing great!! I especially like the one at the bottom..make me one to fit a 657PC .41 mag 2.65 inch barrel. Just lower the belt loop slots just a little to get the cylinder above the belt line. Just cannot seem to find a good holster ready made to fit it. Anyway, nice work.

 

[CWH44300]

I like them both,. very nice work. Put my name on your waiting list. I'm not kidding

 

[Iggy]

That's some durn fine lookin' rigs. You may have a new career in your future.

 

[bronco45]

I really like the design and stamping on the 627 holster. Your first holster reminiscent of the Safariland model looks good. I was forced to wear their patented "sight track" and it was a bugger to draw from if you didn't draw straight out and up. The front sight would hang up.

 

[phenson]

I think the way you dyed it adds a lot of character. Very nice, I like both of them, but the bear track is special.

 

[gregintenn]

Your work looks great to me. I really enjoy making holsters. Watch out, because if you show many pictures like that, you'll have a backlog of work in front of you. About the only advice I can give would be to stop calling them "homemade", and use the term "hand crafted". You can add several dollars to your price that way.

 

[nn]

Right pretty holsters

 

[OK Hog Shooter]

Having tinkered with leatherwork and hand stitching on knife sheaves and belts... your work shows a great deal of attention to detail and a good sense for modifying patterns to suit your needs. Congratulations on some very nice holsters.

 

[elundgren]

Those look real good. I have modified many holsters to fit better or cut them down to fit shorter barrel lengths but the results while fitting well, always make me glad that I wear them out of sight. Not the case with yours.

 

[fyimo]

Congratulations as those are some fine looking holster you made.

 

[BobR1]

They both look good. Good attention to detail. I like the pancake best.

I went through some of my holsters a while back. I have several Bianchi and Safarilands ones which are no longer made. One I wear a lot is like your Bear Track Model without the retention strap.

By the way nice grips. Are they Aherns? What style? What wood?

Keep up the good work.

Bob

 

[Chipmunk6]

Howdy MB,Your holsters look great. I got rid of the
splotches on my holsters by dampening the leather,
then applying the dye with an airbrush in light coats.
Love the colors.

Chipmunk6

 

[macbullet]

Thanks to all for the kind words. I just started doing this about 4 6 weeks ago and the first attempts were pretty un-sightley and crude to say the least. Seeing pics from other makers and looking for tips on how to do things has helped a lot, I'm lucky to have a good friend who does some really beautiful leather work such as intricate inlays (see bottom pic of the Ruger Bisley grips he did for me), tooled guitar covers, and straps (Mosby Guitars, Custom Leather Guitar Straps, Custom Guitar Covers, Custom Pearl Inlay.) who gave me some great pointers, just found out 2 weeks ago that you're only supposed to use veg tanned leather for holsters and tooling so that shows you how ignorant I am on the subject.....but I'm learning and it is a lot of fun, not all that time consuming, and gives a needed break from caring for my wife who has been very ill since last August. I have an AMT in 50 AE that I could never find a holster for and that's what started this whole thing, guess in a way you could call it therapy. The idea of putting the belt loops lower, below the cylinder is a great idea and I'll give that a try. The Safariland copies don't have the sight track in them, rather just a leather spacer (never liked the sight track idea either). The grips on the Mt Revolver are Ahrend's Retro Combat and I think they are cocobolo. Hey......"Hand Crafted" does sound better than "Home Made", thanks for that but I have no intention of trying to sell holsters. Some of the best inspiration has come from the rigs Iggy has shown that were made by his friend in Texas, Keith44Spl I think is his handle. Those are some First Class outfits, "Bar-B-Que rigs for sure. I would love to be able to turn out rigs like that. Here are a few more, and again, I welcome any and all comments, good and bad.

AMT V 50 AE

Model 66, 3" Safariland copy

Ruger Vaquero crossdraw (I didn't make the belt)

Kimber Ultra Elite

Colt Delta Elite

Ruger 5 1/2" Bisley Bear Track with Jeff Mosby grip inlay

Thanks again!

 

[yogiboobooranger]

I like them all, super good looking leather. I also really like the cross draw for the Vaquero..I am just getting into Cowboy action shooting and it would work swell. Again great job, and by the way, keeping the belt slots lower on the pancake so that the cylinder is above the belt line is not my idea, but someone else's on another forum, suggested to help hide a large frame revolver under a shirt for CCW carry. That is how I wish to carry my new 657PC snubby if and when I can find one.

 

[nawilson]

Those are some mighty fine looking holsters! You should be proud of them.

If you don't mind, do you know of any good tutorials/ videos/ books for holster making? I have been thinking off and on for several months about giving it a go. After seeing your handiwork motivates me!

 

[BearBio]

Go for it. I've been at it for about a month now. I'll PM you with some pics. they'll be of my first rigs.

I completed my own rig a week ago. CASS style with strong side holsters. Used/modified Will Ghormley's pattern. Used conchos instead of tooling. Nice brown color. Finished with EVOO.

Finished one for my wife last night. Right and left Slim Jims, deep black leather, conchos & buckle with turquoise. Used vinegaroon and Skidmore's to finish it.

Go to the CAS City Leather Shop. Great pics, ideas, and techniques. I learned to make vinegaroon over there=an old time natural dye. I love it! Looking for some walnut husks (not shells but the fibrous husk outside of the shell)=they make a really nice chocolate brown.

 

[macbullet]

BearBio, the CAS City site will take a long time to go thru, lot of good stuff there. Thanks for the link. nawilson, thanks, if I've inspired you to make a go at it you owe it to all the others before me who inspired me. All it takes is the want to and it's a relatively inexpensive hobby to get started in, I love it. I start by making a pattern from the gun on some medium weight construction paper. A lot of trial and error until you get the pattern to fit right, at least for me. Check out the CAS City site, there's a lot of info there that I wish I knew earlier. Thanks for the compliment MOONDAWG, guess they do sorta have that worn look. I see some of the russett color holsters that have been made and the color is perfectly the same all the way through...maybe someday. I especially like the colors Barranti has on his work. Feel free to put up pics of anything you've made or like. I wouldn't consider it hijacking the thread, I think it would be great to see more of everyone's work, that's what got me started in the first place. Thanks again all.

 

[bamabiker]

Hey mac, those look very good, I'm impressed. When you going to try some floral tooling?

My first basketweave.

A recent 1911.

Not a holster but the last leatherwork I did.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Iggy]

Bamabiker, That is some very nice work. Keep it up!!