Thanks Danny, but I don't expect to be selling any holsters, I'll leave that to the Pro's. These are things I wanted to try and I'm having a ball doing it. Phil, thank you also, can't wait to see your pics. I stitch everything by hand also, but a little different than you. I do groove the stitch line, are you supposed to do it when the leather is damp? I haven't tried that. Also mark with a wheel but I use a 1/16" punch for the holes, starting at one end and going back over to double stitch. I haven't tried the two needle thing (I'm lucky I can use one!). I use an awl to enlarge the holes on the secong pass, if I don't the thread gets all messed up and knotted. Even then pliers are needed at times as you said. I cut off the little finger from a pair of leather gloves for my right pinky. Pulling the thread tight didn't agree with that poor little finger. Been busy the last couple days making more and it's all you guy's fault for encouraging me.

A different Bear seemed approriate for my Ruger 45 Colt Hunter holster since it has accounted for one Black Bear so far. Grip inlays by Jeff Mosby (Mosby Guitars, Custom Leather Guitar Straps, Custom Guitar Covers, Custom Pearl Inlay.).



Then there's this Ruger Security Six that I sold a couple years ago and through a strange set of circumstances brought back to the fold so I made this spider web holster.

Macbullet,

Yes, when the leather is dampened you use a little Tandy tool which you drag along the outside edge of the leather. A protruding piece, with a hole in it, is set (with a set screw) for the distance in from the edge where you want the stitch line. As you drag it along, it peels a perfect long thread of leather, forming the groove. Then you roll the star wheel down the groove and it marks the stitch hole points. I think a 1/16" punch might be way to much. The awl is probably better.

And you need to try the two-needle saddle stitch, fastening the thread to each needle the way Al Stohlman did. It's very secure. And it's the easy way.

Everything you do with the leather, you do while it is quite damp. And it's good to re-dampen it several times as you work, because it breathes out a lot of the moisture, just like our skin. It's amazing how quickly this can happen, while you are working. And you know it, because working the leather becomes more difficult and less precise.

I'll try to take/post some pics, but I've been busy casting lead cores and swaging some big fat .444 Marlin jacketed hollow point 240 grainers.

O.K., I hope this is not overkill, but here are a few holsters I've made over the years. Worst first. I got carried away with colors, in doing this Mexican style holster for the 1911.


Below is one for my Para Ordnance P10 .45. The little rivet in the corner is a very good idea to keep the stitches from opening up over the years, if you use it a lot.


I originally made this one way back in 1986 for my H&K P7M13. I sign, mark, and date each new holster on the back side. Recently I found it is a perfect fit for my new Walther/S&W PPKS .380. Note the thick leather spacer sewn into the lower seam, to widen it for the P7M13 dimensions. And this is a closed bottom holster, with a bottom piece sewn in, squaring the end.


I originally made this one for the P10, but changed my mind about the design. With a new safety strap, it fits one of my custom made "K" snubbies perfectly. Note the Victory frame lanyard ring...sort of curious on a round butt.


Here's one for my S&W 63. Doing it again, I would use a color other than silver for the scallops around the edge. You learn something with each new holster.


The colors worked out a little bit better on the traditional floral design for this S&W 66 holster...my early one with all stainless rear sight and trigger stop, which I purchased new.


Here's a very long holster for one of my 6" Colt Woodsman's. I also made a quick attach extension hanger, so during severe cold winter weather, I can hang the thing so it is just below the edge of my parka, so I can get at it without half undressing and freezing. I call it my "low draw" rig. I like basket weave; simple, easy to do, and looks good.


I have other holsters for inside the pants, belt clip inside or out, etc. All are unadorned and strictly utilitarian. Tandy Leather sells, or did sell, nice nickel plated flat spring belt clips which you can sew and rivet into the holster, and I've used a few of those.

It's nice to be able to visualize the holster design for a new pistol, and then just start making it...often copying or adapting features you see on some other commercial holster. I take a manila file folder, wrap it loosely around the gun, and begin drawing on the cardboard with a marking pen and then trimming it to shape with a scissors. Pretty soon you have a template for tracing onto leather, cutting...on and on it goes. Good rainy day stuff.

Phil,those are some good looking holsters. I really enjoy seeing other's leather work.
I use the Tandy tool for the stitch groove but then I make it deeper by using a groover that my Father had. I use them with the leather dry, seem to have better control, but that's just me.
I was using a 1/16" punch but now use an awl. I do use two needles and do the saddle stitch.
Most of my tools were my Father's that he bought in the 40's when he taught himself leather work. He was in the Air Force stationed in Wyoming when he and a bunch of other guys got rhumatic fever. He stayed in the hospital over a year and started working with leather while there. He made belts, purses and billfolds. He got me started in leather when I was about 20 making belts mostly. Then went a long time without making anything. After he died (13 years ago this month) I got all his leather stuff and that's when I got interested again. Just started holsters about a year ago.
I enjoy it and it kinda makes me feel good knowing I'm carrying on something Dad started.
Do any of you do any other leather things? Besides holsters? I'd like to see some if you do.
Here's a picture I did for our HR director.

The picture is not too good but it's all I've got.
Mac, don't mean to hi-jack your thread, hope you don't mind.

Great looking holsters Phil and thanks for the tips. bama, don't feel like you're hijacking the thread. Great story about your Dad, bet he'd be proud you're carrying on.....especially with his tools, that's great! I wish you would post more of your work, holsters or whatever. That goes for anybody, if you have holsters you've made put up the pics we all want to see them. Thanks!

Well since you asked for it...
M65 Ladysmith

M15

3" J frame for one of our members

Another 1911

M686


We are Bama fans

Contrary to what some think we don't all hate Auburn

One of my daughters likes peacocks

Sorry if I got carried away.

Beautiful holsters, bama biker. The fine design work looks like it could come straight out of one of Al Stohlman's instruction books. Non-leather crafters probably don't understand how difficult the floral patterns are. It's one thing to make a design consisting of a factory stamp, or a combination of them, and quite another thing to carve and shape.

In that regard, you can also make these the easy way, sticking to stamping tools only. For those of you who like the look of tooled holsters, I'd encourage you to jump in and get your feet wet. Buy a minimal number of simple tools, on the advice of somebody who knows, and try to make a holster. The basket weave designs look great and are unbelievably simple to do. You just tap the stamping tool with a mallet for each segment, and move on to the next one, linking them together. There is no artistic carving required. It's a mechanical process. After that, you can try some simple carving, in combination with the stamps. The whole thing really is a lot of fun, and admirers at the range will have no idea how easy most of it was.

An inevitable result is that everybody wants you to make a holster, but there aren't enough hours in the day.

Here are some of my kydex holsters and accessories. I want to get into leather though. I don't put sixguns in kydex.

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Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas

My friend bamabiker made this for me

I've posted some of these before. I started teaching myself a few years ago.






Chaps I made

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SWCA #1917

Great work guys! That floral carving is starting to get to me, just beautiful. Bama, I'd love to be able to take that Tiger design and make something similar, only a Bear. Keep 'em coming.

Very nice work, Xray97. It's interesting to see that each person here who has shown some of his leather work has a slightly different and distinctive style. What a great medium to express creativity.

Thank you. I learn something or get some ideas every time there is a thread like this. There has been some excellent work posted!

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SWCA #1917

All you Guys should be very proud of yourselves, you are all true craftmen

Fantastic holsters & great work

thanks for sharing.

JD

Very nice xray97, I love the lacing but I did not like doing it. Only done one item and did not enjoy it. Maybe I need to learn a little more.

wow you guys are amazing.I have made knife sheaths.but I may have to try a gun holster now.

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God save the SOUTH

Did you deglaze the leather prior to dyeing it?
I found that if I clean/deglaze it with acetone it allows the dye to cover much more evenly and penetrate deeper into the leather.
I like doing leather work too, but I rarely get the time anymore.
This one is older than dirt and has been modified to fit a 629 6 inch with a Burris Fast Fire Holographic sight.

I forgot the photo. my humble effort certainly pales compared to those works of art ,and I`m almost too ashamed to show it.

Attached Images

JOC_6688.jpg (57.8 KB, 79 views)

Hey jack, don't be ashamed. That looks like good work. A good holster don't need a bunch of flowers or designs on it.
I like the way you altered it for the sight.
I know what you mean about time. I have not worked on anything for a few weeks now.

Looks good to me too! Sounds like we all have the same problem when it comes down to available time. I made a couple belts last week which were the first leatherwork I'd done in months.

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SWCA #1917

my compliments, all very nice work.

Very nice. Perhaps you could give me some tips on the sewing part? And where do you buy your leather and supplies? Tandy Leathers? I have been working up to making a few holster for myself since i cannot find what I want at a decent enough price and even the high priced ones don't always do it for me. Seems like a good shooting-related hobby to have in addition to reloading.

I know that those of us who have been doing this leather work have been talking around those who don't. So I wanted to give you some idea of what might be involved to try holster making. It takes very little to get started. The first picture is most of my basic leather working tools. All of the holsters shown in this thread so far could have been made with much less than this. Only a few of the other necessary tools are not shown, such as a couple things for setting snaps, or sewing needles, etc. But here it is, and I'll cover a few basics.



The long handled chrome plated things are what you tap into moist leather, using a rawhide (shown) or synthetic mallet. The work is supported on the 12" x 12" marble base on which the tools are sitting...very cheap...stone surface on one side and 1/4" thick linoleum-like surface on the other. It's a standard item at any leather place.

The piece of scrap leather shows where I tested some new stamps over the years. The cheap nylon (or wooden) pulley wheel is to rub across edges of damp holster leather, to burnish and radius them; simple and effective.

The three wooden handled star wheels are what you roll through the seam groove along the edge of a holster, in preparation for stitching it; large, medium, and small length of stitch. I also use them for decorative purposes, to make it look like stitching when real stitches are not necessary...or when you use leather adhesive. It is a very realistic effect.

Beside the left side of the leather triangle is a tool used to mark how far in from the edge your stitch line will be, while cutting the groove as you slide it along. Alternately, you can use the tool beside it, to free-hand cut a stitch line...or do all sorts of decorative work.

Lying across those two tool handles is the stamp tool for one size of basket weave design; I do several types.

Looking at the tools in my tool block, you get the general idea. Some are to be stamped, some are to be gently pressed and molded, and some do things hard to describe. But you can really let your imagination run wild.

There are hundreds of these stamps and forming tools. See the Tandy Leather catalog. It's all about using them creatively, in combination, and the possible combinations are endless. Most have been standardized for a hundred years or more. You can find ancient tooled cowboy holsters from the 1880s with stamped designs where I immediately recognize some of the tools from my own collection. Same applies to saddles, belts, and everything made of leather.

The Tandy stamps tend to be greatly overpriced, in my opinion. And it's so much fun the tendency is to buy lots more than you really need. I know you gun guys would have trouble understanding that. This is where it can be useful to have an experienced leather craftsman in your area who can help you get started by telling you what basics you actually need, and what can wait. I didn't, and I have things I have not used in 27 years of leather sniffing.

Anyway, I hope this convinces some of you that it is not so difficult to get started with leather. It's also a great hobby for apartment or trailer dwellers, with very limited space.

To put it into perspective, for the price of two or three high quality holsters, you can probably buy enough basic leather gear to get started. Then you may never buy a commercial holster again. And you can add tools and stamps as you discover the need, budget permitting. It really is a useful and fairly simple skill to master, for anybody heavily into handguns...or just keeping your pants from falling off, with all the beautiful tooled belts you will not be able to resist making.

Put me on the list for one for a 4 inch model 28 or a 6 in model 19 revolver. Any chance you would consider doing one for an auto? We must support hand crafted American work.

Who are you asking, Derosa? I think all of us who have posted pictures are only doing this for ourselves, as a hobby. When you tackle on other peoples' dreams, it gets too complicated. We do this for ourselves at least partly because it's nearly impossible to get these holsters any other way, without spending quite a lot of money.

So I'm trying to get you to spend some money on a few simple tools and learn something new.

There are some excellent holster makers that visit the forum. I'm sure that if you place a "WTB" ad you'll find someone to make what you need.
If you ever thought you might want to give making your own a shot, PhilOhio is right, with patience and practice you might be surprised by what you can do. My initial outlay was about $130 for a beginners kit and some leather from Tandy. I've just built from there on an as needed basis.

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SWCA #1917

I've been following this thread since my early post. There are some really great examples of fine leather work that have been included here. When it comes to putting awl, needle and thread to the leather, I picked up a tip years ago from a bladesmith in Mississippi who makes all of his own scabbards. After he has lined and marked where his thread will go, he uses a bit of rubber cement and banker's clips to hold the leather edges in place. Then he uses a very small diameter drill bit to drill the holes where he is going to sew. I have used a Dremel tool with a jewelers bit. The holes come out perfectly spaced and round. Sewing goes really fast at that point. I use a traditional saddle stitch and sew back down the line when I reach an end. It's not the traditional way of sewing with a needle and awl but it does speed up the work.

I entered this rig in the county fair last year. It won first place in it's class, as well as best in show.

That's a very nice rig, congratulations! I've thought of entering something in our fair by never gotten around to it.

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SWCA #1917

Congrats Greg, that is a good looking rig.
I just wish we had a county fair.

OK Hog Shooter, those are some very good ideas. I back stitch at the end of the seam like you do, and sometimes use leather adhesive to hold the joint while stitching. But what I really like is your suggestion to drill the thread holes. This is quite a hassle with an awl, and the hole is often too big, although it gets smaller when the leather dries.

Maybe to refine your idea further: Most of us are probably using variable speed Dremel tools by now. And I've got several of the little knurled Jacobs chuck bit holders for them. They are not very useful for high speed carbide bits, etc., but for drilled holes in leather, it would be perfect. From a set of number drills, you could find one which makes exactly the right size hole for your thread and needles. Only a chuck will let you hold any size. This would make the whole stitching job much, much easier.

I like it.

So what do I have to do now? Buy more S&Ws, to make holsters for.

Haven't had much time for this in the last few weeks and you can probably tell that I have a thing for the bears and keep trying different one's on the holsters I make. Do you think they are worthwhile or do they look too gawdy? Also tried a basketweave pattern on a holster for my Taurus 941 22 mag.

Hey Mac I love your bears. Keep it up. The basketweave looks very good also.

They look pretty good from my seat too!

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Geoff. Since 1960.

MacBullet, everybody thinks:"Someday I'm gonna try to make a ______ (fill in the blank)" Its GREAT to see somebody DO it. Keep it up.
Put me in line for a RH pancake for my Colt Lawman 2" with a desert design. you know: Sajuaros and agave, rattlesnake, etc....... H.

Geez, I love that basket weave. I have a M28 that would great in that holster. I have got to find out how long it would take and how much. If you have the chance, PM me.

I've enjoyed looking at your holsters. I have a friend, EddieBacon, who is considered by his peers to be the greatest saddle and leather worker of all time. He made less than 400 saddles during his career. At auctions, when a saddle he made is up for bid, the bids usually start in the 6 digit area. His son, Earl, once saw one of his father's saddles(q 3 quarter tooled) go for $250,000 at an auction. I mention this because Eddie would be proud of the interest in leather workmanship today. There was a time that he wondered if leather work would cease to exist. Thank you for the interest in leather craftsmanship.

I have been trying to talk my wife into making holsters. Got her set up with tools & supplies and she did 2 for 1911s. I was pretty impressed with her efforts and was suggesting one for a S&W revolver when she went back to painting and quilting. Sure hope she wants to do more leather soon.

WOW........great work.
lawandorder.......you must immediately go thru her "stuff" and throw away all her painting, knitting, crocheting, and quilting supplies.
If those are the first two she ever made they are fantastic. I'd be embarrassed to show my first two holsters.

lawandorder, if your wife's other art is anything like those holsters I wish you'd post some pictures of it to. Those are very nice.
Here's one I'm finishing today for a 5" M10 for a LEO in Kentucky.

I like the bears! Keep up the good work.
Gaudy might be putting rhinestones in their eyes

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Nemo

Thanks Mac & Bama I will get her to read your kind words and maybe that will inspire her to make me a revolver holster.