Home Made Holsters
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PhilOhio
Member
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!
J.D.
Member
All you Guys should be very proud of yourselves, you are all true craftmen 
Fantastic holsters & great work
thanks for sharing.
JD
Fantastic holsters & great work
thanks for sharing.
JD
bamabiker
Member
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.
sw44spl
Member
wow you guys are amazing.I have made knife sheaths.but I may have to try a gun holster now.
Cpo1944
Member
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.
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.
Cpo1944
Member
bamabiker
Member
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.
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.
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.
PhilOhio
Member
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.
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.
PhilOhio
Member
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.
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.
OK Hog Shooter
Member
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.
gregintenn
Member
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.
bamabiker
Member
Congrats Greg, that is a good looking rig.
I just wish we had a county fair.
I just wish we had a county fair.
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