Acquired a surprisingly well-made Belgian clone of a .44-40 S&W New Frontier double action revolver. It appears to have been made by the Charles Clement company. What research I've accomplished indicates production from circa 1893 to circa 1902. With the single-action trigger pull brought down to reasonable weight it's enjoyable to shoot with black powder or equivalent hand loads. Have tried a couple of the usual suspects but am have problems locating a leather shop which makes a Western-style holster for this rather awkward piece. Would appreciate leads for leather. Thanks.
New Frontier holster
- Thread starter Dave Fox
- Start date
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Make your own!
It's not hard to do, and I used to make them sitting at my Desk while on "Hold" making Business Calls, in those pre-internet days.
I would just go to 'Tandy' Leather, buy some nice adequate size scraps out of the Scrap Bins go from there...I never did Tooling, but it also is super easy to so.
There's on-line tutorials, and inexpensive Books also for the details and logic of How-To...
Pick right scraps, and it can look 'timeless'.
Having some Holster Maker do it, it always looks fake and ugly and crude..they all think they are making Heavy Work Boot Soles anymore, using way Way WAY too 'thick" and stiff Leather, and none of it is ever close to right weight or right look or right mood or right feel.
Ivan the Butcher
Member
If you make your own, stitch uniformity is the thing that is judged. When I started, I scribed or drew a line where the stiches go, then used a table fork to mark the spacing. Cost nothing and got a bunch of complements from the real leather workers. If you want carved flowers and such, try contacting some of the guys in the Holster sub forum, that's where the better than I am, leather people hang out.
Ivan
Ivan
A trick I learned was to put your revolver in a sealing bag, like those vacuum sealers, watch your pressure because you just want to create a water tight seal. Then cut out the bagged revolver and use the wet leather to custom form fit the revolver to the outer leather. Use brass tacks to nail it out on a soft pine board, then use the proper soft-nosed (antler tips) pieces to work the leather for a perfect fit. Let dry and sew to the backing, something nice to add is a suede liner to prevent unnecessary wear.
semperfi71
US Veteran
Hi,
I am fortunate to own and shoot all Uberti Smith and Wesson reproduction Top-Break, Model No. 3, large bore revolvers. Therefore I am always looking for leather for them. "Old West" leather.
What follows is lengthy.
I am not a leather expert, I have learned the following by being cheap and inexperienced. But it has worked well for me.
First off measure the dimensions of you revolver at the front of the frame from top of the top strap to bottom of the frame in front of the trigger-guard. If those dimensions match (or closely match) the same measurements of a Schofield (repro or original) then a "Schofield" holster might fit your revolver. It appears your barrel length might be 6 inches? 5.5 inches? therefore search for holster that will accommodate that length. Some holsters with an "open-end" shaft will allow a barrel to stick out a bit and acceptable in "Old West" holster standards.
Your trigger-guard may be larger than a Schofield or other S&W Top-Break and may cause fit problems.
If you go to Ebay and type in "Schofield Holster" you will find some Slim-Jim, carved holsters for a 7 inch Schofield by a seller named "tonyu!" He is reliable and his leather is good. It is an open-end.
Also go to "heritage manufacturing inc" and they have a selection of inexpensive holsters that might accomodate your "sixgun". Look for their "big Bore" holsters. The crossdraw 1089LH-4 and 1089LH-7 might fit you gun. Also their 1080BBLH-4 and 1080BBLH-7 may also fit. Lastly is the 1091BBLH-4 and 1091BBLH-7 may fit. Currently their stock is mostly left-handers but haunt the sight and they may soon have right handers in stock. These holsters are actually made by Hunter Leather but sell cheaper than Hunter leather. The "Mexican Loop" styles are open-end.
Next option is "America's Gun Store" the "Sonoran Holster" in its Colt or Ruger 4 3/4...4 5/8 barrel and 7 1/2 inch barrel will accept a Uberti Top Break. It is open-end.
Cimarron Firearms sells gunleather and they have Schofield holsters. They are open-end
There is also El Paso Saddlery. Expensive, but excellent.
Old West Reproductions will make you and excellent holster. He is a fine person to do business with.
When you find a holster. If it is a bit tight, too tight, the pistol "almost fits" but sticks up a little high...this is what I do. I take the revolver and liberally spray it ALL over...except anywhere near the grips...(or remove them) with a spray preservative like WD-40, Break Free, Rem-Oil. Just hose it down. Then I wrap it TWICE with "Glad Wrap" (any plastic food wrap). I fit, fold, cram, whatever to get tight fit to the revolver in its frame, "nooks-and-crannies". Then wet the outside of the holster liberally with rubbing alcohol. Then cram the revolver into the holster until it fits as desired. Then let it sit for several days until the leather dries well. Take everything "apart" and the excessive "fit" caused by the wrap makes for a good holster fit. The wrap is also necessary to help protect the revolver from corrosion, don't rely on the protective coating alone. Water can be used in lieu of the alcohol but it has a longer drying time. "Sure-er" fitting is done by wetting the interior of the holster with alcohol or water as well as the outside can also be done. But takes longer to dry in the interior. Aggressive fitting can be done by tossing the entire holster into a bucket of water and letting it soak until it is thoroughly wetted inside and out. BUT...the less you "wet" the leather the less chance you have of altering the color. The less chance of removing the dye.
Also the cheaper holsters will have a rough inside leather finish that will rub off the blueing. I take "Vaquero Cream" or "Sno-Seal" and literally coat the interior of the holster and let it set or "dry out" and this slicks up the inside.
Regards.
I am fortunate to own and shoot all Uberti Smith and Wesson reproduction Top-Break, Model No. 3, large bore revolvers. Therefore I am always looking for leather for them. "Old West" leather.
What follows is lengthy.
I am not a leather expert, I have learned the following by being cheap and inexperienced. But it has worked well for me.
First off measure the dimensions of you revolver at the front of the frame from top of the top strap to bottom of the frame in front of the trigger-guard. If those dimensions match (or closely match) the same measurements of a Schofield (repro or original) then a "Schofield" holster might fit your revolver. It appears your barrel length might be 6 inches? 5.5 inches? therefore search for holster that will accommodate that length. Some holsters with an "open-end" shaft will allow a barrel to stick out a bit and acceptable in "Old West" holster standards.
Your trigger-guard may be larger than a Schofield or other S&W Top-Break and may cause fit problems.
If you go to Ebay and type in "Schofield Holster" you will find some Slim-Jim, carved holsters for a 7 inch Schofield by a seller named "tonyu!" He is reliable and his leather is good. It is an open-end.
Also go to "heritage manufacturing inc" and they have a selection of inexpensive holsters that might accomodate your "sixgun". Look for their "big Bore" holsters. The crossdraw 1089LH-4 and 1089LH-7 might fit you gun. Also their 1080BBLH-4 and 1080BBLH-7 may also fit. Lastly is the 1091BBLH-4 and 1091BBLH-7 may fit. Currently their stock is mostly left-handers but haunt the sight and they may soon have right handers in stock. These holsters are actually made by Hunter Leather but sell cheaper than Hunter leather. The "Mexican Loop" styles are open-end.
Next option is "America's Gun Store" the "Sonoran Holster" in its Colt or Ruger 4 3/4...4 5/8 barrel and 7 1/2 inch barrel will accept a Uberti Top Break. It is open-end.
Cimarron Firearms sells gunleather and they have Schofield holsters. They are open-end
There is also El Paso Saddlery. Expensive, but excellent.
Old West Reproductions will make you and excellent holster. He is a fine person to do business with.
When you find a holster. If it is a bit tight, too tight, the pistol "almost fits" but sticks up a little high...this is what I do. I take the revolver and liberally spray it ALL over...except anywhere near the grips...(or remove them) with a spray preservative like WD-40, Break Free, Rem-Oil. Just hose it down. Then I wrap it TWICE with "Glad Wrap" (any plastic food wrap). I fit, fold, cram, whatever to get tight fit to the revolver in its frame, "nooks-and-crannies". Then wet the outside of the holster liberally with rubbing alcohol. Then cram the revolver into the holster until it fits as desired. Then let it sit for several days until the leather dries well. Take everything "apart" and the excessive "fit" caused by the wrap makes for a good holster fit. The wrap is also necessary to help protect the revolver from corrosion, don't rely on the protective coating alone. Water can be used in lieu of the alcohol but it has a longer drying time. "Sure-er" fitting is done by wetting the interior of the holster with alcohol or water as well as the outside can also be done. But takes longer to dry in the interior. Aggressive fitting can be done by tossing the entire holster into a bucket of water and letting it soak until it is thoroughly wetted inside and out. BUT...the less you "wet" the leather the less chance you have of altering the color. The less chance of removing the dye.
Also the cheaper holsters will have a rough inside leather finish that will rub off the blueing. I take "Vaquero Cream" or "Sno-Seal" and literally coat the interior of the holster and let it set or "dry out" and this slicks up the inside.
Regards.
StrawHat
Member
You asay you do not want to make your own? Me too! So I contact custom leather workers, some on this forum to see how they can help me. Custom work is better and less money than the big name factories that build leather buckets that fit a variety of handguns.
Kevin
Kevin
Exmilcop
Member
I love the "make your own" options, but I'm a lazy old retiree and up here, shopping around for leather and not having a shop anymore to work in, I opted for a cheaper and easier option. I have a lovely S&W .44 Russian DA with a 5" barrel. I was looking into holster options and posted a WTB on several firearms forums. I happened upon the Liberty nylon holsters while doing an internet search. I ordered one from Amazon, and it's perfect for my needs. As much as I like the look and aesthetics of a leather holster, this was much more budget friendly when you're on a pension. One chap suggested the Hunter holster made for the Colt New Service .455 as suitable and I have a leather worker in my apartment building who would have made me a custom holster for around $130. which, with the currency exchange rate and shipping, would have been about the same as the Hunter option. For my purposes, this seems to suit me just fine.
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