New Holster

[skeezix]

I do leather work as a hobby. I’m a rank amateur compared to the other holster makers on this forum, but I enjoy it.

So, I got lazy and bought this off eBay because ir was cheap ($35).

Looked like a lot of leather for the money.

Seller’s description is:

“Handcrafted Holster made to withstand the rigors of outdoor use! This 1911 holster is handmade by me in my shop located in the foothills of the Snowy Mountain Range of the Rockies. It is made from 5 ounce thickness American Steer Hide and lined with 4 ounce suede split tanned by Hermann Oak in St. Louis, Missouri. They have been tanning hides from American ranch raised steers since 1881. It is 100% leather and strong polyester thread. Made to fit a Full size 1911. Gun in the picture is not for sale, just shows fit. The holster is made snug as leather stretches and you will need to break it in. To do so put the gun in a plastic bag, push into the holster and leave it a day or two, it will form perfectly with use. The thread is polyester for ultimate strength. The color is hand dyed, the suede is tannery dyed and moisture resistant for that frontier look and feel. I make my holsters one at a time so they are all a bit different. Gun not included. I generally ship within 24 hours. Actual item is shown in the picture.”

I got it and followed the seller’s instructions for “break-in”. Jammed the gun in and left it in for 4 days. Had to use a piece of wood to drive the gun out. The leather did not “stretch” and the holster is still as tight as when I received it.

I’ll notify the seller about the continued tight fit, but probably won’t pay $5 to return it to him.

Instead, I’m going to stuff a wet rag into the pouch for a few days (keeping it wet) until the leather is soaked, then wrap my gun in “Cling Wrap”, stuff it in the holster, and let it dry and “form fit”.


I'll probably mess up the stain, but I can re-do that, too.


Or, maybe I'll just use it for my Browning Hi-Power since it works perfect with the gun.

Update 11/12/21:

I wrapped the gun in several layers of a Zip-Loc bag and jammed it in the holster and forgot about it for a couple of weeks.

The trigger guard seemed to be the “trouble spot”.

This leather-stretching process worked. The holster passed the upside-down drop test, but the gun can now be removed with minimal resistance.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[chief38]

The thicker the leather the harder and longer it takes for the leather to stretch. Personally I would not use a wet rag - it will soften the leather but to me that is not a good thing. I'd just use a plastic zip lock bag which adds a little thickness and "lubrication" in getting the gun in. If that is not enough I'd then add a second plastic bag.

I have had pretty stiff holsters to break in over the years and had some I never thought would stretch to fit - but they eventually do. Again, I'd personally suggest not wetting it.

 

[crazyphil]

I got this old DeSantis IWB with pull-thru snap a while back. It was etched
on the back DS2 which I assumed meant Detective Special with 2" barrel.
I have a Colt's Agent, which is the same dimensions as the DS, so I thought
it would fit. The holster was very stiff from age. It was a struggle
but I could not get the strap over the hammer.
I softened it up with warm water. Wrapped the Agent in Saran wrap and
stuffed it into the holster. Struggled some more with the strap but finally
got it snapped. Left it overnight to dry at room temperature.
Next morning I took the Agent out and the Saran Wrap off. Put the
Agent back in the holster and snapped it easily. I tried about 50 draws
to be sure the pull-thru snap was working the way it should. It was.
Mission accomplished.

 

[skeezix]

OK, got the gun double-bagged and up on the shelf for a couple of weeks. We'll see if that works.

 

[sipowicz]

Ok. See you November 9th.

 

[bamabiker]

Uhh, that holster does not appear to me to be lined with anything.

 

[skeezix]

Uhh, that holster does not appear to me to be lined with anything.

Yeah, it appears to be two pieces of leather and the total thickness (5 oz. plus 4 oz. = 9 oz.) coincides with a piece of 9 oz. leather I have.


Here's the best picture I could muster, with the arrow showing where the two pieces of leather are glued together.

 

[CH4]

The thicker the leather the harder and longer it takes for the leather to stretch. I'd just use a plastic zip lock bag which adds a little thickness and "lubrication" in getting the gun in. If that is not enough I'd then add a second plastic bag.

Similarly I used a couple plastic shopping bags to break in a few 1911 holsters I picked up from Paul at Warbird Leather. Worked great!

 

[Duckfood]

For a little extra "stretch" on a new holster, I have followed the above instructions, but, instead of a plastic bag, I wrapped the firearm in an old T-shirt... On a few really tight samples, I used an old sock...