Here's my second attempt at a holster. I think it turned out pretty well. I'll try to get some better pics up soon, but please let me know what you think.
It fits the gun very nicely, and wears wonderfully! I have to admit that I far exceeded my expectations for fit and finish. My original intent was to do it straight black, but in the heat of the moment I decided to go with black cherry. I'm not disappointed with that decision.
I am looking forward to the next project. Fortunately, I have a couple lined up already. I need a left-hand holster to match this one, and Jenni still needs a cross-draw. Beyond that, I've been working on some moonclip holders as well.
I have a feeling that I may get some requests as well. If I ever got to the point of doing these semi-full-time, I'd need to get an industrial sewing machine like the shoe-shop guy has...
7 comments:
Looks nice. How do you form it to the gun like that? Did you have a mold, or did you wrap the gun tight in plastic or something?
I've been thinking of trying this, but I can't quite decide what features I need in a holster. Doesn't make much sense to make something before I know what I want.
Weetabix -
1) Soak the stitched holster in hot tap water for 30-40 seconds.
2) Remove and allow to air-dry for 15-30 minutes.
3) Oil the snot out of the gun and shove it in the damp holster.
4) Give it a good rub-down until it's shaped like the gun.
5) Pull the gun out, clean and re-oil it.
6) Allow the holster to dry for about 48-hours prior to applying finish.
That sounds much easier than I feared.
How are you stitching it? You'd mentioned needing an industrial sewing machine. Are you using the wife's machine or a hand stitching set up or something else?
I'm using a lock-stitch awl that I bought at Tandy.
A couple of hints for the next one.
You can wrap the gun in saran wrap instead of oiling the snot out of it.
If you have one of the food vacumn sealers, you can stuff the whole thing in a vacumn bag and vacumn it down and seal it. This will help to mold the leather to the gun.
Hope this helps.
Allen
Allen,
I actually tried the plastic wrap deal, but I didn't like how the leather fit the gun when I did that. I would, however like to try the vacuum sealer thing. I've heard of that before, and I'm intrigued! I bet the plastic wrap works worlds better in conjunction with the vacuum sealer, though... Things to ponder... Thanks for the tips!
And if you vacuum seal the gun it will stay fresh for months and months and not get any sort of freezer burn.
oh... wait... that's for steaks.
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