Club Obi Wan

Hello,

I thought I might post my first prototype on the leather holster I plan on doing for myself.

There were some aspects of this piece that I wanted to nail down as far as design and even the type of the leather used :

1. Softer leather (than what's been used)- there are several shots in mags and in Raiders where it is evident that the leather is softer than what's been used...even to the point that there are indentations made through the leather by the gun itself jutting out.

2. Flap placement - taking lessons from the actual Russian Tokarev gun holsters, the flap formation I used was employed as to create a definite steeper incline in the design of the holster when closed. As a result, the flap seems more tiered to the but of the gun, rather than its front.

3. Strap Placement- I wanted to make sure in this prototype that the strap was more parallel with the fold of the flap

4. Belt loop- In increasing the size of this, I wanted to ensure that the holster was a bit looser around the belt and not so tight fitting..I wanted it to basically be able to move around a bit when either sitting or running (from spear throwing half naked men)

So this prototype uses bargain bin black leather I found for cheap. Also, it is more felt than leather with glue holding it in place. The second prototype will employ actual stitching of the leather.

Anyhow, enjoy and you're guys input is invaluable as always :

I'll first say that the photos of your prototype are just great! The details and outlne looks REALLY good. The only thing I would say is, don't make the mistake of making it with soft leather. Leather takes on the outline and nuances of a particular gun. I have a holster make by El Paso Saddlery back in 1983 that shows all the bumps, outlines and areas that the revolver touches just from years of wear and tear on the leather from the gun inside, and the world outside. Just remember that the holster was made to carry and PROTECT the gun. If you make if from soft leather, it will wear through quite quickly, and you'll find your gun (real OR replica) eventually tearing through and hitting the ground. Then you'll be stuck having to make another holster (provided you didn't shoot yourself when the gun HIT the ground. )

Keep us in the loop as you make the final one. This really looks fine!

High regards. Michaelson

the leather I chose was not necessarily soft, it was just softer than the ones i have seen. if I were to compare the leather to something, its a grade less than a brand new belt. Its still got some great body to it and has all the qualities of a good hide...maybe I got a little over zealous in desribing its softness


Thanks for the input and compliment !

BTW- Mark, keep an eye out for the mail.

BTW- someone answer me this...there are TWO lines on the flap, am I right ?

just making sure...

jose

I will, my friend, and thanks! Without a holster in front of me, I've gone completely blank on the number of lines now. I believe two is correct, but somebody chime in who has one for confirmation! Sheesh! Bad brain cells! Regards. Michaelson

I believe the number of lines you see is equal to the number of cups of coffee you've had.

Nice prototype, Maul!

Surely there aren't THAT many lines on the holster, Bink!!?? Regards. Michaelson

Close an eye, then the number will even out.

Like I said, THAT MANY LINES!!??? Regards. Michaelson

Try closing BOTH eyes and see what happens. If that fails, go for the braile.

Man, how do you chose which target to shoot at?

Slightly back on track, how easy is it to make your own holster? Is it cheaper than buying a pre-made one?

Shotguns work well, experience has shown me. 8-[
Now, back to our topic.....
Regards. Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:Shotguns work well, experience has shown me. 8-[

Michaelson: "Don't move! ALL OF YOU! I got my shotgun trained on each and every one of you!"

Yes, back on topic... my question still stands... how difficult is it to make your own holster and is it cheaper than buying one pre-made?

to tell you the truth, making THIS one wasn't that difficult, then again, all I did was cut leather and GLUE it down (btw for anyone doing leather work BARGE glue is the ONLY leather glue to go with). As far as getting this thing all sewn together is another story. I have yet to have that done but I don't anticipate too much difficulty. AS far as getting the line in there, you could get a a special tool or you could simply wet your leather and go to town on with a dull exacto edge.


So the short answer is, I don't know quite yet how much more difficult it will be. I have only 30% of this project done as I have yet to actually cut the good leather, tool it, and stitch it.

gm

Maul... If you left Starbucks and made these items full time, would you be happy?

See where I'm going with this?

lol ! You kill me...if this stuff pans out to be fairly easy to make, I wouldn't mind making some for the group. Again, we're only half way with this, so let's hold on and see

so let's hold on and see one in my mailbox soon.

Making a holster is not really that hard(especially if you get the book"How to make holsters", by Al Stohlman, which I wish I had done before beginning work on my Browning flap holster(Thanks, SWtroopers). The book has everything, even how to do the elusive end plug for the barrel). As far as cost, once you get all the tools, materials, patterns, books etc. to make that first holster or project, than it probably wont cost near as much as an el paso saddlery, or any of the other custom makers, especially once you make that first one(which I hope to be doing in about another month, just a few more tools and leather, pattern and other details are done). Leathermaking is as addictive as hunting down the elusive strap buckle.

Good job Maul, nice to see someone else take the plunge and do things the hard way. Good luck and hope to see more soon.

I am going to look that book up....that holster plug construction has me scratching my head. thanks for the tip !

you're right, this stuff is VERY addictive. I just made an Anakin EpIII belt last night for giggles.

http://www.chunkmonkey.com/~jose/anakinbelt1.0.jpg

Maul... do the world a favor and go into buisness for yourself. Got Maul's Got Talent.

Maul, good job on that Anakin belt, very nice
Any of the leather places like Tandy, HideCrafters, every leather place usually has the book How to Make holsters, it appears to be almost the definative work on holstermaking and I know what you mean about scratching your head concerning the barrel plug. I was so confused about it, I started pulling out hair, and I'm already BALD!!!!!

I thought someone posted about this not so long ago. If I recall correctly, the stitching around the edge of the actual barrel plug is purely cosmetic. The plug is cut to fit, then shoved and glued into place at the barrel end of the holster. It is not actually stitched into place, although it looks that way. Can somebody back me up on this or correct me if I'm wrong?
bink

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 7:38 pm Post subject:
I thought someone posted about this not so long ago. If I recall correctly, the stitching around the edge of the actual barrel plug is purely cosmetic. The plug is cut to fit, then shoved and glued into place at the barrel end of the holster. It is not actually stitched into place, although it looks that way. Can somebody back me up on this or correct me if I'm wrong?
bink

Bink,

No the end plugs on most holsters are sewed in place. They are cut to fit, grooved, and glued. Then the sewing puts the final finish on the look. If they were not stitched they could eventually come out.

Also, Maul, if you want to get the lines around the holster, get a stitching groover. It is nothing more than an allen wrench with a hole drilled through it, then the end is cut at an angle to make a cutting edge. This is held in the shaft of a tool by a set screw that allows you to adjust the distance from the edge of the leather. The Leather Factory sells them for around $10.00 or so.

Jerry R

The plugs in the two El Paso Saddlery flap holsters I've had were sewn AND glued in place, but they were indeed sewn. They also had a small hole drilled in the center to allow any drainage to take place should moisture get inside the holster. Regards. Michaelson

Thanks for the clarification. But how do they stich the plug in? When you look at the bottom of the holster, the stitching doesn't appear to be going into the side of the holster, but straight up into the plug only. Any help on that one? It seems to be the one part of the holster no one can exactly figure out....

bink

I haven't seen and studied too many in my life and forgot to take a good look while admiring Scandy's 5" holster at our last Java/Airport/Mini-summit.
If the leather is folded in at the bottom, maybe the plug is sewn to the extra leather inside the holster?
I'm not sure though as I think the leather might be cut the same length as the final measurement of the holster.

Interesting... And this post is probably just as useless as many of my "hey I'm taking a shot" posts.

Regards,
Swindiana

I'm taking a shot too:
Might it be that the low end of the holster is made in two layers and inside out initially? That would make it possible to sew the plug into the layer that will be the inner layer when the holster is folded the right way, right?

Mike

Tomatoes...
Thanks for clarifying, Mike.

Regards,
Swindiana

As Michaelson stated, the plug seems to be glued and attached with stitching around the edge.

/SJ

The holster bottom you show is different than what I've seen. The actual Webley holsters I've seen have a ring of visible white stitching around the plug itself... I wish I could find a picture of one... hmmm....

I already know about the line groover, very awesome tool. Have used it many times already

as far as the holster plug goes, I am still trying to figure it out myself. I am going to pick up that holster making book to hopefully figure this one out...Keep throwing ideas out there ! this is a very informative thread !

Swindiana wrote:Tomatoes...
Thanks for clarifying, Mike.

Regards,
Swindiana

What? I didn't clarify anything. I just took my shot at offering a possible theory regarding the invisible stitching of holsters. No clarification whatsoever.

Mike

What? I didn't clarify anything. I just took my shot at offering a possible theory regarding the invisible stitching of holsters. No clarification whatsoever.

Well, you typed in better words what I actually meant.

Regards,
Swindiana

Swindiana wrote: Well, you typed in better words what I actually meant.

Regards,
Swindiana

I did?
I didn't even entirely understand what I wrote myself.
I must be a genius.

It's unfortunate that I have such a long and stiff holster. Otherwise I would've been able to turn it inside out to find out if mine had the 'invisible stitching' I was fantasising about...

Mike

Greetings,
I shot a pic of my Webley holster plug this afternoon. All the stitching is visible on the outside only. When you look inside the holster, there are no stitches. The leather may be quite thick there, or the stiching is done at such a shallow angle, that it does not pierce all the way to the inside.



Regretably, I cannot show you the photo of the interior. I could not get good focus on the plug. Plus, the interior of the holster looks rather too "biological" to show on a family forum like this.

Hope this helps,

That's exactly the pic I was looking for! I thought I read somewhere recently that the plug was indeed stitched in, but it's at such a strange angle to stitch at, especially when the stitches don't look angled.

bink

Bink,
I was the one that posted the question on how to do the end plug on the holster(Sorry hadn't posted again sooner. Ended up going to the E.R. the other day, found out I had influenzal bronchitis, been stuck in bed the past week.).

I'm no holstermaking expert(to paraphrase Indy"I'm learning this as I go Along), but to solve the mystery for you guys, I'm going to type out most of the directions from the Al Stohlman book, but, I don't have anyway to do pictures right now, so if real interested, get the book it has real clear line drawings(plus I hope to get some pictures when I start doing my own holster).

From How to Make Holsters by Al Stohlman.
1. Cut the bottom of the holster straight across, then gouge a channel 1/4"
from the bottom edge(this is before sewing the holster shut).

2. Make your holes in the groove for your stitching.

3. Sew the holster together and cut the end plug to fit snugly(make the endplug 1/8" longe than the width of the barrel). Gouge channel 3/16" from the edge and cement in place.

4. (Now is where the fun begins). Take a diamond sewing awl(looks like a double edge dagger), go through the first hole on the body of the holster(last hole you've sewn through), through the groove on the backside of the holster. Push the sewing needle and thread back through the hole(where you stopped after sewing the body) to the front of the body.(For you leathercrafters, your handstitching using two needles, on on each end of the thread).

5. Put the awl blade through the same hole(the hole you punched front to back) on the body of the holster, and stab at an angle through the gouge in the plug. Be careful not to cut the thread.

6. Push the needle from the front of the holster, up through the awl hole and pull the stitch tight. Go to the next hole and repeat the process until it is sewn in place and finish with a lock stitch.(this is a lot easier if I had a way to post illustrations).

On some custom holsters, I've seen this add about an extra 25 bucks on some holsters. I'm new to leathercraft, just got the book a couple of weeks ago, the process is actually half way understandable to me, and is actually fairly simple. Some do just cement the plug in place or they just don't worry about the plug. I'am hoping to be able to get some pictures as I make my holster so I can show the process a little better(plus I have a new spin on the whp holder and belt, too).

For you guys out there that do your indy gear the hard way get this book. It's to holstermaking what How to make Whips is too whipmaking.

Hope didn't confuse you guys too much.

Thanks, Wolf.

That's great information.

Thanks, Wolf, for telling us what the book says. I wasn't necessarily doubting that it was stiched in place, but the the way it looked gave the illusion that the stitching was decorative. Knowing exactly how they stitch it in helps solve that mystery. And man, what a pain in the tucus that must be to do by hand!

Halliburton's pic was what I was looking for to point out how the plug of Webley holsters looked in comparison to the pic above it. The Webley looks almost decorative to me, though it isn't. I wasn't comprehending how the stitch was angled without bowing in the plug.

bink

Not a problem. glad to help.

Okay, to confuse things further, check this out:

http://public.fotki.com/binkmeisterRick/plug/plug1.html

I found this while surfing around the other day. I guess there's more than one way to plug a holster.

great instructions...wow. I think I might just stick to glueing the plug in !