Pistol Holsters ?

The holster I was going to make for my friend still hasn't happened yet due to our silly firearm laws here in Australia .
To own a pistol here in you have to be a member of a gun club and your only allowed to use it at the range . Your not allowed to go out the back of your property and shoot cans or whatever it must only be used at the club shooting targets .
There is another way to own a pistol and that is if you own a large property and its remote , then you can get a permit to own and use one for shooting injured animals etc but only on that property and you can't take it anywhere else .
My friend is in the second category so he can't bring it to me .
So I have plans to go and visit him in a month or so and I'll take my leatherwork gear with me .
He owns a Cattle Station ( a Ranch ) about 250,000 acres of land west of me and it's always fun to go and stay with them , so its still going to happen but not for awhile .
I'm loving seeing all of these holsters even though I have no hope of making anything as good as what I've seen here .
Keep putting pics up if you have them , by the look of it its not just me who is enjoying them .

Ken
 
How bout some 1911 style holster pics?

Wish i could post pics from my iphone.
 
Ken, that sounds like my kind of party. (The ranch, not the gun laws)

WEB2 - I already posted several of my favorite 1911 rigs, but I'll include a few more for good measure. This is a field style holster in a very traditional style:




This Gadsen flag rig was part of a large order for a gentleman in Texas, from when I worked WAY too cheap. The flag is laser engraved and the rest is stamped.




I can say honestly that it never occurred to me I'd be showing off a pink rig. Let this be a lesson to you folks if you do an auction or something like that - set your parameters tightly. Mine now say 'No Pink.' The owner of this was really happy with it.




Dug deep and found this one in the archives. It is my hidden belt loop style which has a center welt in the 'wings' of the holster. Purpose here is to keep your cover garment from snagging along with allow the holster to ride a little closer to the body. This would be a fully loaded model with full veg tan lining and stamp work.




Pretty boring pancake style:




This one shows how that hidden loop works a little better:




Older thumbbreak rig done for a local customer. If you pick it apart you can see why this is a few years old vs what I would make now:




Now lets make everyone feel good about themselves. These are a few of my first projects, Holsters #3/4, and #6 along with my first sheath.






Don't get intimidated by it. You already have an understanding of leather and that is the hard part. Rest just comes with experience and educated guesstimating.
 
Here's my first holster attempt, I used stolhmans holster booklet as a guide. Seems ok, I will probably line the next on and go with a different belt attachment




Also I dyed it after sewing and wasn't sure if I should dye the belt flap not.
 
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Eaglestroker, i am drooling! Thanks for taking the time to post the pics!
 
Eagle,
What you call boring, I call nice & clean! ;) I like a clean pancake with the inner flap to keep my 1911's hammer out of my side. Those are all some really nice work!
 
Man those are all beautiful.
 
Rhinoknives1 said:
Eagle,
What you call boring, I call nice & clean! ;) I like a clean pancake with the inner flap to keep my 1911's hammer out of my side. Those are all some really nice work!
Click to expand...

Most of what I carry myself is 'boring' as I really find more of a challenge in producing a clean project, I can hide flaws much easier with stamp work and antique processes. The slide guard is a standard issue on all of my pancake style holsters unless otherwise requested. Sure is nice to keep a sharp hammer, revolver rear sight, or 1911 beavertail our of your side. It took me about 3 years to make enough pieces for a set but these are my most frequently grabbed and used items.

 
I have had this discussion with other knife makers, Painter's Jewelers etc.
True artistry comes from how well you cover your mistakes !;) I live in greater Los Angeles California, its near impossible to get an concealed carry permit around here. :grumpy: They are times when I carry anyways! :)
 
Eaglestroker said:
Most of what I carry myself is 'boring' as I really find more of a challenge in producing a clean project, I can hide flaws much easier with stamp work and antique processes.
Click to expand...

To my eye , simplicity is the essence of style .
So I fully understand what your saying , but there are times when complexity hits the nail on the head .
Your work and the work of others here just " blows me away " .

Ken
 
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Eagle I love your pics and work, keep posting! I looked for some pics of my early holsters and couldn't find any, good thing, might of looked like Freddy Flintstone had made em. Odsixer, nice job. Lots of info in those old Stholman books. I dye after sewing and molding too. Best way is if you have enough dye and big enough container is to dunk the holster quickly. Nice even coat inside and out. I don't dye much so I don't do this now but have in the past and it works well.

If your gonna be a bear might as well be a grizzly! Lets go big....

ofeW3Uw.jpg


Flapped scabbard for a scoped rifle. I make this for just about any rifle.

6R4uJVJ.jpg


When I do this scabbard for a customer I use a buckle instead of the Sam Browne stud. But this one is for my Browning BLR in .243 with a 3x9 Leopold compact scope. Since I have the rifle I was able to get the fit just right. Can't do that if ya don't have the rifle, so a buckle works better.

nX2D7xC.jpg


Here's the muzzle end. I did one for a buddy's gun and did that small basket stamp on darn near the whole scabbard. Too much I was stir crazy and crosseyed for a long time.
 
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How about a couple IWBs. Just simple rough out slip holsters.

YXuMuas.jpg


Come on gun nuts what's the auto?

8MJErcJ.jpg


Backwards you say? I say not. When carried concealed this way what prints? What gives away you are carrying? The butt against the back of your shirt. Problem solved. No butt against your shirt. Drawing is not a problem.
 
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Tokarev?

The butt forward is good concealment, but i would probably shoot myself in the liver trying to get it out during a fire fight.
 
Laurence you nailed it on the head! Good job. Web wrong pistol but same caliber! Do have a Radom Tokarov but this ain't it. Its actually much easier than it looks to draw. Reverse hand, hook shirt with thumb on way up, grasp butt with last three fingers and the index finger is extended along the frame as the pistol comes out of the holster. Easy peasey. Yes they do Laurence, those little rounds are rockets. Rolled a running coyote at 250 yards one time with the Tokarov. Fortunatly I had a witness, you know Nichole would throw me down HARD if I was bs ing.
 
Legend has it that the Russian TT-33 was their answer to the 1911 .45 cap. In design and caliber with a few Russian changes. The very first ones were made in Germany since they were "Friends" at that time.

I had pick of the litter of a batch of CZ 52's a about 2000 at the gun shop I sold my custom knives at. Those arsenal refinished CZ 52's are like a brand new pistol. There are many floating around out there and if you have a nice supply of the ammo they can be a great hard hitting pistol to have for not a lot of money.
 
Rhinoknives1 said:
I have had this discussion with other knife makers, Painter's Jewelers etc.
True artistry comes from how well you cover your mistakes !;) I live in greater Los Angeles California, its near impossible to get an concealed carry permit around here. :grumpy: They are times when I carry anyways! :)
Click to expand...

It really comes down to personalities but most folks that are half way decent at what they do are overly critical of their own work. It was told to me early on the sign of someone becoming a master of their craft is turning an 'oops' into a masterpiece. I've had several oops rigs LOL.

harronek said:
To my eye , simplicity is the essence of style .
So I fully understand what your saying , but there are times when complexity hits the nail on the head .
Your work and the work of others here just " blows me away " .

Ken
Click to expand...

Ken - your overly complimentary and need to look at your own in the mirror. Glad I'm not alone on good clean lines!

Horsewright said:
Eagle I love your pics and work, keep posting! I looked for some pics of my early holsters and couldn't find any, good thing, might of looked like Freddy Flintstone had made em. Odsixer, nice job. Lots of info in those old Stholman books. I dye after sewing and molding too. Best way is if you have enough dye and big enough container is to dunk the holster quickly. Nice even coat inside and out. I don't dye much so I don't do this now but have in the past and it works well.

If your gonna be a bear might as well be a grizzly! Lets go big....


Flapped scabbard for a scoped rifle. I make this for just about any rifle.
When I do this scabbard for a customer I use a buckle instead of the Sam Browne stud. But this one is for my Browning BLR in .243 with a 3x9 Leopold compact scope. Since I have the rifle I was able to get the fit just right. Can't do that if ya don't have the rifle, so a buckle works better.

Here's the muzzle end. I did one for a buddy's gun and did that small basket stamp on darn near the whole scabbard. Too much I was stir crazy and crosseyed for a long time.
Click to expand...

Dave, I really like that scabbard and that saddle, along with your BLR. You have great taste in rifles and leather! Thought about you this morning when taking some photos. You might appreciate that this entire order came from an email over an ammo slide - don't fight the ammo loops :)





 
meh, over here it is pretty hard to get anything beyond small calibre (22lr) even if you are in a gun club :(

asides... dying after stitching... but but... that leaves no room for pretty coloured yarn!

there are some really awesome pictures in this thread, thanks to everyone for posting.
 
I'm wondering why I see so may revolver holsters with exposed triggers? Is that a thing, good or bad overall? Maybe I'm just used completely concealing the entire trigger guard on my autos.
 
vilePossum said:
meh, over here it is pretty hard to get anything beyond small calibre (22lr) even if you are in a gun club :(

asides... dying after stitching... but but... that leaves no room for pretty coloured yarn!

there are some really awesome pictures in this thread, thanks to everyone for posting.
Click to expand...

I've got a customer in Germany that has some big bore rifles at his gun club I've made leather for, so there is some hope!

bflying said:
I'm wondering why I see so may revolver holsters with exposed triggers? Is that a thing, good or bad overall? Maybe I'm just used completely concealing the entire trigger guard on my autos.
Click to expand...

Hi BF, I guess what it is depends on your point of view. The majority of gear made for concealment from the turn of the century into the 1980's had an exposed trigger guard without safety concerns. The DA pull on most revolvers is well over 10 pounds, with a form fitted holster the cylinder is molded so tightly that it can't even turn if it wanted to. Add a retention strap or thumb break and there is no possibility of anything happening.

I don't worry about the exposed trigger issue unless with a striker-fired pistol. There's a reason why some users issue rigid synthetic holsters with covered trigger guards for Glocks, if you do any research at all you'll find incidents of folks using striker fired handguns in holsters past their usable lifespan resulting in negligent discharges.

With a proper draw, your finger will not enter the trigger guard until the gun is clear of you and moving toward firing position. The liklihood of something snagging the holstered trigger and pulling the trigger on a DA revolver is almost nil. I'm a young buck but have been told by makers that are well respected the insistence of a covered guard wasn't a 'thing' until the invention of the Glock/etc. I would never make such a holster for a striker fired gun.
 
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