1911 holster

Joined
Oct 17, 2014
Messages
798
Hi everyone I hope you are all well. Sorry for the long absence, I've been incredibly busy with work for the last 2 years and I haven't been able to do much crafting. I finally managed to get around to making a holster. I normally make my own pattern using graph paper but since it's very hard to get hold of a gun over here in the UK I bought a 1911 pattern pack from Tandy.

I think it turned out ok. I would have liked to embellish it with exotic skins like ray or shark but this time around I went with tooling so it matches my sheath that I made a while back. The knife is a Busse Battle Grade Active Duty it's a great all arounder for camping, fishing etc... I took it to my fishing weekend away in Ely with my best friend. Good times, cigar, whiskey, barbecue, hot tub, my girlfriend, dogs... couldn't get any better. Caught 4 fishes as well (last pic).

The outer shell is latigo which is a combination tanned calf leather. It ages really well, supple, and any nicks will rub out easily, best of all the edge slicks really nicely. The lining is a beige kip side(please ignore the little bit of burn at the back, I should have used a gentle flame to singe the ends and not a jet lighter). The thread is 1mm Havana tan Ritza 25 aka tiger thread.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all have a lovely day.

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Very cool buddy, did ya ever get a blue gun for it? Nice work and it does match the sheath very well.
 
Thank you Dave! :)

I had to use a pre-made pattern for this one unfortunately. :(

Recently the government has been cracking down on all forms of guns (imitation or otherwise) as well as knives. The blue gun is still just about legal but it's heading towards a ban as well by the looks of it. I can't even get knives delivered to my house any more because of the new knife law.

Thank you for your advice on the blue guns though it was really nice of you.

Hopefully the holster will see some use when I visit the US again however! :)

Thanks you for your help again.
 
You bet when ya coming and where ya going? Betcha we can find a 1911 to fit in there.

Nichole and the neighbor, cussing and discussing:

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Not sure when yet but our company is thinking of setting up a new site in LA or Lancaster, California. The schedule has been delayed by quite a bit (we were thinking of going there last year but several new projects came up) so not sure how it will turn out. We also have a presence in Salt Lake City so I may end up going there for a visit too. I'm looking at K6S and 1911 from Kimber to take down the range when things settle a bit more.

Thank you for the photo! I was initially thinking of making a pancake holster like the one you posted. I will probably give making that a go when I go across the pond! :)
 
Good deal! Lancaster is only about 35-40 minutes away. Our good friends Stan and Janine live there and come up bout every weekend to cowboy with us.

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Brilliant! I'll keep my fingers crossed that it will be Lancaster in that case! :)

I am really looking forward to spending some time in the wild in the US, camping and fishing especially. I once camped near the Grand Canyon and I have nothing but good memories there.
 
Good deal. Lots of folks live up here in Tehachapi and commute "down the hill" one way to Lancaster/Palmdale, the other way to Bakersfield. Lots of wide open desert around Lancaster and the Sierra Nevada is right there. Our ranch is the southern tip of the Sierra. There's a big lake to fish right there in Lancaster.

Funny ya did this holster post right now. Got home from the ranch this afternoon and cut out four 1911 holsters, three for Glocks, one Sig and a Ruger Vaquero. Got a show coming up, building some stock.
 
Now that sounds exactly like the place I want to go! Thank you for letting me know :)

If you have the chance please post some pics of the holsters!
 
Ya bet will do. Gotta run to Bakersfield today and will hit the shop late afternoon, evening.
 
Here's one I snapped the other day. I was coming home from hauling water for the cattle and walked into the office. Nichole was talking on the phone, making some horseshoe coasters for stock and wearing one of her 1911s in a holster she made on a belt she tooled.

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Here's a few of the current ones I'm working on. They're drying on the kitchen counter after tooling.

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The three Glocks, the Sig and the Ruger are here. Working on the 1911s now.

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I really need to try your tan recipe one day, it looks brilliant. I think some of the tan horsehide I have will take on the golden brown really well. Thank you for posting the holster pics again.

Speaking of tooled coasters I once made a key case for an equestrian (pic below) but one of the sides warped during tooling so I gave it away as a coaster.
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No recipe thats just Wickett and Craig russet saddle leather. Nothing has been done to it. When finished they will get a light coat of oil and some BagKote and thats about it.

Nice deal on that key case. So rubber cement some card or blue painters tape on the back of lighter leather when tooling. It will help prevent warping. At the apex of the cuts for the split ring punch a little hole on each side. That will prevent the leather from kinda continuing the cut over time. How did ya attach the stirrup? We kinda have approached the same question (keys, wallet, phone) while riding deal with a different answer suitable for western riders. We've gone to adding these welt pockets to the left leg of a lot of leggings lately. Just right for the things mentioned.

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Here's a pic of the holsters all sewn up yesterday. I'm cutting the strings. I use a soldering iron not a lighter, less scorched marks.

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So we went roping last night so after melting the strings, they moved back into the kitchen counter. They just stay cleaner inside. This morning they will get wet molded and finished off to go into the oven.

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Thanks for the tips Dave! I'll make sure to do the painters tape and punching of the hole next to the split ring. The stirrup was attached using a thread. It's fairly hard to see in the photos but behind the stirrup there is a hole where the thread is looped around the bottom corners and the top hole of it. After that I just did a reef knot on the other side and melted the thread to fuse it so it doesn't become undone.

I really like the idea of having pockets in the leggings as well. It looks much more comfortable than digging around in the jeans pocket under the waist strap.
 
Good deal. Thats clever on the stirrup, I simply didn't see the thread. But I'm old.

So punched the slots in the holsters, sanded and edged the edges and slots, wet molded and fitted to their respective handguns and did a preliminary rubbing of the edges. Then into the oven for three hours turning em over every hour. After the baking I oiled em and then brought them back into the house. So here they are sitting back on the counter just after being oiled.

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Then after overnight, this pic I just took this morning showing how the oil has begun to set.

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We'll be out of town today, my niece has joined the Marines and there is a going away party for her today, so won't be in the shop at all. Tomorrow will finish them off.
 
I really need to experiment more with the wet moulding it's been a while since I last tried that.

Congratulations on your niece's enlisting!
 
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