Feedback and tips please

Here we are:

 

Okie dokie. The Loop Holster. I almost won't dye leather. It just doesn't work well. My wife Nichole made this purse.



She recently threw it away. We'd hauled it to a couple of three shows without selling it. Purse was now about a year to a year and half old. When we got back from a show we did last month she was wiping the dust off to hang it back up on the rack here in the office. When she wiped down the strap, black dye came off on the rag. I've often said that not being color fast is one of the biggest problems to dyeing leather. Even if it is sealed and finished very well as was this strap. Ya can still have the dye transfer. When she was making the purse I was trying to get her to use just regular vegtan, not dyed, but that additional color was messing with the mojo, she wanted black, (listen to the old guy). So imagine some gal carrying that on a hot day wearing a white blouse. Yeah could be bad for Horsewright's rep. I almost won't dye leather.

I really hate dyeing tooled leather. Hard not to get blotchy. Ya spend all that time tooling it and then dyeing it sucks all the life right out of it. This:



Or this:



To my eye no comparison.
Anyhoo.

On your tooling the holster doesn't really have a bottom. Continue your border stamp around the bottom too. See how your basket stamp just sort of fades away at the bottom. The 1911 holster also needs a bottom border. On that holster you are using your stitching groover as a creaser and thats cool but do it on the bottom too. I would also inset your camo border a hair in from your stitching line and your crease line. Maybe a 16th to an 1/8th of an inch or so. See in that pic of that oak carved 1911 holster. There is a border between the stitch line and the tooling. you are trying to create the same thing with your camo tool. I don't mark it I just tool it. These spur straps are a good example of what I'm talking about. Just a little space between the camo border tool and the stitching line:



I'll do some more tomorrow and maybe some other folks will jump in and help out too. Also read a lot in these pages here in Sheaths and Such there is lots of info here but a guy kinda needs to dig for it.

 

I will add a little bit. In my experience, most tooling does not lend itself to extensive forming after it is done. It will get seriously distorted and look pretty funky. There is not really much that can be done to fix it. You can sometimes get away with some minor forming to shape , like your first holster, but molding around a tight contour will flatten it every time. I suggest articles like your flashlight holster may be better served with no tooling or only some border tooling done quite deeply.

I am personally not a fan of big copper rivets in items like holsters and knife sheaths. They can sometimes be used for a decorative effect but the reality is a properly sewn seam will be more that strong enough for almost any application. If you like they way the look, by all means use them but they are not needed for strength.

By the way, good on you for asking for input and showing your work. Being open to input can really speed up the learning curve.
Randy

 

" I hope more folks will chime in. Great stuff."
Did you dye your leather wet, damp or dry? It will look different for each....

The only way I've managed to get an even coat of dye on larger objects is with my airbrush.

Even then, above, you see 3 different pieces of leather and 3 different shades of the same color dye.



Here the dark strap was intentional for contrast.

Another option is using Antique on the leather.... wipe it on with a sponge and wipe it right off with a rag. Thin with bag coat to make it lighter.



2nd from the left is black antique which comes out with a decidedly greenish hue. Not recommended. The others are Eco whatever water base brown.
Pretty easy to use, more even than dye with a dauber. I even used it on this belt. Applied it about a quarter of the belt length at a time.


This is the same brown Eco Antique used on the slip cases above but thinned more with bag coat.

I really hope this helps.

 

Having said all that above.
Listen to Dave. He's doing this for a living. And probably forgotten more than I know..... I'm just having fun and learning as I go.

 

Here's a little trick on your 1911 holster. If a holster or a sheath is a hair too tight I will often stretch them. This is often done while the leather is still damp. Use a pair of channel lock pliers to open the tight spot up. So in your pic it looks like its tight right where the trigger guard comes up against the rivet. Adjust your pliers accordingly and put them in the holster at the tight spot. Then open the pliers up stretching the leather. I will usually follow this by putting the pliers in the center of the holster and stretching a little front to back too. Done carefully ya save many a project. Too much brutus and well.......

This is more for anybody else following along as Jon and i have already spoken privately about better leather. Good leather is paramount to upping your game. It is an ABSOLUTE requirement.

 

Jon, This may just be the sensibility of gov law enforcement folks, but I have polled the guys I work with and we all agree that on an auto, the trigger should have enough leather that you can't get a finger on it. Doubly true if you carry at full cock. Just keep trying and listen to Horsewright, you are on the right track. rtmind/randy

 

Little design thought on your 1911 holster. Whats its purpose? I've carried a handgun daily for over 40 years, most of the time it was a heavy handgun like a 1911. I think your one point of attachment (the clip) would be uncomfortable, the holster would flop and pull out away from the body. Unless this is a left handed IWB holster? Anyhoo what are your thoughts on its use and maybe I can help out with a design some.

 

No not my invention. That style of holster is called a pancake style holster as they lay flat as a pancake against you and kinda have a pancake shape. They have been around a long time and are made by many holster makers. To me one of the most comfortable and secure ways of carrying a handgun. They are very popular with folks all over. This young lady rides some rough and lonely country and always has that Glock .45 with her.






The two belt slots in the holster, (I use a 2" bag punch or oblong punch by Osborne), provide plenty of stability and really help to spread the weight out which is key to comfort. They also draw the holster in close to the body. Most users will do what is called "splitting the belt loop". That is, the belt goes in the first slot in the holster, than through the pants belt loop and then through the second slot on the holster. This helps support the weight of the gun and prevents some sag. These shots of my friend Tyler (on his left hip) shows how tight against the body this style of holster keeps the firearm. This is important when being active. Ya don't want that brick flopping around and getting in the way:





I'll carry small guns, medium size guns and large handguns in the same type of holster. So does Nichole my wife:















Even very large handguns:







They can be made with a thumb break over the top, or with a very little tweaking to the pattern, crossdraw:





We sell a bunch of these. Its not unusual for me to have several in the pipeline at any given time. These pics should give ya some ideas. They are constructed similarly to my pancake sheaths but without a welt. I will always use 8/10 oz Wickett and Craig saddle leather for these. You need a "bluegun" or the actual handgun to make these as they are handgun specific. Blueguns (actually a brandname), are plastic/nylon molds of actual guns and are very popular with holster makers. We got 12 hanging on the wall and with the handguns we own or have access to, we can make a holster for most of the popular handguns that are being carried. Heck even some odd ball ones How about a Colt 1903:



Or a Savage 1907:

 

Another popular carry option is called an Askin's Avenger. It does not pull the front of the gun in quite as tightly as Dave's pancakes but they are very secure and stable and seem to fit my body better. Here is one I made to carry my baby Springfield 45. I carry it a lot and really don't notice it being there. I also have one for my full size 1911 and it works equally as well. Proper belt fit is critical though.

 

Beautiful work Randy! Just really, really nice!

Yeah that second anchoring point is critical. Our second most popular holster we make and sell is called the Rangeflap holster.







It uses a similar idea as an Avenger but I changed it from a belt tunnel to a slot and loop system.



Like the Avenger not quite as tight a fit against the body but not bad and it does help to spread the weight some. Advantage of the slot and loop idea is that it makes one holster extremely versatile. You can wear strong side, crossdraw at several different angles, behind the back , pretty universal. Also this holster is not gun specific, its frame size specific. so basically I make them in sm, med and large. One holster can fit several different size guns you might have, revolvers and autos doesn't matter.









Not half bad at strapping to a saddle either:



I tend to wear a Rangeflap on the backside of our ranch where it is extremely rugged, no roads and in some areas crazy brushy. Particularly if I'm going back there to fix or check fence. Here checking feed conditions in Upper Bowl canyon:



But for day in and day out carry I really like a pancake style.

 

Thanks Dave. I do love your Rangeflaps but don't get into country where it would be beneficial much anymore.

For the OP, one of the benefits of both the pancake and Avenger designs is that they tend to hold the gun very well due to being pulled tightly around your body. A bit less critical to fit if you don't want retention straps. I did put a means of tightening in the holster above but ended up not needing it.
Randy

 

I agree 100%. Done right each style will give you great retention. Nichole got bucked off a couple months back. Didn't lose her knife, in a pancake sheath, or her pistol, in a pancake holster. But man that gun was dirty.