1911 Pattern Western Style

[Slowhand Bob]

This was my basic pattern based on the little holster that I patterned for the Wild Bunch shooters.  This is about as simple as a holster pattern gets and I really feel that any beginner could accomplish it with our input/help.  It is my hope that I can make one over the next few days or so, using only the most basic tools, those found around the home as much as possible.  Most of the notes needed for basic construction are included on the pattern itself for anyone not wanting to wait on me.  Where radius's are shown which would allow for punch cuts before starting with the knife, if you have these punches available.  Hope you enjoy.

I would print out at least two copies of this pattern, one to use and one to file.  I like to paste my working patterns onto heavy paperboard such as tablet backing or even cereal boxes.  This will assure that you get at least several good copies onto leather before the edges start to break down.  The strap is just a generic one I use on several holster patterns and you might find it useful elsewhere as well.  You can vary the height of it to suite the project at hand, full width for patterns or conchoes and narrowed down for something simpler or just plain.

[Dalton Masterson]

Very nice pattern SB!!! Would be a nice Wild Bunch holster!
DM

[Slowhand Bob]

Thanks Dalton and I would appreciate any ideas that you guys might wish to throw in as alternatives to what might work for new leather workers trying to make their first holster.  My son would tell you that I am not a great teacher when it comes to translating the English to something remotely understandable.  Wouldn't it be great if a newby could take home a little something from all of us?

The following photo is my first step in transferring the pattern to 9/10oz leather (see Tandy for anything between 8 and 10 ounces for this project).  I usually trace the pattern using a dull (rounded point) pencil but in this case I used an x-fine point marker.  Do not use ball point pens as the ink will smear and ruin the finish. 

Shown with the leather are my three favorite cutting knives for most situations.  The center knife is just a bent head version of a common box opener and is the only one I will use for this project.  The X-Acto is normally used for intricate cutting in tight curves or corners while the blue Personna is a Plain Jane carpet knife used for mostly straighter cuts.  Working in those rounded corners is made easier with the use of hole punches but I will forgo their use here (real cheap sets can be found now days at flea markets and import distributors).

   

[knucklehead]

great looking pattern.

me thinks that im gonna have to make a western style holster finaly for my 1911 this winter.

one thing that i learned from chuck burrows videos is use a red ball point pen on leather. the dark brown dye and darker colors will cover the red ink and cause it to wash out and not be seen on the finished project.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy Slowhand

     Nice beginner instructions, and a good way to get started in leather, thanks for taking the time to do this.

     
                                                   Regards

                                             tEN wOLVES 

[Slowhand Bob]

HAR HAR HAR, how timely on the red ink hint.  Normally I would actually dye/oil this project now, before working the edges, but I am leaving it natural so that details will show better.  So far we are still amongst the tools and supplies that one might find around the home for the project and I also show the latest ones used to get to this point.

Pictured are a sponge for moistening the leather edges, two sponge sanding pads (one fine, one coarse/medium), one cotton canvas garden glove and a kids school compass.  You will notice that there is a red line running along one edge, we will call this edge the main seam front edge and when the holster is folded along its center line the far edge that lines up with this front main seam will be the rear main seam edge or both edges create the edge for sewing the main seam.  The red line was laid out with the compass and will be the actual main seam later.  I tend to think most leather workers use app. 1/8" as a standard distance from the edge to a finished stitch line at the main seam.  Mine is a bit wider here to allow for plenty of edge dressing, if necessary.

Try to get your cut as smooth and close on the line as possible, this saves finish work in the next steps.  With a reall damp sponge I go over all edges but the two which will form the main seam later.  A close look should reveal the correct edges that will get finished as they were still damp when photographed.  Next I went over the damp edges with my coarsest sanding spong to remove the roughest areas, sand in one direction only and this should only require a few strokes as leather is relatively soft.  Next, sand those same edges again using the smooth sanding sponge and just a few strokes should get the edge really clean, be sure to sand in the same direction as used with the first sponge.  Mostly we should have been removing slight cutting imperfections and loose fibers but now we are going to slick (buff) that edge to a smooth and shiny surface using the glove.  Once again we want to keep all our strokes in the same direction and apply some moderate pressure to the still damp edge.  If the leather tends to show edge deformation then you are bearing down to hard.

[JD Alan]

It looks great to me Bob, Im looking forward to making one. I've got quite a few friends with 1911's using black kydex, not good for Cowboys! Thanks for making this available Bob. I for one really appreciate it.JD

[Kid Terico]

Pict. of my 1911 every day rig.Wife and I have concealed weapons permits so I wear this one everyday. Light weight and comfortable Sunday dress up rig

[cowboy316]

howdy SB
great pattern just one question i printed it out and it was small what % do i need to enlarge it to to be the right size
Cowboy316

[Slowhand Bob]

Tim, I am not sure what happens or if it is repeatable for others but here is what is working for me.  First I click on the image within the post and after it expands, I right click on the image.  From the menue that opens up I select "save image as" and put it in a computer file of my choice on my computer.  From this I can open it in either Adobe Elements or Photo Shop Pro and print from there at 100%.  This does not work accurately for me with the little program that was included in the Microsoft bundle, for whatever reason???  I am guessing this will work with any pay for play photo enhancement program but??  Let me know what happens and we will figure something out from there.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy Kid .

       Outstanding holsters pard, beautiful work to say the least, like I said before I can tell you enjoy what you're doing, the lace on the one holster adds a nice look, both holster are rich looking your carving and stamping is perfect, thanks for sharing KT

                                               Regards


                                          tEN wOLVES 

[Slowhand Bob]

Kid, your pattern must actually look very similar to the one I posted, with yours having a bit of a higher cut over the slide.  Your holsters demonstrate how much can be done with a simple pattern and an amount of artistic vision. Normally I would really like the basic floral on earthtones much better but it surprising to me how nice the gater looks without becoming overly gaudy looking.  Do you have anything in the way of matching magazine pouches for these?  I am beginning to think you run a gater farm pard, any chance you be from Luzzyanna?

Guys, though you can not see it in the pictures, the edges finished out really nice without any edgers or other steps beyond those listed above.  With just a bit of extra pressure and work using the sanding sponges I actually achieved that rounded and finished edge.  My next step on this project will be folding, gluing and sewing BUT this is where I am hitting a bit of a block.  Having a fairly well equipped shop for so many years, even when hand sewing, it escapes me on what to recommend to someone without any leather working resources.

We have a stitch line that was laid out with just a kids compass and the same compass can also be used to lay out individual stitches but then we need stitch holes and needle/thread for the stitching job.  I have not used a nail to punch holes but have heard of doing it, I am not a fan of drilling them but know it works and, and???  If anyone is following, give me some thoughts on how to accomplish workman like stitch holes without even going out to the shop.  For the actual stitching instructions I would like to just link to some good instructions on the internet, any links would be appreciated.

Lastly we will figure out what to do with thet long cows tongue skirt and strap afore getting into finishing it off.  Though there appears to be lots of watchers I have no feedback as to whether anyone is really getting engaged with this as a project but will keep plodding until someone says enuff!       

[Kid Terico]

Thanks for the nice comments and no I,m from MN. And I dont even have a sandburr farm. I,m lucky to have the collection I have

[JD Alan]

Kid T, I agree with everyone else's take on your holsters. They're really nice to look at, great design and workmanship.

Bob, I am going to try this project, right after I finish up the holsters from the other pattern you shared. I have five of them cut out, and in different stages of being complete. I just posted a picture of the one I cut out and lined last night. I'm going to sew it up this morning to see how it fits, before going ahead with the main two. I've got two dyed, including one with a liner that I dyed as well. I'm going to glue the liner on as soon as I figure out how I want to attach the back flap, and whether or not I'm going to need a welt to fit the gun to the holster.

The holster in the back was just dyed last night, along with the liner, and isn't dry yet. 

Using the sponge sanders really works great, thanks for that idea

Some of you sharp eyed pards may notice that one of the holsters has a stitch groove on the back. I've already had someone PM me to let me know it would be better to wait until I have it glued together before grooving the back. I really appreciate that info.  

[Trailrider]

One suggestion: I can't tell from the photos, but is the holster cut high enough that it can depress the clip ejection button when the gun is inserted in the holster?  If the leather contacts the button, there is a high probability of the clip coming loose!    If you've ever examined a M1916 military holster, you will notice a piece of leather that covers a spacer (sometimes made of wood, or plastic, or just a thicker piece of leather) that stops just forward of the button, and forces the inside of the holster away from the button.  Thought I'd mention that, as it could prove embarrassing to loose or at least loosen the clip! 

[Slowhand Bob]

Kid, you do indeed have some beautiful holsters pard.  You just leave the sand spurs to me as I have been fighting them for several years now.  Started with a load of topsoil I had hauled in and boy are they a bugger to get rid of.  Fighting sand spurs and Mole Crickets over a two acre yard is a nightmare!

JD, you are the busy one my friend.  The stitch layout lines I am showing on this project are actually out of order with the way I normally work but I wanted to be sure that anyone doing this for the first time totally understood what a holsters mainseam is so I layed it out early on.  Im not quite sure that I understand how you would add a stitch groove to the back after the sewing is done though?  I am making no proviions for a stitch groove on this one, in the spirit of keeping store bought to an absolute minimum.

Next step is to add glue for assembly and the two glue lines are depicted by the shaded areas, about a quarter inch strip applied lightly along both edges should work fine.  There are several good leatherworking glues on the market and you can find them through Tandy and I hope some of the guys on here might know of something good that you can pick up locally.  In a real crunch I would not hesitate to use Elmers yellow glue for this particular application.  Strength of bond is not the great concern on this use but I do tend to worry about getting holsd of something that wood be corrosive in contact with your gun.  Follow the the instructions on the bottle for whatever you decide to use.

This pattern has a very well fitting edge at the mainseam and the better you can keep this in alignment during the glue stage the less work later.  Trying to keep those edges in perfect alignment, you now fold the holster and connect the two glued edges together, I like to work down from the top corner on an open toe holster like this.  Once that top corner is perfect, apply a spring clamp and then work your way down, aligning and clamping the edges until you reach the bottom.

[JD Alan]

Bob, I think one of the chanllenges here is I'm workinbg on the other set of patterns you posted for the SAA. I haven't done anything with the 1911 pattern yet.

From Chuck B's Holster DVD, I'm grooving the front main seam line, and prepunching holes on the holsters I'm making before gluing, then stitching the main seam.  I seem to remember someone suggesting having a stitch groove on the back, to help keep the stitches in line, but I'm not sure where I saw-read that. 

[cowboy316]

hey there pard just throwing in my $.02 cents worth in but as for glue  i use i get mine for the local hardware store just plain old contact cement i think its 7 bucks a quart
just my .02 worth
Cowboy316

[Slowhand Bob]

JD, my response was based on misreading your post, sorry.  Yes, I to prefer finishing the mainseam edge before laying out that stitch line, just in case more dressing, leather removal, is required than expected.  Many years ago, before my finger joints started breaking down, I would groove and stitch roll the back seam in an attempt to get perfect looking stitches on both sides.  Later I started pre-punching the front row and finishing the punch through the rear after the seam was glued.  Though I use machines for most of my sewing now, Chucks video did affect my method of hand sewing for those jobs that require the needle and thread be done by hand.

You should find this little Wild Bunch holster to be far easier to do than the other patterns and this should even apply if you decide to line this one.  Those other patterns can get weird on you real fast until you have done a couple or so.  I am somewhat disappointed that I received no takers from the SASS WIRE on this project but we should wind it up soon and I will simply post a small single mag pouch pattern to end this.

[Arizona Cattleman]

This is really great info your giving.  I am thinking of starting the two holsters blanks you sent me.  Not knowing where to start, I am soaking up all the info from all the Pards so I can have some idea of what I am doing.  Keep it up.

Cattleman