Newbie question on holsters & belts

[T.C. Grant]

I'm a newbie to making holsters and belts.  I do have some experience with hand tooling leather...mostly smaller projects.
I am interested in making a pistol rig and ventured down to the local Tandy store the other day and picked up a few of the Will Ghormley patterns as a starting point.  In the patterns it states to use 9/10 oz tooling leather for unlined holsters.  What do you all typically use for lined holsters?  I am assuming that if I use 9/10 and then line it it will be way too thick to work with. 
For those of you who line your holsters, what are you using to line them with?  I was thinking about using some pigskin for the linings in lieu of suede.  Is this a good idea or am I setting myself up for defeat? 

Thanks for any advice you seasoned makers can throw my way. 
I'm glad I found this site over the weekend.  I am totally hooked!

T.C.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

You got some good patterns, there. Will's are good ones.

You can use just about any combination of thicknesses to make a holster, but if it gets too thick, it can be a real bear to mold and work with. I made a pair of Cheyenne-style holsters with 8-9 oz leather and lined them with 8-9 oz. Damn near didn't get them folded over to sew. Folding through the strap in the skirt and wet moulding took some real effort, too. I think I built up some muscle mass on that pair. They don't loose their shape, though. My choice for lined holsters is 7-8 oz with 3-4 oz lining. I've never used anything but a good veg or oak tanned leather. I suppose I'll try something else one of these days. For the most part, I just prefer to make them without a lining at all.

Welcome to the forum. Looking forward to seeing your posts.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy TC 


       Welcome to the leather shop forum Pard, we're glad to have ya, Like Will was saying if you use too thick of leather it can defeat you, a good rule of thumb is try to end up with a 10 ounce leather but no more than 12 ounce if you're going to line a holster, I wouldn't use anything less than a 3 or 4 ounce leather in combination with a 6/7 or 7/8 0unce cover piece, you want to end up with a total thickness of not more than  10 or 12 ounce leather with both pieces put together, and you talked about suede or pig skin, these are fine for concealed carry, where they pretty much stay clean, but in the cowboy game you're going to be in dusty places sometimes and a holster line with suede will trap dirt like a magnet, and if your gun is blued this will wear real hard on it, pig skin isn't bad, but because it is thin it will tend to wear and tear faster than if you just stayed the above mentioned way of lining, or like Marshal Will said he doesn't like to line his, and if you want to be period correct, most holsters of this time period weren't lined. A good friend of mine uses 5 to 6 ounce leather from the same hide and puts them together and it makes a fine lined holster, and this way you don't have to buy two different hides to get the job done. Me I like them both ways, and so I do them lined and unlined, hope this helped .

                                                         tEN wOLVES 

[knucklehead]

I have some of will's patterns.
I have used 8 ounce leather with 1-2 ounce lining without altering the pattern. the holster fit my handgun real good.
i used pigskin once for a lining and prefer the veg tan 1 to 3 ounce leather for lining.

good luck with your project and post some pictures when you are done with it.

and ask questions till the sun goes down we will do our best to answer

[cowboywc]

Howdy
Most of the time when I make lined holsters I make them from 5/6 and line with the same.
WC

[T.C. Grant]

Thank you all for your input.  I've been scouring this forum the last couple of days and what a wealth of information!
I made a pit stop at the tandy leather store on my way home from work and picked up a few stamps and some practice leather. 
I am going to piddle around and see what comes about.  I will post what I come up with.
By the way, what do you guys use as a finish? 

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Congratulations on jumping in, TC. It'll be nice to see what you come up with.

After I get the color I want, whether with dye or whatever, I put a very light coat of EVOO on and when that's soaked in completely, a coat of Lexol conditioner.

Remember, the finish is personal preference. Some like a high gloss, others like a natural sheen. Experiment with what we all tell you and choose what you like for your various projects. More than likely, the finish will vary depending on what you are making.