@nd attempt at a holster

[cowboy316]

heres what the my second holster looks like before ive done anything to it other than cut it out of my piece of scrap

[cowboy316]

just wondering if when making a holster do you stitch first or wet form first

[Leo Tanner]

Slow night round here tanight, but you'll get plenny of replies by tamarra I'll bet. 
As far as I know, sweating in is last, but don't take my word fer it.

[Trailrider]

just wondering if when making a holster do you stitch first or wet form first

Since I generally have a pattern that went through a prototyping series, I know the gun will fit after wet-forming.  So I stitch first and then use a series of hardwood dowels with the ends rounded to do the preliminary forming, followed by full forming with a dummy gun or live one, wrapped in a zip-lok baggie.

Hope this helps.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Leo is fairly close. I stitch and assemble then wet mold. After it dries, I oil and condition it. I like leaving the oiling to last to replace any oils that might get leeched out by the wetting. Looks like all you have left on that one is to put the strap on and assemble it. It looks like it's coming along. It'll be nice to see the finished item.

[Dalton Masterson]

Ditto what the other gents said! I wet mold very last, other than some light oil/conditioner.
DM

[JD Alan]

Boy, you are a production dynamo there Cowboy. Good work. Are you having fun stitching? Between stitching and stamping, a guy ought to develop a pretty good grip. Keep at it, JD  

[cowboy316]

well im having trouble getting the loop attached right now but its all stitched and ready for a soaking then the forming
Im happy with the way this one has turned out (not bad for scrap leather lol)
    Cowboy316

[knucklehead]

if you are trying to sew the loop on you may have problems getting the needle to fit cause of the loop in the way of pulling the needle out. you can always take a spare needle and cut it down smaller so that you can fit it easier. or you can just use rivits to secure the loop on.



yep what the others said.

my steps are as follows:
design
redesign
refine design.
fight the carving design ideas. sometimes it takes me forever to like the carving design i drew on the pattern.

mark leather with pattern cut it out.
carve it / stamp it
color the holster.
sew it together and trm the sewed edges till they are even
insure all edges are cleaned up from my jagged knife cutting out of the pattern.
wet form the holster with real gun after insure its empty.
let dry overnite.
then apply sealer to project
and slick up the edges
attach the loop at this time if holster needs one.

[cowboy316]

here it is the finished 2nd attempt the only thing im not happy with it the  way i attatched  the loop trying to get some rivits but will have to wait till tomorrow and go to the leather shop but all in all im pleased not its in your hands to point out the little things i need to work on (and dont be afraid to be honest)     

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

      Nice work Cowboy, your getting a good start in your work, keep it up. 


                                 tEN wOLVES 

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Looks good, Cowboy. The rivets are a good solution for that strap. Nice job on this one. Thanks for the pics.

[Johnny McCrae]

Howdy Cowboy,

That's a mighty fine looking Holster especially for your second attempt! The neat part about all of this is when someone asks where you got the Holster from.... you can say "I made it myself" Many thanks for sharing this with us. We look forward to seeing your future work.

[cowboy316]

Johnny
   thank you for the kiknd words and im the type person if i think i can make it im gonna try with all i got
and the nice thing is the leather for both holster was free out of my local saddle shop and as for more projects ive got a knife sheath im stitchin today for one of my hunting knives
     Cowboy316