Wet Moulding

[cowboywc]

Howdy All
I never use warm water to wet mold. Cold tap water. I've never had a tooled holster lose any tooling that way.
WC

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy All
I never use warm water to wet mold. Cold tap water. I've never had a tooled holster lose any tooling that way.
WC

       I agree with WC on this, I never use warm water on my leather, you allow too much of the natural oil's to escape, I do natural dying, and submerge my leather holsters/gun belts in my dye for one too five days at a time, my theory on this is once your leather is wet, it won't get any wetter, and by using cool water in my dyes it doesn't take the natural oils out like hot water will.
      So when I wet mold my holster to the gun it's for, whether it's dyed or not I soak it in cool water, then remove it and let the excess water drip off, then I take a paper towel and wipe it down, then I put the gun in and do my forming, I let it sit in the holster for about 20 to 30 minutes, by this time the leathers memory has taken over, I remove the gun, and hang the holster on a on a strong wire hanger I made so that the wire just runs down the bucket , or center of the holster, I have these hangers hung from the ceiling of my shop, this allows the leather to dry from the inside out, in a cool surrounding, never in the sun or near a heat source that would put stress on the drying process, after 24 hours it is stiff and the way I like it,then I do my conditioning  and oiling and finishing, I find this method works well for me, and I don't mess up the PH balance in the leather at least ( IMHO )

                                                   Regards


                                             tEN wOLVES   

[Marshal Will Wingam]

That's a good idea, Bill. I've used Mop 'N' Glow the same way with similar results. I'll have to try the Elmers. Thanks for the tip.

Welcome to the forum. Looking forward to your posts.

[Wagon Box Willy]

I "bone" the holster around the gun and flair the holster mouth. 

What is boning the holster?

Thanks
  -Willy

[GunClick Rick]

Taking a piece of bone to mold it around the gun like you would do with your finger,ive used the end of a butter knife before or a small spoon to press around the holster.As it is dryin ,go up and mold it once and awhile.The Cowboys Show showed a pro using something like a spoon if i remember right.Should be a smooth surface so as not to scratch the leather.

[NiceGuyJTK]

When I first made a holster I must have searched endlessly looking for info, but to no avail. At any rate, I eventually learned to wet the leather. The thinner the leather the less time it takes to wet. Now ive done alot of what you guys have however, to mold the holster I use some C-clamps a ton of rubber foam (pipe insulation) or whatever thats soft, and my gun; dutifully wrapped.
After my weather is  soaking wet, I fold the leather over the gun, put copious amounts of foam or whatever padding I have, put a board on top (even pressure) and use the c clamps to press the hell out of the leather. This can be pretty dangerous depending on the weapon and your own common sense. Put some decent pressure and let the leather stretch. Ive gotten a flat piece of leather to stretch around a 1911 this way, it takes time but it works. If you have the time or money, those plastic replica guns would be the pro way of doing it but if your like me, just be careful with your weapon, dont wanna warp anything. I usually leave the gun pressed overnight, resoak the leather, press again, bone, (spray with water periodically), bone, and when it looks perfect continue on. You can get  a top quality holster. I use a wood burner to do detailed artwork on mine. My first was a Desantis immitation paddle holster for my dad, which, is better than my desantis. Now im going to make somthing like the VMax2. The leather im using is especially thick on this one so im soaking for a few hours. I just wanted to chime in and add some thought, this info is very rare on the net. Good luck guys, its a rewarding experience.

Mike

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Thanks for the input, NG. Looking forward to more of your posts. Welcome to the forum.

[Boondock Saint]

This thread is great.  I was able to follow some of these directions and did a pretty decent job of molding a pair of slim jims to be a perfect fit for my Pietta Navies.

Thanks Pards.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy. that's what our forum is all about, glad this help you along, and you can always check our FAQ/HOW TO, thread for great information we have gathered.

    tEN wOLVES