holster attempt

cowboy316 · May 13, 2009, 11:26:58 AM

hey guys here we go again with a holster attempt but this time i have The Al Stohlman "How to make holsters" book
im doing the .38 Colt police positive 4" barrel heres the pic after cutting with the very special round knife Mister JD gave me
and the border lines cut and beveled not sure what im gonna do now thinking some kind of border but not sure yet LOL
enjoy pards
Cowboy316

decided to just do a simple basket stamp and simple cammie border nothing fancy LOL
Cowboy316

Ten Wolves Fiveshooter · May 13, 2009, 01:12:34 PM

Looks good C316, nice basket weave also

Regards

tEN wOLVES

JD Alan · May 13, 2009, 04:29:17 PM

Hey there Cowboy, excellent stamping! Good luck on puting that thing together. With your skill set, I don't think you'll have any problems. Thanks for sharing, JD

knucklehead · May 13, 2009, 05:14:36 PM

basketweave is straight and deep stamping. looks great.

hurry up and finish it.

me thinks antique color would be a great choice for dying this fine holster.

cowboy316 · May 13, 2009, 08:01:19 PM

ok here it is before i do an antique Mahogany on the holster
Enjoy pards
Cowboy316

ok guys just finished the holster heres a pic enjoy
Cowboy316

knucklehead · May 13, 2009, 09:03:46 PM

looks good. but i would have dyed the inside of the holster as well. to me its finished when the inside is dyed also.

your stitch line apears to be closer to the edge then i think it should be.
i always try to groove the stitch line 3/16" in from the edge.

overall the holster looks great.

cowboy316 · May 13, 2009, 09:08:34 PM

thank you guys for all the kind words and encouragment
Knucklehead i was just thinkin bout takeing my mahogany dye and putting a coat on the inside and as for the stitching i was sure soe i just marked a line and the stitched it and things got a little close after i cleaned it up on the drum sander but all in all im pleased the way it turned out now on to the next one LOL
Thanks again guys
Cowqboy316

Gun Butcher · May 13, 2009, 09:26:07 PM

Hey Cowboy, your weave looks great. I have run into that stitich line problem myself. You might try cleaning up your edges before stitiching, it seems to work better for me, and it does leave your line more evenly spaced after sewing. Now as you said on to the next one!!!!

Slowhand Bob · May 13, 2009, 10:41:48 PM

Cowboy, looks good and you appear to have the stamping technique down pat. My basketweaves look like something from a drunk sailor! There is one technical flaw in you pattern layout though. The straight border line cut down the center fold line of the holster is not recommended as it can weaken the leather in the fold. It is better for this type pattern to keep that border line off center, usually moved slightly towards the front.

cowboy316 · May 13, 2009, 10:46:31 PM

Slowhand
thanks for the kind words and i relized that id made the border cut in the wrong place when i folded it over and the cut stretched out LOL but ive got enough leather now to do bout 4 maybe 5 more holsters so i can tweek things just a bit
thanks again for the kind words
Cowboy316

Johnny McCrae · May 13, 2009, 10:51:05 PM

Howdy Cowboy,

Very nice job. Look forward to seeing more holsters from you. Thanks for sharing.

Marshal Will Wingam · May 14, 2009, 12:34:45 AM

Looking good, Cowboy. I like the basketweave on it. Nice.

JD Alan · May 14, 2009, 10:13:35 AM

Cowboy, I'm glad to see you're taking the constructive comments the way I'm sure they were meant. Regarding the stitch line, now I go father in than even Kunclehead recommends. That way I have plenty of space to use the drum sander (Like Chuck B demonstrates on his DVD) to clean up the edges. I have used Gum Trag with dye mixed in for the inside of an unline holster, and it worked pretty good. That way the inside of the holster's color is similar to the outside, and it's smoothed down and pretty slick inside.

I tried lining a pair of holsters (Remember, I'm still a real rookie) and I found both positive and negative aspects to lining.I really like the finished look, and they are stronger, and better suited for reholstering (IMO) It's harder to work with lined, rather than unlined holsters. I'm sure a big factor is what you plan to do with them. Reholstering is not a big issue outside CAS.

Once again, your basket stamping really looks great. God bless, JD

cowboy316 · May 14, 2009, 10:25:59 AM

JD
thanks for the kind words and the tips im hopeing the next one i do is a little better might get a little crazy and double loop lace it LOL
then again im still a rookie in the holster making end of this but it sure was fun cutting it out with the round knife and watching it come together ill have to get some gum trag and try it
thanks again for all the kind words guys keeps me going

Cowboy316

ok guys here a couple of pics after i dyed the belt loop and buffed the whole thing really good
hope you enjoy

Gun Butcher · May 14, 2009, 07:43:28 PM

Cowboy , she finished up real nice and I really like the color.

Ten Wolves Fiveshooter · May 14, 2009, 08:07:44 PM

Looks good c316, you did well

TW

Johnny Dingus · May 14, 2009, 10:03:58 PM

Cowboy,

Good looking holster. Great book for us beginer types.
You can use a slicker and work the holster pocket (where the pistol fits) smooth and then the pistol comes out as good as a lined one. I did a Dodge city holster lined and unlined used both styles this last weekend and I swear the unlined one has the pistol jumping out easier.

Good work. Every project we learn more and more. Let's see more of them.

Johnny Dingus

Marshal Will Wingam · May 15, 2009, 10:50:03 AM

Dying the inside and loop do make it look better. Good work.