The Art of making holsters??

[Reverend]

         I need to find some videos on making holsters, & other leather items, start to finish. I know some put 100% neatsfoot on afterwards. I have streaks on these. Will the oil even them out? Do I wait till they dry or oil now? I still want to seal so they won't bleed. I have lots of questions. I still have to put spots on & then glue liner. I have spent alot of time ready old post for info lately. What is the best videos to buy for holster making. Start to finish?


Rev

[JD Alan]

Chuck Burrows without a doubt! It's called Frontier Holsters. Check out Chuck's business, Wild Rose Trading Company. I have John Bianchi's DVD's too. There's good info on both.

[Johnny McCrae]

Howdy Reverend,

JD has given you great advice. Chuck Burrow's Video takes you through the Holster making process step by step and covers applying the finish in detail. Perhaps you could post some pictures. There are many knowledgeable Pard's on this forum who could give you assistance.

[Cliff Fendley]

I recommend Chuck's also. My wife got it for me a few years ago while I was laid up from back surgery and couldn't do anything. That's where I first heard of the Walnut stain.

[Slowhand Bob]

I have not yet seen a video that was a total looser and all have added something positive to the pot, in my opinion.  What is good about the offerings as a whole is the different styles used by different makers.  Sometimes you might take something from one or another but often the techniques will get combined to create what works best for you.  I will list what I have in no certain order BUT will try to point out my take on any strong points relating to certain ones.

On the finish, once the dye has dryed, I do not think oil will go very far towards actually turning it into a monotone.  It will darken and mellow the look in a way that is visually pleasing to me, and I believe many others, but will not give the flat plastic look associated with so much big shop leather.  To acheive that I usually dip and buff lightly two or more times, depending on the dye mix.  I actually put dye on with wool swabs just to avoid to much consistency sometimes.

My holster and related videos, if you know of others please let me know:

The John Bianchi Set;  great for pattern making and layout, many good techniques and ideas included.

HideCrafters Holsters with George Hurst; good pattern making and lining techniques for roll style liners.

Holsters by Dusty Johnson; kinda like a quicky that covers much good basic info, easy follow format but moves fast.

Holsters with Jim Simmons(?); some unusual techniques on pattern making and assembly, Im not always sold on his techniques but some are really good and all are thought provoking.  There are two books and a series of related patterns available also.

Holsters plus the Knife videos by Chuck Burrows, last but certainly not least is this combined set and that is what I think about the Knife videos value to the rest.  Though this covers the full construction of the projects, I find its greatest value lies in the techniques Chuck covers.Of all the videos I have this set is the one I wish had been added on to.  I can not imagine video projects being profitable so seeing more may not be practical but Chuck certainly has much to teach and a very easy going format of information delivery.

There are lots of other videos out there that could add certain aspects to the overall project but do not pertain specifically to holster making.  I do know that Chap making is offered by Dusty Johnson also and the Simmons pattern sets cover a lot of ground on cowboy accessories, including shoulder holsters, cartridge pouches ammo carriers, etc, etc and of course our own Will Ghormley offers a great pattern series and seems to be able to say the most with the fewest words in his assembly notes, its amazing sometimes.  Failing all else get his belt pattern set and the belt pattern from his Busky Rig, better than any full belt making book I have seen yet.

[JD Alan]

I've not seen all the videos that Bob has, but I sure agree with him on Will's belt making patterns and writing. The Black Canyon pattern has lots of useful info even if you don't plan on making the rig pictured.   

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Hi Reverend,

I agree with what everybody has said about Chuck Burrows DVD ... it goes into considerable dprth about making a Slim Jim and a Cheyenne Style holster. And IMHO, if you can make this tow, you can adapt to anything ....

Here is his DVD page:

http://www.wrtcleather.com/tr-books/books-1.shtml

[Reverend]

Thank you all for the great advice. I have every pattern that Brother Will Ghormley has put out. I'm in the process of making the Dodge City Holsters for the granddaughter. I have them cut out. Stamped, dyed( Feiblings Black Oil Die), I need to glue the liners on, Some mold them & glue liner in. Will says lay flat. I'm laying these flat & will glue liner in. I'm going to sew everything around the holster up to the main stitch. Heres the bad area. I'm using white thread. I hate the way the thread gets grey or dirty after sewing on black. I use wax thread. I thought about using a sealer in the thread trough, to seal the dye, to keep the dye from making my thread dirty looking.. Do you all get them wet again to fold over to sew up final seam.?? I don't need stress cracking. Then you have to get them wet again to put in the Gun, I understand that one.  How many time do you get them wet?. I have tried to post pictures & they won't go. I will work on it

Rev

[Reverend]

Here is a picture of one of the holsters. Is it the leather?

Rev

[knucklehead]

Reverend,

i wet form after sewing completely. after holster is dry then seal it. the sealer will actualy cause the water to leave holster unevenly and make it look weird.

as far as the color that looks uneven in your pic try dip dying it if you havent tried that yet.
also i now use #1 saddle oil from bee natural company on my leather before i dye.
this helps me get a more even dye job. it puts oil back into the leather that gets taken out while tooling leather.

dusty johnson also has a decent video out on doing holsters.
i personaly like chuck burrows video the best. but his videos mainly show how to make holsters the old way.
bianchi set is spendy but does have lots of good information in the videos.

[Reverend]

I took that picture in full sunlight to show the streaks. Its really black. Here is the bullet Caddy I made for her. It turned out great. Still has  the crackling look. I'm putting on the spots so liner will cover them. I will  glue the liner. I will use the oversticher(6 per inch) then I have a Dremmel drill press with 1/16" bit. I will sew around holster & skirt, leaving main seam till last. Do you all get it wet to make the fold in the holster to bend over to make the last sewing & bending the skirt?? I hate the stress cracking when dry bending. I will sew main seam. Then attach the skirt loop. I usually use acrylic resolene for sealer. I did use 100% neatsfoot on the bullet caddy ,let dry , then resolene. I hand painted the sewing groove only with resolene before I sewed. It kept the thread pretty clean & white. Will has been really great about questions on his Black Canyon Rig. An item for you snake lovers. Had to go out & kill a copperhead on ladys sidewalk. ITS NOVEMBER!!! here in Okieland. He was only 2 1/2" long.

Thanks
Rev

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

    NICE WORK Reverend, in answer to your question, I wet/dampen the fold line before folding and cementing my seam line, it does help, but as far as getting a few wrinkles inside the holster on the fold line, it really doesn't matter and doesn't have any negative affect on the holster itself, so I wouldn't worry about that.

        tEN wOLVES 

                                   

[Slowhand Bob]

Looking at the first picture, it appears that I see leather wrinkle lines and dye residue.  If this is in fact the case, rather than lighting, I would recommend more buffing, perhaps with a soft cloth.  The powdery coat left behind by black can be very tough to remove, compared to the other colors, and just requires elbow grease.  If I am right the wrinkles will become less noticeable also as the black starts to shine.  A good top coat will help a great deal also but the residue should be removed first at any rate.  The pattern design looks very interesting, lots of rake, and I would really like to see some finished project photos.