Homebrew holsters made by me,show me what you have made! LONG POST and many pic's!

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Thanks Smalls, I appreciate that..
Saitek, thats some nice looking stuff there but if you don't mind I have a recommendation, I wouldn't put any metal hardware on a holster in a spot that will rub on your pistol, just a little movement and it will start really wearing on your nice expensive gun. The lacing is a nice touch, I've never seen it on a 1911 holster before, keep at it.
 
holsters

yeah the snaps are not hitting at this point ,the leather is rigid enough the hold away from the gun was thinking about brushing some leather contact cement over them and using some thin pig skin to insulate them from any contact . not any ware as good as my grandfather that i picked it up from he did it starting back in the late forty's . was just needing a couple at the time and felt to cheap to buy them !!!!!
 
Thanks, those are all Hermann Oak bought from Springfield Leather. Even the Elephant and Frogskin was bought from them.
 
Nice looking holsters there Markush. Question for you, how is the frog to work with, I have been thinking about ordering some for a while but from what I hear it is hit or miss on quality of it.
 
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The Frog skin wasn't at all difficult to work with. It took a little more to burnish the edges then cowhide or Elephant but it wasn't bad (I still haven't figured out how to burnish Ostrich yet).

The quality of my skins wasn't the greatest. They came to me with several rough patches where the "warts" or raised parts had lost their top layer. The rough spots stand out in my photos but it really doesn't look that bad in person. On the plus side they haven't gotten any worse through me working with it or wearing the holster for a couple of months now, so at least it seems durable. The skins weren't cheap and I used about 1 1/2 skins on that one holster (the belt loops are just over 2"x6" each). If I ever buy it again I would need to be certain of the quality I was getting.

You can see there is actually much more belt loop and therefore frog used on the back side.
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A few from my bench; a Mexican loop holster for my Bisley Vaquero, and a Slim Jim for my '58 Remington repro-

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The Bisley rig has some real, authentic trail dust on it, picked up while trail riding. It was my first attempt at a "real" holster, so I used some rather second-rate hide that was cut from too close to the belly, so the leather at the muzzle is pretty soft. Still, this rig has been all over Arizona, and copies of it see action at SASS matches.

The '58 rig is fairly new. I tried to keep it simple. The only decoration (hard to see in these awful cell phone pics) is two small oak leaf stampings and a double shadow line made with a stitching groover.
 
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A thumb-break concealment rig for my girlfriend's Taurus snubbie-

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I couldn't resist putting a a half-breed scoop on it, and the border stamping was the natural next step. Even with the strap attachment for the male end of the snap, the revolver re-holsters and re-snaps quite easily.

There's a lot of nice leather-bending on this thread, keep it coming!
 
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Two new pieces for me to test drive. The Glock 36 is interesting, I call it lipstick on a pig, wore my prototype for a few weeks and didn't get the tip out I expected form such a high rise. In any case it's going to a local trainer for some R&D. The black rig is staying with me.

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you guys,those are some beutiful holsters!!!
i just partialy finished a pocket holster for my model 1908 colt pocket .25,and started a cross draw for my m-43 firestar.
in order to finish them both i want to add skin i tanned from a HUGE copperhead i killed 4 years ago.
the problem i have is i dont know what to use to atach the snake skin to the leather.
any suggestions?
copperhead.jpg
i will have plenty to work with.it is 52" long 5 1/2"wide at the center.
 
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Lay out a pattern for your overlay, scuff up some veg tan and glue them together. Then sew that on top, then you should be able to awl your holes as usual.
 
You know the leather that your making your holster out of? The good stuff, and what every maker uses, is vegetable tanned. There are different methods of tanning but they can do harm to the finish on your gun and should be avoided. Use a piece of whatever leather you have as a backing for the snake. You just wanted to thicken the skin up enough to make it usable. You can sand or skive some of the thickness out depending on the weight of leather you have on hand. You can also do what is called an inlay, here is an example of each from google:

Inlay:

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Overlay:

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If you to an inlay you basically use two pieces of leather, if it is a pancake style holster that means 4 total pieces. You cut a 'window' out for your inlay and don't forget to burnish your edges before assembly.
 
I initially started to figure out leatherwork by making a sheath for a kit knife I made (also in these pics). When I was shopping for a slide holster for my Taurus TCP, I couldn't justify spending $35-$40 for one, when I had extra leather and supplies laying around after the sheath project. With a little know-how, some patience, and some free time in front of the TV, I made this one. I experimented with white thread for the stitching on this one. It didn't turn out like I expected, but I'm still satisfied with the results. It's comfortable, holds the firearm high, and retains well.
 

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Some really nice rigs have been posted here.

Here is one I made for my Glock 17. It is made from a single piece of leather, folded and wet formed. No stitching, no glues. Just a folded piece of leather. Nearly hard as Kydex.

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'loose
 
You can probably see it best in the middle picture. When the section that is formed around the pistol is pushed through the first slot, under the backing, and backout the second slot it forms the loop for the belt.

loose
 
Here is one I just whipped up today, I only had some heavy chrome tanned scraps so it isn't as good as if I would have had some veg tanned. I think it'll work though; I plan on puting an elastic string and button as a retainer. Watch out squirrels!

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