Another holster project

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DIY_guy

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My uncle-in-law won a 9mm handgun in a volunteer fireman’s raffle/fundraiser. It didn’t come with a holster. He wants to wear it while bowhunting and asked if I would make him one. I was more than happy to do it.

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I make holsters and knife sheathes from 6 to 8 Oz tooling leather so I always have a good supply on hand.

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It’s a small handgun so scraps will work.

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I make all my patterns from “crapalloy” which can be found in empty cereal boxes of 24 packs of soda. It creates the rough concept or outline.

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Then the face is wet, allowed to normalize and is then wet fitted to the contour of the handgun with antlers and bones and wooden shaping tools.

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It spent Sunday afternoon in the sun to dry and forever lock in that shape.

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A backing piece is made of the same leather and contact cement holds the pieces from shifting during sewing and riveting and belt loop cutting.

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Tubular rivets are used in high stress areas.

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Then stitching holes and belt loops are made.

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After hand stitching the excess is trimmed.

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I need to make a thumb snap feature.

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So far so good.

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He wants it black and it don’t get any blacker than USMC black.

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Then edge coat is applied to all the cut edges to keep the fray and swelling down.

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The oils need to be restored.

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And then waterproofed inside and out.

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And then a good shine.

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Then I gave it a test drive.

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OMG...I so have to have you make one for me

I have a CZ 75 SP-01 Tactical ...All the holsters I see (I like paddle holsters) are the plastic kind...some with quick release locks but

1) I like leather
2) I like the cushion so as not to create scratches for no reason..

NICE WORK
 
great tutorial and nice looking rig! ive never used one of the stitching fork thingys, i use an over stitcher and awl for my holes, how do you like it?
Gene
 
The USMC Black is nice. So is the Buck stamp. Why are the belt loops so long? Or is your belt skinny? I've been cutting my belt loops about 2". But with a 1.5" belt that is 1/4" thick there is little play in the loop to the belt. The back of the rivets look like they have some tooth to them. Do they wear or snag the pants?
 
The USMC Black is nice. So is the Buck stamp. Why are the belt loops so long? Or is your belt skinny? I've been cutting my belt loops about 2". But with a 1.5" belt that is 1/4" thick there is little play in the loop to the belt. The back of the rivets look like they have some tooth to them. Do they wear or snag the pants?
Not everybody wears the same width belt. My loops are 2 inch and my belt is a bit thinner. The tube rivet are hammered (peened) smooth as silk so there is nothing to catch.
 
DIY_guy

Nice job and great post! I especially liked the step by step format and the accompanying photos.
 
great tutorial and nice looking rig! ive never used one of the stitching fork thingys, i use an over stitcher and awl for my holes, how do you like it?
Cutting a stitching groove and punching the holes with an awl will result in a much cleaner, tighter and more uniform stitch line. It also protects the thread from abrasion.
 
Cutting a stitching groove and punching the holes with an awl will result in a much cleaner, tighter and more uniform stitch line. It also protects the thread from abrasion.
thats how i do it, the more i do it the better im getting at it, results are looking a little better each time, the groover and over stitcher were some of my best purchases as far as making things easier and neater looking, the fork punch thingy always seemed like doing a fluid curve stitch line would be a pain in rear, dunno havent felt the need to buy any
Gene
 
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