Roll my own.. holsters

j4l · Sep 18, 2011

I dont much like the plastic/nylon holsters or SERPA-type rigs that are available for my .45, so I decided to make my own.
Going to make a couple of them, actually, including a flap-holster to keep the pistol from getting all dirty when working out on my lands,and dusty when sawing up wood in my shop.
Sooo. here's the 1st serious one (made a yaqui-type prototype a few weeks back). Made my own belt too, while I was at it..

Cut the blank from a shoulder of cowhide in 6oz I had on-hand..This 1st one is punched for left-hand carry, the next one will be for right-hand.

Decided to dye this one a dark brown.

Once the dye and the protective,clear top-coat dried, I wrap it around the haft of my mallet and bend/stretch the leather a bit..

And end up with this-

j4l · Sep 18, 2011

I didnt wet-form this one. It forms itself nicely enough, and I can use this one for other pistols .45s of 4"-5" lengths down the road. Just finished stitching up (pics later tonite or tommorow), and will trim-up and dress the edges a bit more before she's completely finished.
But, all told, with about 3 hrs work,overall,for a decent DIY leather carry rig.

thebigsd · Sep 20, 2011

Pretty good work for your first serious attempt. Be sure to post some pics of the final product. How much does it cost you to make a holster like that?

j4l · Sep 20, 2011

Ty. And not that much, if you already have the tools and materials, which I did. To start it off from scratch,without having the leather,punches, thread, dyes etc. figure around $60 or so.
In my case, I had everything on-hand already due to the knife sheaths Id been making- except for the dyes.
You can pick up shoulders and sides of leather of various thicknesses from someplace like Tandy Leather for around $15- 40, and have enough leather on-hand to make several holsters and mag pouches.

Which, I did- mag pouch for the brown one last nite, and finished my black one yesterday morning- making the mag pouch in black to match the black one later today..

Also going to dye up an existing sheath I made for a walnut-handled knife I made- in the brown, for a complete set, later today.

Now, I just need a nice, blued 1911 w/ walnut grips I'll make to go with the brown set... lol

j4l · Sep 20, 2011

And once I get my black mag pouch done, my Black rig will be just about complete...

Pretty soon, Ill be in full-blown Luke Short mode lol

j4l · Sep 20, 2011

Completed the black mag carrier a few min ago. Turned out pretty good. Made this one with a belt-clip instead of the loops like the brown one.
Now, my all-black, daily-carry rig is finally complete

Having this week made my own gun belt, holster and mag carrier - knife and sheath I made a few months ago,..

And, of course, my brown set- with Gator for the knife sheath- will make a matching brown leather sheath for the next knife Im making.

TheRatt · Sep 23, 2011

Great looking holsters all I have done is made a Para cord belt and bracelets. I might try making a holster for my AR pistol!

Badger Johnson · Sep 24, 2011

Cough**ducttapeholsters**cough

Seriously, nice job. Wonder if on 2.0 you could do some wet vacuum molding? I don't know how they get a really tight snap fit on some of the Galco leather holsters, but I bet it's like the Kydex vacuum style deals. A strong suction thing and a pressure pad - maybe a blue gun of the same type. I'm envious though of your work!! Keep it up.

j4l · Sep 24, 2011

Badger Johnson said:
Cough**ducttapeholsters**cough

Seriously, nice job. Wonder if on 2.0 you could do some wet vacuum molding? I don't know how they get a really tight snap fit on some of the Galco leather holsters, but I bet it's like the Kydex vacuum style deals. A strong suction thing and a pressure pad - maybe a blue gun of the same type. I'm envious though of your work!! Keep it up.

Lol. ty. Not sure how they form em, actually. This was a totally 1st attempt at actual holsters, so maybe down the road Ill figure that out. In this case, these are intended to fit a variety of full-size semi's.- As it stands now, they fit the 845, 1911A1, XD and Glock 21.

cleveland · Sep 30, 2011

Looks good! Keep it up! Next thing you will know you will have people buying them from you. I am holding off on the sewn leather holsters until I have a sewing machine... maybe?

If you rub some saddle soap along the edges of the leather (as though you are polishing it) it will smooth it out and help prevent it from fraying over time.

Bobby

MilProGuy · Sep 30, 2011

j4l:

A tip of the proverbial hat to 'ya for the excellent pictoral account of your do-it-yourself belt, holsters, etc!

j4l · Oct 2, 2011

Ty, y'all.
The sewing/stitching thing, dont worry about-tandy leather sells punches that you use to punch the holes in the leather 1st, then you go back and stitch it at assembly time. As to durability, I've been wearing these almost 24/7 as I go about my days,and they hold up just fine.
I begin work this week on the flap holster I was originally intending to make, before side-tracking myself and making these..I'll document that build as well.

After that, I intend to build up a shoulder-rig- hopefully in the next couple of weeks (I've got 2 more knives ,and sheaths for them ,to build this week as well, so the low-priority shoulder rig will have to wait)

j4l · Oct 3, 2011

Began work today on the flap holster for my .45
Here's the step-by-step (more or less) that I have so far.

punching the stitch-holes ,like i mentioned above- no machine needed, though one would make things faster and neater, I suppose...

This one will have a belt clip, rather than the belt -loop attachment method of the earlier holsters.

Now, Im off to dye the leather, then apply the sealants- hopefully get around to the stitching together later tonite or tommorow.

thebigsd · Oct 3, 2011

The flap holster looks pretty cool so far. What are you planning on using to keep the flap closed?

j4l · Oct 3, 2011

Ty, it's coming along nicely now. -I intend to use a snap to secure the flap. Idiot I am, I start making it, and realize Im out of snap parts. So, will need to run to store in a day or so and get more in order to finish this...
Otherwise, is now completed-

Dyed it this evening-

Then did my stretching/distressing routine on the leather

j4l · Oct 3, 2011

The Triumvirate -matching Holster, mag pouch, knife and sheath

And when I can get time to sit down and finish it off- and dye it in the matching brown like these above, my next belt on which to put all this lol

thebigsd · Oct 3, 2011

You didn't carve that belt, did you? If so, that is awesome! If not, where did you get it?

j4l · Oct 4, 2011

Nah havent started carvings yet. Got it at the outlet that I get the rest of my leathers and hides from. Just got to cut it to shape, punch the holes, add the buckle to it, and then dye it.

j4l · Oct 4, 2011

Started work on my brown gunbelt, but running low on dye, so will wait to finish it when I get more.

Did a test of the dye on a scrap piece of it from when I cut it down to my length

Still drying, but looks like it will turn out nice..

j4l · Oct 4, 2011

hmm.. Im thinking the next knife project is going to be a bit of a tough one for engineering the sheath to carry it..

Roll my own.. holsters

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