How My Holsters Are Made / "whats on the bench"

Sounds silly, but it is important to understand that one day there was a cow that became beef in the store and his hide was tanned and purposed into leather. This is important because every hide is different. There are so many things that affect the hide: tanning chemicals, how they are handled, and the way they are stored, just to name a few. The hides will take dye differently and the same color will have different shades as a result.

I buy these hides, trace a pattern, and then cut out the piece that will become a holster.

From there it is stamped, grooved and the edges are worked over. (pic)

It is left alone to dry....  Tick Tock Tick Tock.

I dye them with oil based dye by applying it with a dobber; then let it dry, and buff, buff some more, and then air brush accent colors, if it calls for it. Then buff, buff, and ......you guessed it, buff some more

It is left alone to dry....... Tick Tock, Tick Tock....like watching paint dry.

Then they are sewn together and once again the edges are worked over.

It gets dunked in water and then wet formed to the gun itself. Then the "boning in" or forming of the leather to the gun is done.

It is left alone to dry......Tic Toc hickory dickory dock the mouse ran up the .......

The edges again get worked over again and then dyed and burnished

It is left alone to dry ........ Tick Tock Tick Tock.......go to work, bed, which ever applies

It is then sealed with an acrylic resolene.  This is to give it a nice finish, but more importantly, to inhibit the dye rubbing off.

It is left alone to dry....... Tick Tock Tick Tock......go find something to do.....

It gets a second coat of sealant.

It is left alone to dry......... Tick Tock Tick Tock  .......... finally......DONE!

The wording "it is left alone to dry" is in there over and over is to emphasize the fact that producing one single holster is not a quick process......it takes time .....usually about a week.  The description above is not exhaustive but does cover the basic steps.

"Whats on the bench"

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Finished the Omni that was in last weeks post.

An attempt at a couple of things.

First it is the biggest "skinny" I have built. 

Lets call it a "Semi Skinny".  One piece of the leather is a little thicker than the other and has the kydex stiffener. 

 

And since I got bored (and its for my son) I put and alligator inlay in it which was much more successful this time.  


In the need to use the gun to form the holster, I lay out some saran wrap and put down a light coat of oil on it and wrap the gun. I will sit in there about a day.


The thinner the leather the less detail shows up in the "boning in" or forming the details of the holster. 

Real close to done!


And .....below, is the jigsaw puzzle that will become a "wingman" holster. If I think of it as I build it, I will take pics of the process of putting it together.........it is interesting to say the least.

Made some progress on the belt I am slowly working on but no pics this week.