Call me CRAZY... Beaver for a holster ???

M

Magnum Wheel Man

New member
just got back from the local "rendezvous" this week end... bought another "side" of leather from the same guy I bought a couple Ostrich leg hides, on line reciently...

um... he had some tanned beaver tail leather that almost had a snake like scale pattern to it, that I bought to use for a couple of holsters... it has a very interesting pattern, curious if anyone has ever used beaver tail for holster ???
 
3 posts deleted.

I'll delete as many more as it takes to keep this from turning into a dirty joke fest, but from here on out if I have to delete your post from this thread you will leave TFL along with your post.​
 
I suppose it could be done. Is the beaver thick enough to form a good holster? If it's too thin or supple, you could use cowhide and then overlay the beaver as decoration.

I can remember who, but there is a company that makes a lot of cowhide holsters with various decorative overlays like stingray, rattlesnake etc. Their holsters look very nice. Google might find a few examples for you.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
 
The tail leather is of tapering thickness ( from maybe 6-8 oz at the base to 2-3 oz at the tip ) the hide I got is 6-7 inches wide & maybe 14" long...

I've been playing with regular dead cow for the holster base, then adding a thinner exotic leather over the outside of the front ( I have 5-6 so far, that I've made out of ostrich leg leather ) which has very interesting textures... the ankle almost has a scale type pattern from the big middle toe, my last one used a knee section, which is highly textured, & looks way heavier than it really is, because of the deep ripples... this beaver tail is smooth as cow hide but has a definate pattern that is almost scale like...

If I continue to make holsters for my top breaks I could get a couple from one tail... I thought about starting on some of my semi autos, so I'll have to see what I want to use it on

JOHN sorry for starting a thread with such a possibly naughty title... but I really am curious if any of the excellent holster makers we have on here have ever worked with it...

BTW... when I get to work on Monday, I'll post a pic of it..
 
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Recently saw a very nice holster that used Beaver as a trim, at first glance I thought it was lizard of some type.
 
JOHN sorry for starting a thread with such a possibly naughty title... but I really am curious if any of the excellent holster makers we have on here have ever worked with it...
Click to expand...
It's not a problem at all. Our members should be mature enough to deal with it.
 
a pic of the beaver tail hide I bought last weekend...

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Beaver is one of the few hides I haven't worked with yet, only because no customer has ever asked for it.It is commonly used in period gear on sheaths and holsters.It has a nice texture but will still need to be used as an overlay or inlay as its not strong enough to be a substitute for cowhide.Dave
 
As you know it is thin.. to thin for a holster body..

A great use for it in my shop is for making bucking rolls for the swells of a Wade style saddle... the beaver tail leather has one of the longest wearing surfaces of any leather available for this application.

It can be a little hard to get it to hold stitches.. especially when we make rolls our of them cause they have to be sewn inside out and then turned and packed woth wool or horse hair, this can sometimes blow out the welts.

this will surely make a nice inlay on your holster... Please keep us posted.
 
Thanks for the replys guys... I still haven't decided what to use it on... I'm currently working on a heavy utilitarian flap holster for a J frame ( I have a buddy that wants a good solid holster, that protects the gun well for use while ATVing... I modified an old 38 S&W flap holster to develope a pattern that fits the J frame snubbie...

once I'm done with that one, I'll likely come up with something to use the beaver on... right now I'm leaning on building a holster for my H&R 38 S&W top break hand ejector next... since this gun is antique & quite rare compared to some of my other collection pieces, & has an ejector rod below the barrel, it doesn't fit as nice in some of the holsters I've made for my other 38 S&W top breaks... it might merit the use of beaver for the outside
 
I've never made a holster but I have made cowboy cuffs with it. At first it was too thin and would just tear so like everyone else said I had do use cowhide and the beaver tail and it worked amazing. Sold them to my grandpa for $150 he wanted and I didnt want to get rid of them. But I did get a nice little .22 for $125 that I used to get more beaver.
 
well I cut it up & dyed it black last night... the leather seems kinda spongy... it soaked up alot of dye, but was squishing out 1/2 hour later when I was punching stitching holes ( never had that happen before, but I did soak it pretty good with dye :confused: )

I'm making a J frame flap holster, & applying the beaver on the front of the holster body, & on the front of the flap...
 
Hey Magnum,

I use exotic leathers in my holster making. I've attached a few pics as examples.

You'll find that if you daub or sponge your dye on, the exotics (such as beavertail) will soak up too much dye, and it will literally take a good week and a half or two for it to dry completely.

For those leathers, I tend to use an airbrush, and apply the dye VERY sparingly, keeping the airbrush on a wide pattern, about 2 or 3 inches off the work, so that the dye doesn't evaporate its carrier solution before the solids have a chance to get into the leather.

This way, your exotic stays dry, and you can laminate it to a heavier backing leather (7 - 8 ounce Veg Tanned, or Horsehide) and finish constructing your holster. My own preference for laminating is using a spray contact adhesive (3M makes a good product) because you have basically no cure time with contact cement, but you can also use Gorilla Glue, but do so VERY SPARINGLY, as it expands as it cures. :-)

Feel free to drop a PM if you have questions.

AngryPatriot
www.dragonleatherworks.com
 

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well the holster is pretty much assembled... I dyed the beaver & cowhide black, used heavy brown thread, & brown leather lace... got the flap laced... & sewed & will lace the holster body... ( body is sewed right now ) & conformed the holster to the gun, while the rubber cement dried... still have to add a snap for the flap... will try to get a couple pics up before the week is out...
 
sorry it took so long for the pics.... here is where I'm at... need to polish up the beaver, & come up with a snap for the flap ( the flap is tucked inside right now, to help retain the shape, until I get a snap ) the holster fits a J frame S&W I've been buying the indian & buffalo nickel snaps for my old gun holsters, but not sure what I want to put on this one... maybe just a plane old nickeled snap ??? ( feel free to offer suggestions )

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That is crazy looking! Its almost like snake skin.

I think the holster came out good MWM.

I think a Indian Head nickel snap would look good on it.
 
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