Supplies for Holster Construction
- Thread starter djdasher
- Start date
aarondhgraham
New member
There are several companies which supply leather working tools and supplies. Below are a few of my favorites.
http://springfieldleather.com/store/
http://www.zackwhite.com/home.php
http://www.macphersonleather.com/
http://www.genuineostrichhides.com/index.html
Also this forum has all kinds of information, pics, tips and advice. They even have a forum specifically for making holsters.
http://www.leatherworker.net/forum/
http://springfieldleather.com/store/
http://www.zackwhite.com/home.php
http://www.macphersonleather.com/
http://www.genuineostrichhides.com/index.html
Also this forum has all kinds of information, pics, tips and advice. They even have a forum specifically for making holsters.
http://www.leatherworker.net/forum/
Thanks for the replies. Great resources.
I plan on building a IWB holster for my PM9. Does anyone have a suggestion or recommendation for the type of leather to use. My main considerations are that the holster be trim, thin and firm enough to allow me to draw without pulling out the entire holster.
Thanks,
DJ
I plan on building a IWB holster for my PM9. Does anyone have a suggestion or recommendation for the type of leather to use. My main considerations are that the holster be trim, thin and firm enough to allow me to draw without pulling out the entire holster.
Thanks,
DJ
For an IWB holster you could go as light as 6-7oz leather. If you have any plans to make an OWB holster I would get 8-9oz. If you want to make both out of one piece of leather you could use 7-8oz.
You want to use vegetable tanned leather. It's also called tooling leather. I would recommend that you start by purchasing a shoulder. This should be somewhere around 8-10 square feet of leather which will be enough to make several holsters. You want to stay away from cheap leather. Higher quality leather will cost you more but it will make a much nicer holster, be easier to work with and mold to your gun a lot nicer.
If I were you I would call Kevin at Springfield Leather and tell him what you're doing. He will also cut smaller pieces of leather if that is what you want.
You want to use vegetable tanned leather. It's also called tooling leather. I would recommend that you start by purchasing a shoulder. This should be somewhere around 8-10 square feet of leather which will be enough to make several holsters. You want to stay away from cheap leather. Higher quality leather will cost you more but it will make a much nicer holster, be easier to work with and mold to your gun a lot nicer.
If I were you I would call Kevin at Springfield Leather and tell him what you're doing. He will also cut smaller pieces of leather if that is what you want.
Drawing your pistol shouldn't be a big problem with a homemade holster. Re-holstering will likely give you a little more trouble. Some holster makers use steel to reinforce the holster's mouth. Others use an extra layer of leather. I suggest, if you want to reinforce the opening, use Kydex. Kydex won't be affected by moisture or sweat.
You shouldn't need any type of reinforcement to hold the mouth of the holster open.
This is a non reinforced pancake type holster. You can see that it doesn't collapse with 5 books weighing over 8lbs stacked on top of it. It would have supported more weight if I could have gotten more books to balance on top of it.
This is a non reinforced pancake type holster. You can see that it doesn't collapse with 5 books weighing over 8lbs stacked on top of it. It would have supported more weight if I could have gotten more books to balance on top of it.
It should never be a problem with IWB either with or without reinforcement. A properly taken care of holster should last for many years and still work as good as new. I have a nonreinforced IWB that still stays open for one handed reholstering despite ten years of heavy use. Any holster, reinforced or not, that isn't taken care of will deteriorate quickly.