Ideal Leather Weight

[Burnston]

Good morning gentlemen,

I’ve been working with various types/weights of leather and for years have been operating under the assumption that thicker=better/more durable for field holsters.

Here is version #1 I built for a fellow and his 6in Blackhawk .357. I say version #1 because I was not proud of the end result, having had some difficulty relating to the thick 12oz piece I used for the work. I had difficulty balancing the ratio between depth of tooling v. the eventual fold for stitching. Version #2 turned out much better after compensating for the fold. 


What’s everyone’s ideal weight for a OWB work/field holster? I’ve found that the Hermann Oak 12oz stuff is nigh on indestructible, but a bit difficult to work with when it comes to molding and hand stitching. Best to learn from the experts, so please weigh in. 

[squigz]

I'm not an expert, let me put that out there immediately. I do this stuff in my basement for myself, friends and family no one else.

I personally like using a veg tanned shoulder leather in the 8-9oz weight. I'm looking to possibly try a 6-7 or a 7-8 so I can get it to flex even a little more. I've not gotten into stamping leather other than one or two projects, so I don't know how that'll hold up or how well it'll take the stamps/patterns.


Side note; god bless for working with 12oz, 8-9 has always been enough for me as far as chiseling holes and stitching..

[magnumwheelman]

I've also found that a good vegi tanned 8-9 oz to make a nice holster... I have some very heavy stuff around like 14 or 16oz that I have used for some other leather work ( like boxes, where a groove is cut part way through the leather to give a crisp corner ) & I've used it for ammo belt slides, & backing, but it's much too heavy to form a nice holster, at least for me

[x101airborne]

I am about as amateur as it comes when working with leather. I have had many more projects go into the "try again" can than I have had successes. I buy veg tan 8-9 oz. leather. I dont do much stamping and I for sure aren't good at floral or basket weave patterns. I watched a LOT of you tube videos and I still have my problems.

One problem I will admit to is after making something and thinking I have it right, my projects will stretch with use. Some stretch a LOT. For example, I wanted a new sheath for a lockback folder for my belt. It started out ok, not great. With time the single blade got loose in it and would come out. So I bought a double lockback folder for it. Worked for about two years and got more loose. I finally crammed a Buck 110 in it and it has fit perfect for over 10 years. I have the same issues with holsters I make. I even did the wet leather in a bag stretch and press on other projects and they still loosen with time. Now about the only thing I will use any leather over 9 oz for is a welt on a knife sheath. Stuff is just frustrating.

One thing I did find easiest, when I want to just stamp some initials in something I quit using a mallet to stamp the letters. Now I wet the leather well and use an arbor press and press the letters down and watch how deep it goes before letting up. No more double stamped letters.

[bradshaw]

Benjamin.... beautiful, rustic work on that holster. Thickness does not make up for quality tanning. Holster leather should be stiff and hold shape after water molding. I want leather between damp & wet for hand stitching, the thread draws tight with much less strain. If the seam is welted & glued, water molding comes first, followed by enough drying to keep the leather from shifting, followed by re-wetting for final hand-molding. I think 10 ounces per square foot approximates the weight I’ve preferred for a 3-pound handgun.

Water molding enables leather fibers to bend to a shape and, provided proper tanning, holds shape when dry. Leather tanned by a fugitive process----I call it “cooked”----cannot hold shape. When asked how to draw fast from the old NYPD holster, Chic Gaylord said, “Wear it in the rain and just rip the gun out!”

Sole leather of my familiarity is vegetable tanned, around 12 ounces, and stiff as rigor mortis. It may be soaked in warm water and hand molded to generally conform to a big bore revolver, without detail. Leather impregnated with beeswax must be soaked longer before working, and makes for a most water-resistant scabbard.

Frenchback of 7 or 8 ounces is highly impressionable to water molding by hand, and is great for pistols in the 2-1/2 lbs range.
David Bradshaw

[marlin35]

I too use 8-9 oz leather. It takes tooling very well and is not too stiff. I hand rub mink oil into the holster as the final step, as I found neatsfoot oil to soften the leather too much. Mink oil, in my experience, hydrates the leather and keeps its shape. I have been wondering lately if the same stuff used for black powder lube, lamb tallow and beeswax, would work well for final finishing. Allowing hand friction to heat up the leather and absorb the stuff and then kind of “stick” in the fibers should help retain shape and work to “waterproof” the job.

[gregs]

10-12 oz and if it is alittle Thinner 7-8, I'll double it up.

For tooling, get some 2" 3m 2020 masking tape and put it on the flesh side before you wet it and start tooling to keep the leather from spreading out. Before my tools were stolen, I would get the moisture level right on the working area of leather and cover it with a piece of glass. I would move the glass around to open up more area to work and cover the hole thing when I took a break to keep the moisture level more consistent.

For stitching, I really improved appearance once I went to stitching irons and a stitching horse and watched Armitage leather stitching tutorial on the tube: youtu.be/dLU7TExxHcY?si=QgjiyIlGE9B-MQWc I use .8 and 1.0 ritza tiger thread, an awl with a sharpened #52 or 54 Saddlers awl and a stitching horse.

For wet molding, w SAA holsters, I really don't wet mold tightly like I do forOWB/IWB 1911s, and autos. I mist water onto the surface until I just get the flexibility to bend without wrinkling on the inside if interior is smooth surface (doubled up) and allow to dry. Dry, with gun inside first layer I wet the second layer to mold over the first cause once you a apply the glue, you don't have the ability to mold cause once the surfaces touch it is pretty much it.

Edges: Trim up edges with a sharp knife. I have a layer of 5-6oz leather glued to half a 5 gal paint stir stick oiled and topped with green polishing Rouge to use as a strop to keep edges sharp and a couple of foldable diamond hone in blue 1200 course, red med and green 1800 fine. Sand with 80, 120, 220 and 320 and start slicking. I settled with tagament(sp) as a slicking agent. Once edges are squared, beveled, sanded, dyed I slick them while damp. Allow to dry, touch up sand if needed and slick twice with tagament. Lightly sand if needed between slickings. Once edges are completed I fix just the edges only with Resolene (tandy) or mop n glow. Once edges are finished, I mark stitching lines, punch with pricking irons. If stich lines will be on the interior surfaces of the holster where they will ride on a finished surface, (frame, cylinder or barrel) I will punch those stitch lines before gluing the holster together and mark the stich line and add a stitching groove to countersink the stitch line so the thread which is waxed and will hold dirt doesn't rub the finish off.

[gnappi]

Burnston, nice work.

I'm no holster maker and know nothing about leather by weight but as a user I prefer thicker leather on holsters, the thicker the better and a few inches of drop from the belt for guns with 7" or longer barrels.