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Glue & Holsters
- Thread starter FALPhil
- Start date
aarondhgraham
New member
I don't use Barge or contact cement,,,
I don't use Barge or contact cement,,,
I use Tandy brand rubber cement.
Tandy contact cement will work just fine,,,
But it will make for a stiffer holster,,,
More difficult to form to the gun
That's the reason I use Tandy rubber cement,,,
It's a good bit more flexible after it dries completely.
Strength of the bond is not a concern,,,
You will need to sew around all of the edges anyways
But here's my real concern,,,
Why are you going to use suede as a liner?
Here's the reasoning as to why not,,,
Two reasons as a matter of fact.
1) The main cause of finish wear due to holsters is,,,
Fine particles embedding in the rough nap of the flesh side of the leather.
So you line the holster with thin cow or pig so the leather next to the gun is smooth and won't collect grit.
Suede has the rough nap and it collects dirt and grit very badly.
2) Suede leather is almost always chrome tanned,,,
That means that the tanning solution used chromium salts,,,
Almost all garment, upholstery, and suede leathers are chrome tanned,,,
If the leather gets damp it can react badly with the blued steel and a bad chemical reaction can ruin the finish of the gun.
This is why reputable holster makers use only vegetable tanned leather,,,
Vegetable tanned cow, calf, or pig is all that should touch the metal.
People think that because suede leather feels soft that it will make great lining,,,
In reality commercial holster makers used to use it because it was cheap,,,
But some of those old holsters ruined the finish of a lot of guns.
I applaud you for wanting to make your own gun holster,,,
There's a lot of pride in wearing your own creations,,,
I suggest you get this book from Tandy Leather,,,
How to Make Holsters by Al Stohlman.
Good luck and happy holster making.
Aarond
.
I don't use Barge or contact cement,,,
I use Tandy brand rubber cement.
Tandy contact cement will work just fine,,,
But it will make for a stiffer holster,,,
More difficult to form to the gun
That's the reason I use Tandy rubber cement,,,
It's a good bit more flexible after it dries completely.
Strength of the bond is not a concern,,,
You will need to sew around all of the edges anyways
But here's my real concern,,,
Why are you going to use suede as a liner?
Here's the reasoning as to why not,,,
Two reasons as a matter of fact.
1) The main cause of finish wear due to holsters is,,,
Fine particles embedding in the rough nap of the flesh side of the leather.
So you line the holster with thin cow or pig so the leather next to the gun is smooth and won't collect grit.
Suede has the rough nap and it collects dirt and grit very badly.
2) Suede leather is almost always chrome tanned,,,
That means that the tanning solution used chromium salts,,,
Almost all garment, upholstery, and suede leathers are chrome tanned,,,
If the leather gets damp it can react badly with the blued steel and a bad chemical reaction can ruin the finish of the gun.
This is why reputable holster makers use only vegetable tanned leather,,,
Vegetable tanned cow, calf, or pig is all that should touch the metal.
People think that because suede leather feels soft that it will make great lining,,,
In reality commercial holster makers used to use it because it was cheap,,,
But some of those old holsters ruined the finish of a lot of guns.
I applaud you for wanting to make your own gun holster,,,
There's a lot of pride in wearing your own creations,,,
I suggest you get this book from Tandy Leather,,,
How to Make Holsters by Al Stohlman.
Good luck and happy holster making.
Aarond
.
Aarond, thank you very much! That was an informative and helpful post. I will look into that book right away.
It just goes to show you 2 things:
1. Ignorance is bliss.
2. Not everything is easy to find on the internet.
I might also ask, where is a good source of 9 ounce horsehide and thin cow leather?
..Phil
It just goes to show you 2 things:
1. Ignorance is bliss.
2. Not everything is easy to find on the internet.
I might also ask, where is a good source of 9 ounce horsehide and thin cow leather?
..Phil
No where. It will all be very expensive. Tandy has all weights of leather, but unless you wait for a sale of the weight you want, be prepared to pay dearly for it. Once you order something from Tandy you will get on their mailing list and you will begin to get their frequent flyers...keep an eye peeled for the occasional sale of the leather weight you want.I might also ask, where is a good source of 9 ounce horsehide and thin cow leather?
You can also do internet searches for leather but, I have not found any great break in the price of Vegetable tanned tooling leather no matter what the company...they are all high-priced.
aarondhgraham
New member
Hello FALPhil,,,
I do not have a clue as to where to buy horsehide,,,
I've never used it as good old cow works so well.
Horsehide became popular because it wet forms harder than most other leathers,,,
Unlined holsters are easier/cheaper to manufacture,,,
So horsehide was a good choice for them
But in reality of one is going to line the holster,,,
That provides enough stiffness that good old cow works perfectly.
The norm has been to use 8-9 or 9-10 ounce leather,,,
And then line it with 2-3 ounce pig or calf,,,
But there is another viable option.
Use two layers of 4-5 or 5-6 ounce leather.
The total thickness becomes about the same,,,
And some people like that the "join" is in the middle of the thickness.
One advantage to doing this, especially for the hobbyist making one holster,,,
Is that one 4-5 ounce single-shoulder usually can make one holster,,,
And this is a cut of leather that Tandy often has on sale.
The last sale they had I bought a few and they were less than $20.00 each.
There is one big difference in technique that needs to be addressed,,,
That is folding the leather after it has been glued together.
If you use a thick outer and a thing lining,,,
You can simply fold the leather to sew the back edge.
If you use two equal thicknesses,,,
The lining layer will "scrunch up" when you fold it.
I purchased a tapered table leg at Lowes,,,
It's about 2 1/4" at the wide end and tapers down to 3/4",,,
Then I mounted it horizontally to the edge of my leather workbench.
After I have bonded the lining and outer layers and the cement has fully dried,,,
I moisten the leather and wrap it around the table leg to make the fold,,,
This does a good job of making a clean bend that doesn't scrunch up.
There are as many different ideas and techniques as there are makers,,,
So don't let anyone tell you there is only "the one way" to do things.
I started over 30 years ago with that Al Stohlman book,,,
Since then I have refined or modified all of my ways of doing things.
But do consider two layers of thinner leather,,,
Everyone I have shown that to uses it every now and then,,,
Where it really shows benefit is when making holsters for small handguns.
Again, have fun.
Aarond
.
I do not have a clue as to where to buy horsehide,,,
I've never used it as good old cow works so well.
Horsehide became popular because it wet forms harder than most other leathers,,,
Unlined holsters are easier/cheaper to manufacture,,,
So horsehide was a good choice for them
But in reality of one is going to line the holster,,,
That provides enough stiffness that good old cow works perfectly.
The norm has been to use 8-9 or 9-10 ounce leather,,,
And then line it with 2-3 ounce pig or calf,,,
But there is another viable option.
Use two layers of 4-5 or 5-6 ounce leather.
The total thickness becomes about the same,,,
And some people like that the "join" is in the middle of the thickness.
One advantage to doing this, especially for the hobbyist making one holster,,,
Is that one 4-5 ounce single-shoulder usually can make one holster,,,
And this is a cut of leather that Tandy often has on sale.
The last sale they had I bought a few and they were less than $20.00 each.
There is one big difference in technique that needs to be addressed,,,
That is folding the leather after it has been glued together.
If you use a thick outer and a thing lining,,,
You can simply fold the leather to sew the back edge.
If you use two equal thicknesses,,,
The lining layer will "scrunch up" when you fold it.
I purchased a tapered table leg at Lowes,,,
It's about 2 1/4" at the wide end and tapers down to 3/4",,,
Then I mounted it horizontally to the edge of my leather workbench.
After I have bonded the lining and outer layers and the cement has fully dried,,,
I moisten the leather and wrap it around the table leg to make the fold,,,
This does a good job of making a clean bend that doesn't scrunch up.
There are as many different ideas and techniques as there are makers,,,
So don't let anyone tell you there is only "the one way" to do things.
I started over 30 years ago with that Al Stohlman book,,,
Since then I have refined or modified all of my ways of doing things.
But do consider two layers of thinner leather,,,
Everyone I have shown that to uses it every now and then,,,
Where it really shows benefit is when making holsters for small handguns.
Again, have fun.
Aarond
.