Do it yourself?

[IronMike]

I reckon to get what I want I make it myself! Can making a holster really be that hard?
Have any of yall tried?
Is it worth the effort?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[QKShooter]

I'm "best guessing" that you still cannot find exactly what you're looking for regarding the Ruger Alaskan?

Can you "do it yourself" DIY a holster? You could.

Not really sure that once you buy everything that you need to get started that it would be a realistic option for only one holster.

A better option would probably be to "sketch up" what you want as best as possible and then find a custom holster maker in N.C.

Call him/them up on the phone and make arrangements to drive there with your firearm so that it will be available to be used in the molding process.
And have the maker cut out the leather - stitch it and then wet-mold the holster....then you can "go home" until it's dyed, dried & finished.

Then it can be shipped out to you.

You should probably expect to pay more for it since any maker will need to halt their regular production in order to work on your rig.

I think HBE (Holsters By Eric) is located in N. Carolina.
He might be willing to do it.

[ccwguy]

Do you have any leather tooling experience? If not, your first few attempts may not turn out as you had planned, and you may end up spending/wasting too much $$$ and time on the project.

My philosophy: If you want something done your way, do it yourself. If you want something done right, call a professional.

[QKShooter]

OK...I realized that I sort of dodged your question.

Hummm.....What is the minimum "stuff" that you need to construct your own?

You will need the Vegetable Tanned leather but, naturally do not want to purchase a full side for one holster.


We have leather-worker forum members that would probably be willing to sell you a smaller amount.

You will need Contact Cement.

Learning to hand "saddle stitch" leather is easy. Especially if you are willing to break tradition and just pre-drill your stitching holes rather than using a stitching awl.

So you will need two needles and some saddle stitching cord. No problem there.

You will also need a utility knife and new blades to cut out the leather. No problem there.

Then you will need something or things in various sizes and configurations
in order to "bone the leather" to your firearm.
You can make those. The smooth rounded handle of a Stainless butter knife....things like that work nicely.

Depending on if you want an OWB or IWB rig....you will need a way to either set snaps or cut belt slots.

Cutting slots is pretty easy but, you'll need a hole punch to punch both ends of the slots.

Finishing the leather is no real problem IF you're willing to skip dyeing the leather and just want to put a protective finish on the natural leather.

Hummmm....if you didn't really care what the finished product looked like - and you wanted to SKIP the stitching process you COULD just use rows of Rapid Rivets instead of stitches....it would look like Tchit but, it would work.
You just punch holes and "set" those with a hammer.

Probably what I would do is buy the book....How To Make Holsters
It's not an expensive book. Just type How To Make Holsters into the Ebay search block. It's always listed on Ebay.

OR - Bruce Gibson of Gibson ProRodeo sells a holster making instruction video.

That might be better yet.

[HotGuns]

Do it the easy way.
Order some .090 Kydex off of Ebay for around 4 bucks a sheet (10"x8")

Read up about Kydex and the many articles on how to make a holster.You can even do a search on this forum for Kydex holsters.

Then get after it and do it.

Easy to form for a nice custom fit.

[ritepath]

I've started making kydex holsters within the past 3 months or so just because I found it interesting. About 300 bucks later I've managed to save myself a few bucks. I've made about a dozen different ones so far, and have 4 that I feel comfortable enough to use depending on how I dress each one has it's place. Leather...that's another story...

Band saw
Toaster oven
Heatgun
some files and many differen grits of sandpaper.
Chicago Screws, eyelets, rubber bushings
and paddles / belt attachments from blade tech for owb.

and lots of patience...

[jwhite75]

Actually I think HBE is in Utah. LOL But yeah I can see where that gun might be hard to find a rig for. I would check out Simply Rugged. Making it yourself may be more trouble and money than its worth.

[cj]

Some great input here. For leather, my big hangup has always been not knowing how to properly finish it (probably will get a DVD eventually). You can also get smaller piece on ebay (and even my local craft shop has a scrap bin to dig through with pieces big enough to work with).

I was also going to suggest some Kydex...it's cheap enough to experiment and screw up with, and there's a LOT of resources out there for how to work with it...far more detailed than I was ever able to find for leather.

[IronMike]

Thanks"QKShooter" I just ordered a heavy duty sewing machine,a couple sides of leather and hand tools and other stuff!
We will see how this goes.

[steelhawk]

Making your own is doable. I have done several. Making one that works is a little harder. My first one was a field holster, functional, but not great.

A concealed carry holster is more intricate. I already had lots of leather tools and experience before I started, but I still found some tutorials very valuable. There are some on the internet, of course.

I still had to purchase some things, though, to mark and punch the holes.

If you decide to DIY, look at lots of holster pics, front and back. Go to gun stores and see how some are made. Draw pictures. Make mockups from cardboard and buy enough leather to make two in case the first one gets goofed up. It isn't hard to goof up something in the beginning.

[jbs]

If you enjoy do it yourself, you can make them rather easily with alot of research on the net. I just made a couple. Cost was about $150 for double shoulder veg tanned leather, tools, die, still need neatsfoot oil. The holsters used a small portion of the leather so there's alot left for mag holders, belts, and more holsters.
For a first try, i don't think they came out bad at all and they function perfectly.

Why would you use a sewing machine???

[IronMike]

[QUOTE=jbs;1302617]If you enjoy do it yourself, you can make them rather easily with alot of research on the net. I just made a couple. Cost was about $150 for double shoulder veg tanned leather, tools, die, still need neatsfoot oil. The holsters used a small portion of the leather so there's alot left for mag holders, belts, and more holsters.
For a first try, i don't think they came out bad at all and they function perfectly.

Why would you use a sewing machine???[/QUOTE]

cause Im already will versed with machines!
plus I can screw em up faster than by hand!

[jbs]

O.K. It's just not hard to do by hand and doesn't take too long.

I think we both could screw em up either way. You should see my first attempt at a mag holder. Looks like it's for a knife.

[rottkeeper]

Thanks"QKShooter" I just ordered a heavy duty sewing machine,a couple sides of leather and hand tools and other stuff!
We will see how this goes.

Glad to see your jumping in slowly. Good luck and post some pics of your progress.

[QKShooter]

The "How To Make Holsters" book is somewhat outdated regarding the included full size holster patterns and styles for the gun makes and models.
Where it is valuable is the basic, generic, leatherworking "step by steps" and how to make a properly fitting cutting pattern for any handgun.
So it's worth the low price.