Just wanted to share something I made the other day.
My financial situation is pretty tight right now, and there's going to be a mass lay-off where I work in the next few weeks, so I can't afford a good IWB holster.
I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a bag of scrap leather for $6 and a few other supplies like thread. I used an OWB pancake holster that I liked for the pattern, and added a few changes so the clips would fit on it. The clips came off of two other holsters for a handgun I don't have anymore, too bad they don't match (oh well).
I thought it would be easy, until I started stitching... The leather is so thick that the awl broke on the second hole
. I had to use a more heavy duty awl from a swiss army knife to do the rest of it and sew it with a quilting needle. After I was done with the stitching, I fused the knots and went over all the thread with epoxy to waterproof it. After it was done, I buffed it with some black boot polish to even the color out and then rubbed in some mink oil to soften it up.
I've been wearing it every day to break it in, and I have to say, even though it's ugly as sin, it works perfect. It holds the gun tight, it stays where I want it, comfortable, and it's easy to draw from and reholster. The whole thing only cost me about $10, a few hours of my time, and a couple nasty blisters on my hand. I still have enough material left to make another one. For my next one, I'll actually make one that looks nice since the leather is so hard core I think it'll last for many years to come.
