Making a leather holster(or sheath)

[Greg Krause]

I recently bought a nice single action .357 Blackhawk for my wife to carry when hiking on the farm in VT, as we've had a lot of close encounters with bears. Better safe than sorry. I can also carry it when rifle hunting for deer. It didn't come with a holster and they don't come super cheap.

I found this video on Youtube and decided to make my own holster.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkE01G8PLwQ

I bought some oak tanned cow shoulders from Tandy Leather last year to make some knife sheaths and such. It's about 9oz I believe.
I made a pattern as described in the video and sewed it together last night using a hand stitch and awl. This is what it first looked like.




Today I wrapped the gun in saran wrap and soaked the holster in the sink with warm water for a few minutes. I took the holster out of the sink and inserted the wrapped gun into it. I then used my thumb to rub the leather around the gun. This is how it looks now



In a day or 2 it will be dry enough to shape the edges and then stain and treat it with leather conditioner

[BT]

Sweet

When I was young, that was my favorite revolver. Looking like a good start on that holster

[Greg Krause]

I finished the holster last night. I shaped it, stained it and finished it with Johnson's Paste Wax. It came out great and I learned a lot for next time. The gun fits perfectly and no thumb strap needed.

[BT]

That really did come out good
Is the rear of the holster cut with belt slots?

[Greg Krause]

I sewed a belt loop onto it. I may just put slits into the next one

[Greg Krause]

Here is the back

[BT]

Gottcha.

[Greg Krause]

This is a different one I made while home sick this week. I just have to dye and finish it. I like this style a lot. It's comfortable and conceals nicely.

[BT]

That is really slick!. I like that one a lot

How long did it take you to make that from start to current state of finish?.

[Greg Krause]

Maybe 2 hours of labor, while screwing around and watching tv.