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JacksBack - good looking. For what its worth, I usually dye my leather before assembly. Easier to get a nice even coat, specially where the pieces overlap.

True about the seal around the stitching. With normal leather I use an awl to punch my holes, classic saddle stitching. If I am working with leather more than 1/4" thick I usually do pre-drill.

I was going to start a thread on this very topic to show off my last two creations. I ordered some kydex from Texas Knife supply and had every intention of making a hybrid but since I don't carry a plastic gun hated to subject my carry piece to it. Found a source for horsehide, Zack White Leather Company, so decided to go on and make a traditional one, out of leather (horsehide). I use to do quite a bit of leather work as a hobby but it had been years. Thankfully I still knew where all my tools were.

This first holster, for carrying my little snub nose was very easy to make.



I patterned it loosely on the De Santis Nemisis. Basically I wet the leather, folded it over the gun, boned just enough to determine my stitch line and went from there. I put the flesh side out to grip the pocket better. No other blocking on this one. I've seen pocket holsters blocked and boned but can't figure out why. This way it looks like I'm carrying a wallet, not a gun.

The second holster is for my S&W 3rd Gen.



Again horsehide was used. I based my design on both my Kramer Speed Scabbard and the Sparks VM2. Picking and choosing to my liking. To get the color I first sprayed oxblood dye and then sprayed acorn brown over that. This way the holster is brown with just a tad bit of reddish tint. After years of doing it with dubbers, I have to say that airbrushing leather dye is the best way to go.

(BTW, for anyone wanting to airbrush leather finishes, it doesn't take much of a compressor to work an airbrush. Any compressor with a tank will work and Harbor Freight's deluxe airbrush works fine for leather work. Not that it would hurt it I don't want to use my Badger 105 for leather finishes.)

The J type belt clips were fashioned from 0.09 kydex. I also put a piece of formed kydex under the re-enforcement strap around the top of the holster. I didn't do a full block and bone. Being a IWB I didn't want the holster to grip the gun too tightly since the tension on the belt is going to greatly contribute to the tightness anyway.

Over all I'm pleased with these. Perhaps not the quality of one of the custom holsters but after using them to carry for a while, I have to say they will certainly do the job. AND no six month wait.

gigag04 - From reading your posts it sounds like you made yours in the same basic way I make mine. BTW, if you start stitching really thick leather you will have to drill first. When I do that I use my overstitcher to mark the leather and then drill the holes with a drill press. Not real fast but about the only way to get the stitches to look good on real thick leather. Also, I didn't groove my stitch line on these. Sometime I do, sometime not.