Blackhawk Holster I made.

[Bazoo]

I am working on this holster for my super blackhawk. A friend wanted me to make him a holster for his heritage, and as a result I had some spare leather. This is my first attempt at a pancake holster as I normally make cheyenne or california patterns for cowboy guns. I did all the cutting with my pocketknife, and stitched it by hand. I used a 1/16 drill bit for drilling the holes.

Its still in process, I have to figure out what im going to finish it with. Any suggestions?

https://i.imgur.com/aWchNck.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/dHSOtkC.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/4QhI82G.jpg

[bmortell]

I used sno-seal, it will also help burnish edges and belt hole

[onelight]

It looks really good. Nice job.

[Wheelguns 1961]

Looks good!

[DougGuy]

What to finish it with? It looks already there to me!

[sureYnot]

Very nice.

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[Bazoo]

I appreciate the kind words. It is in fact, still in the raw. I burnished it pretty good, and wore it an hour or two to check it out. I wish i'd put a little more angle on it, but I wont be 100% sure until I wear it a while through my day to day tasks around the farm.

[RED BEAR]

I tried making holster a couple times mine looked nothing like yours . That turned out really nice.

[45workhorse]

Very nice!!!!

[KVO]

I like Fiebing's Tan Kote. It is not water proof but the leather can still absorb oil (neatsfoot or similar conditioner) though it if needed. I dislike the same company's Resolene which is an acrylic because it tends to leave a blotchy, overly shiny finish.

[Texas by God]

That looks like a great holster. Skidmore’s beeswax works good on my factory holsters.

[bmortell]

240930
Heres my knife sheath, i was basically to your point finished but bare, then wiped sno-seal on the surfaces and smeared it on the edges, re burnished edges and buffed the whole thing. If anything it smells good, is water repelant, and does pretty good job preventing fibers from standing. So you can decide yourself if you like how it looks

[onelight]

That is nice .
I have a tough time with black dye by the time I get enough on to not have splotches the leather is so soaked with dye it is stiff as a board.
The black on yours looks good.

[Bazoo]

Thanks for the pic Bmortell. That does look nice. Nice tooling by the way. I'm thinking about dying mine, not sure yet. I made it two years ago probably, just ain't got around to finishing it yet.

[bmortell]

either way would look good, as is just sealed with a beeswax based product like some of us were mentioning would give an 'authentic' type look to it. or if its not already impregnated with oils or waxes you could easily put a coat of a similar or darker colored alcohol based dye on it before sealing for a new look, guess the downside there is threads would get colored and cost of dye. before any of this you could also soak it, stick the gun in wrapped in saran wrap, vacuum seal in a food saver, and do a re-forming while under vacuum. not saying you need any of this just throwing out options

[Bazoo]

I wet formed it and boned it. I don't have any dye at present. I do like the contrast of the thread. It's really just a trial holster for me. Basically to learn some more techniques and figure out what I want in a holster for my SBH.

[jmorris]

Looks like fine work to me. Even better knowing what tools you used. How long did it take?

[Bazoo]

Thanks jmorris. I'd guess I've got about 2 1/2, maybe 3 hours in it. I worked on it a little at a time over the course of several days. Course that don't count dry time for the glue or dry time in the oven after wet molding. I glued it with tacky glue, as that's what I had handy.

[rintinglen]

Take a strip of 280 or 320 sand paper and shoe shine the edges of the belt loops. Dampen the edge of the leather in the loop, (spit works well;)) and then sand the edges smooth.
Here is a similar holster I made.
240941

[Bazoo]

Thanks for the idea glen. I burnished with a dowel, but did have a hard time getting the belt slots.

[onelight]

My home brew holsters won’t fool any one into thinking they were done by a pro leather worker but are functional and get used.
I like the third belt slot for hunting , cross draw at about 10 o clock I can wear a long coat and keep the gun out of the weather and still access with the top half of coat unfastened .
Here are 2 for 4.2” sp101 and 1 for single six and seven.

240946

[Bazoo]

Those look pretty good onelight. I didn't think about 3 slots for mine, mostly I was thinking about concealment. I carry a 1911 in the same style holster, so I'm thinking on the days I don't have to go to doctors visits and the like, I can conceal the SBH good enough if I go to town. And it'll be out of the way around the farm.

[trapper9260]

What is the thickness of the leather you use to make it ?

[onelight]

What is the thickness of the leather you use to make it ?

The leather mine are made from is 1/8 to 3/16 thick.

[onelight]

Those look pretty good onelight. I didn't think about 3 slots for mine, mostly I was thinking about concealment. I carry a 1911 in the same style holster, so I'm thinking on the days I don't have to go to doctors visits and the like, I can conceal the SBH good enough if I go to town. And it'll be out of the way around the farm.
Yours is a nice trim design I like it.
I patterned mine from a 40 year old Roy Baker pancake holster I have for a 61/2” mod 29.

[trapper9260]

The leather mine are made from is 1/8 to 3/16 thick.

Thank you for letting me know.

[Bazoo]

Mine is 3/16+ thick. I forget the ounces that equates to. I dont normally like that thick of leather, but thats what I had left over from my buddies holster. I patterned mine loosely off the galco combat master for 1911 I was using at the time.

[Conditor22]

I'm jealous :) I need to make /buy a good BH holster

[rintinglen]

What is the thickness of the leather you use to make it ?

A word about leather. Leather is sold ostensibly by the weight of the leather per square foot, and because of the variance in the hides and their preparation, it is usually expressed as a range, 6-7 oz, for example. Economy grade leather will usually vary a bit more, like 5-8 or 7-9 oz, but for our purpose, that is about as relevant as the price of eggs in Alaska. A one foot square ounce of leather is approximately 1/64 of an inch thick, so most leather, while graded by weight is actually sold by thickness. This means little outside of a game of "trivial Pursuit" except that when you are making a holster, you will want to make the appropriate choice for the gun you are making the holster for.

Here's a suggested guide for selecting leather weight for a project.
Gun weight Leather Weight
0-20 oz. 5-6 oz
20-30 oz. 6-7 oz
30-40 oz. 7-8 oz.
40+ oz 8-9 oz.

[trapper9260]

A word about leather. Leather is sold ostensibly by the weight of the leather per square foot, and because of the variance in the hides and their preparation, it is usually expressed as a range, 6-7 oz, for example. Economy grade leather will usually vary a bit more, like 5-8 or 7-9 oz, but for our purpose, that is about as relevant as the price of eggs in Alaska. A one foot square ounce of leather is approximately 1/64 of an inch thick, so most leather, while graded by weight is actually sold by thickness. This means little outside of a game of "trivial Pursuit" except that when you are making a holster, you will want to make the appropriate choice for the gun you are making the holster for.

Here's a suggested guide for selecting leather weight for a project.
Gun weight Leather Weight
0-20 oz. 5-6 oz
20-30 oz. 6-7 oz
30-40 oz. 7-8 oz.
40+ oz 8-9 oz.

Yes I understand that from my research,but have a hard time to understand how to come up the thickness in inches . What the oz is equal to ,

[onelight]

8oz = about 1/8”

[Texas by God]

For carrying a 6.5" Blackhawk on the tractor and in the Mule and pickup I have a Hunter field holster that is modified to take the muzzle forward. The belt loops go right above my right leg. I have a Bianchi likewise for the Single Six 5.5". Kind of a cross draw but not really.

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[429421Cowboy]

Looks good! Only tip I have is to use a brad nail sharpened, instead of a drill bit for your holes! I have had alot better luck with that trick once I learned it than when i drilled mine to hand sew. I just chuck up a nail in my drill and use that after I space my holes and it doesnt leave marks or chew up the leather because it's just poking a hole not actually removing material. Really helps when you have a skinny welt in a trim knife sheath, keeps the bit from walking or pulling off to one side way better than a drillbit!

[Bazoo]

Thanks for the tip cowboy! That will be handy to remember.

[429421Cowboy]

Of course the real answer is to get a sewing machine haha! I'm getting tired of hand stitching lately especially with doing a few belts now. That's probably the majority of my time leather working, even more than tooling! Brother in law has a better setup shop than me with a machine but I dont get up there often enough. That's whatd help me out the most!

[Bazoo]

It does take a while hand stitching. I just like piddling with it, making stuff for myself and occasionally friends. I never got into tooling.

I inquired several places about the cost of a pancake holster for a blackhawk and it was 100.00+. I'm going to make a few more pancakes and get the details worked out. Need one for the wife's 686.

[Onebad06vtx]

Looks really nice!

[Onebad06vtx]

What kind and weight thread did you use for the stitching?

[Bazoo]

Looks really nice! Thanks.


What kind and weight thread did you use for the stitching?

I used waxed synthetic sinew from hobby lobby and separated a strand in half. I don't have the package for more details.

[dannyd]

241680Blackhawk holsters

[sniper]

VERY nice!

[onelight]

What kind and weight thread did you use for the stitching?
This is the cheap guys sewing machine (me) I purchased a bulk roll of waxed thread with it and some spare needles the first one lasted 30 years :p
https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/sewing-awl-kit

[Bazoo]

Dannyd, those are real nice.