Homemade leather Glock 23 holster

bushidomosquito · May 2, 2008, 11:22 AM

My first attempt at leatherworking in over 10 years. Actually I made 2 for my father in laws XD sub as well as a slick double mag holder right before this one and they all came out even better. I guess my patience was wearing thin by the time I got around to mine. The piece of leather I chose for mine just didn't want to tool down as nicely as those others. I have no stitching machine so I layed out the holes with dial calipers and punched them with an awl and hammer on a board, then saddle stitched it all by hand. The dye is black oil based and covers all but the inside and the sealer is wax from a new toilet bowel wax ring seal. It was actually finished about 6 months ago and so far the gun still fits and draws as well as the day it was done. My father in law retired his kydex holster and carries his XD EVERYWHERE in one of mine now and it's holding up fine.

starshooter231 · May 2, 2008, 02:51 PM

Very nice job sir. You have a skill that will be quite useful if you ever need to make extra $$$.

DMacLeod · May 2, 2008, 07:46 PM

That looks great. If you ever decide to make more holsters I'd like to buy a couple. I've been loking for a crossdraw type for driving. Makers of these are few and far between.

Moe Howard · May 2, 2008, 09:05 PM

I often make my own holsters and I will tell you that is very nice work.

ElectricHellfire · May 2, 2008, 09:18 PM

I make my own too and that is very nice work there. How did you do the "forming". Did you wet form it?

oneSoneK · May 2, 2008, 09:20 PM

Nice

DWARREN123 · May 3, 2008, 03:37 AM

Nice

bushidomosquito · May 5, 2008, 02:52 PM

These are the XD holsters and mag pouch. The omlet (2 layer=pancake, wraparound=omlet, get it?) was the first one I started and came out the best by far. I'm pretty happy with the pancake too but have only seen the owner carry the omlet and don't blame him. I like the omlets myself and after working out two good ones I'll never make or carry another pancake. The sharkskin was added to the rear loop to stiffen it up and cut down on wear in that area and the piece that is sewn on directly behind the ejection port dent continues around the back and forms the front loop.

I'm not soliciting my services as a holster maker and am no pro by any means. What I can offer if anyone is intrested in making their own is tips learned from my trial and error since instruction on the subject is hard to come by. If anyone wants to know how I did anything just ask. Sometimes an idea gets stuck in my head and the only way to get it out is to make it real. I will be a meticulous SOB until I get what I envisioned. These three holsters and the mag holder represent about a month of my free time and given that Galco can sell you something similar for 50 bucks I can't see making a living off it.

Electrichell, everything is wet formed around blue plastic models and the mag holder is formed around loaded mags. This is the hard part as many of you know. The XD omlet was a softer leather that didn't stiffen up enough when dry so I watered down some wood glue and brushed it on the outside only and wiped it clean with a wet sponge after enough had soaked in. The result was a semi hard shell that holds it's shape and the inside is still very soft almost like it were lined.

Thank you all for your comments. I am currently doing a new Glock 23 holster from carbon fiber which is a much more familar material for me.http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...ito/gun067.jpg http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...ito/gun069.jpg http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...ito/gun070.jpg

bushidomosquito · May 5, 2008, 02:54 PM

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/bushidomosquito/gun082.jpg

bushidomosquito · May 5, 2008, 02:57 PM

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...ito/gun082.jpg

bushidomosquito · May 5, 2008, 02:58 PM

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...ito/gun083.jpg

Mike40-11 · May 6, 2008, 11:27 PM

Very nice! You're inspiring me to give it a shot. Seems to be the only way I can get a holster EXACTLY the way I want it. This could be dangerous, the last thing I need is another hobby and project......

Bulldog · May 7, 2008, 02:51 AM

Very nice! I love seeing homegrown gunleather.

I started making my own holsters last year when I couldn't find anything I liked for a 3-inch S&W Model 65. I've just been doing basic pancake designs for the sake of simplicity and practice. I haven't yet ventured off into any sort of more elaborate designs like yours. I still buy and use store-bought stuff (recently went on a Don Hume kick), but I can't resist making some stuff of my own.

Whenever I post a new holster up, someone will usually ask how it's done, so I decided to do a little step-by-step write-up.

Here's some of my stuff:

S&W M65 (3") & Speedloader Pouch:

Ruger GP100 (3"):

M&P 45 and Mag Pouch:

M&P Slide:

M&P 9mm (or 40SW):

One I'm working on now for the G19:

bushidomosquito · May 7, 2008, 03:02 PM

I wish I had run across your tutorial before I began this project. I could have saved lots of leather. The GP 100 and M&P holsters are as good as I've seen anywhere. I did discover the sharpie as the perfect boning tool but everything else I did the hard way. You sir, are the one who should be doing this for a living. That's top shelf work.

For my next trick I'll stick with a material I'm much more familiar with. When I'm done with this one it'll never soften up or loose it's shape. http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...ito/gun099.jpg

May 5, 2008, 02:54 PM	#9
bushidomosquito Senior Member Join Date: November 14, 2007 Location: Kansas City Posts: 434	nice rig http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/bushidomosquito/gun082.jpg

May 5, 2008, 02:58 PM	#11
bushidomosquito Senior Member Join Date: November 14, 2007 Location: Kansas City Posts: 434	http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...ito/gun083.jpg Last edited by bushidomosquito; May 5, 2008 at 02:59 PM. Reason: wrong pic

May 7, 2008, 03:02 PM	#14
bushidomosquito Senior Member Join Date: November 14, 2007 Location: Kansas City Posts: 434	Bulldog, I wish I had run across your tutorial before I began this project. I could have saved lots of leather. The GP 100 and M&P holsters are as good as I've seen anywhere. I did discover the sharpie as the perfect boning tool but everything else I did the hard way. You sir, are the one who should be doing this for a living. That's top shelf work. For my next trick I'll stick with a material I'm much more familiar with. When I'm done with this one it'll never soften up or loose it's shape. http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...ito/gun099.jpg Last edited by bushidomosquito; May 7, 2008 at 03:04 PM. Reason: issues

May 2, 2008, 02:51 PM	#2
starshooter231 Senior Member Join Date: October 30, 2006 Location: Central Michigan Posts: 210	Very nice job sir. You have a skill that will be quite useful if you ever need to make extra $$$.

May 2, 2008, 07:46 PM	#3
DMacLeod Senior Member Join Date: February 19, 2008 Location: Maine Posts: 425	That looks great. If you ever decide to make more holsters I'd like to buy a couple. I've been loking for a crossdraw type for driving. Makers of these are few and far between.

May 2, 2008, 09:05 PM	#4
Moe Howard Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2008 Location: North Texas Posts: 690	I often make my own holsters and I will tell you that is very nice work.

May 2, 2008, 09:18 PM	#5
ElectricHellfire Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 2008 Location: The Woodlands, Texas Posts: 2,271	I make my own too and that is very nice work there. How did you do the "forming". Did you wet form it?

May 2, 2008, 09:20 PM	#6
oneSoneK Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2008 Location: south of houston Posts: 117	Nice

May 3, 2008, 03:37 AM	#7
DWARREN123 Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2006 Location: BETWEEN TN & KY Posts: 1,758	Nice

May 5, 2008, 02:52 PM	#8
bushidomosquito Senior Member Join Date: November 14, 2007 Location: Kansas City Posts: 434	These are the XD holsters and mag pouch. The omlet (2 layer=pancake, wraparound=omlet, get it?) was the first one I started and came out the best by far. I'm pretty happy with the pancake too but have only seen the owner carry the omlet and don't blame him. I like the omlets myself and after working out two good ones I'll never make or carry another pancake. The sharkskin was added to the rear loop to stiffen it up and cut down on wear in that area and the piece that is sewn on directly behind the ejection port dent continues around the back and forms the front loop. I'm not soliciting my services as a holster maker and am no pro by any means. What I can offer if anyone is intrested in making their own is tips learned from my trial and error since instruction on the subject is hard to come by. If anyone wants to know how I did anything just ask. Sometimes an idea gets stuck in my head and the only way to get it out is to make it real. I will be a meticulous SOB until I get what I envisioned. These three holsters and the mag holder represent about a month of my free time and given that Galco can sell you something similar for 50 bucks I can't see making a living off it. Electrichell, everything is wet formed around blue plastic models and the mag holder is formed around loaded mags. This is the hard part as many of you know. The XD omlet was a softer leather that didn't stiffen up enough when dry so I watered down some wood glue and brushed it on the outside only and wiped it clean with a wet sponge after enough had soaked in. The result was a semi hard shell that holds it's shape and the inside is still very soft almost like it were lined. Thank you all for your comments. I am currently doing a new Glock 23 holster from carbon fiber which is a much more familar material for me.http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...ito/gun067.jpg http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...ito/gun069.jpg http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...ito/gun070.jpg

May 5, 2008, 02:57 PM	#10
bushidomosquito Senior Member Join Date: November 14, 2007 Location: Kansas City Posts: 434	http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...ito/gun082.jpg

May 6, 2008, 11:27 PM	#12
Mike40-11 Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2005 Location: Missouri Posts: 842	Very nice! You're inspiring me to give it a shot. Seems to be the only way I can get a holster EXACTLY the way I want it. This could be dangerous, the last thing I need is another hobby and project......

May 7, 2008, 02:51 AM	#13
Bulldog Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 1999 Location: Texas Posts: 564	Very nice! I love seeing homegrown gunleather. I started making my own holsters last year when I couldn't find anything I liked for a 3-inch S&W Model 65. I've just been doing basic pancake designs for the sake of simplicity and practice. I haven't yet ventured off into any sort of more elaborate designs like yours. I still buy and use store-bought stuff (recently went on a Don Hume kick), but I can't resist making some stuff of my own. Whenever I post a new holster up, someone will usually ask how it's done, so I decided to do a little step-by-step write-up. Here's some of my stuff: S&W M65 (3") & Speedloader Pouch: Ruger GP100 (3"): M&P 45 and Mag Pouch: M&P Slide: M&P 9mm (or 40SW): One I'm working on now for the G19: