Finnish Luger Holster, Extensive Repairs, Part 1

This Finnish Luger holster is in pretty good shape. The thread is deteriorated from age and use. After plenty of research I learned that the previous repairs and modifications were most likely made by the Arsenal that would have issued or re-issued the firearms. This is the first part.
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[@NorthwoodsShooter]

Great video! I had no idea that there was anyone out there that worked on these old holsters! That’s awesome!

[@FatManLeather]

I only know of one other person and he just retired, he was better than I am.

[@mckwilly]

Another fine job sir, this is one where it was caught at the right time

[@FatManLeather]

Just have to get it back together now.

[@terrisserose]

I love your introduction

[@FatManLeather]

Thanks, I was thinking about changing it, maybe I'll keep it.

[@terrisserose]

@@FatManLeather I'm sure whatever you will use will be great

[@alchemykitchen777]

Wesome, have a couple p08's as I am in Germany, one needs a holster so nice to see some ideas

[@FatManLeather]

I have purchased holsters on eBay and repaired them, it could be a good way to get the holster you need.

[@dmw1262]

The Finnish SA property mark stands for Suomen Armeija, or Finnish Army. Again Thanks

[@FatManLeather]

I did read that somewhere in my research. I also found out that there was originally a stock that went with this holster.

[@YoderTexas]

That looks like a worthy project. --- I have a question for you. I am getting close to finishing a pocket holster project and I had a very hard time punching holes for my stitching. I know that everyone will tell me that I need to get some other expensive tool to do the job, but I cannot justify spending a lot of money for a new tool when I use it so very little. What I own is an inexpensive thonging chisel set from Tandy Leather. It's what they recommended to me, for my budget. When I first started, I was told to wet my leather before I use the chisel. When I hammer the tool in, it gets stuck and it is a devil to get out. The leather was still wet from forming it to my gun. I was backing up the chisel with the small poly cutting board from Tandy. I am punching through two layers of leather, totaling 1/4 inch. The chisel just barely cuts though to the other side. As I said, the tool gets stuck and I have to fight with it to get it out. My project was nearly completely flattened by the time I punched a 4 inch stitch line. I had to I put my gun back in the holster and had to form the leather once again. During the fight, I managed to put quite a few little scars in the leather. Some had to have come from my nails, even though I cut them very short, trying to prevent this sort of thing from happening. There was even more nasty marks that transferred the texture of the cutting board. I suppose that I need to cover the cutting board with leather. Then I need to wear a pair of cotton gloves to prevent the nail nicks. But what about punching my stitching holes? I am not married to using a thonging chisel, but I want the holes large enough to accommodate saddle stitching. BTW, I tried using the chisel well after the holster had dried and it seemed to work better, but I only used the 3 prong chisel to cut about half way through, and followed up wit a one prong to cut the rest of the way. The 3 prong only seemed to wedge the leather between the prongs. I was once advised to use bee's wax on the chisel, but I learned the hard way that the wax works against you when you go to dye the leather.

[@FatManLeather]

Sounds like you're using 8-9 oz leather, I use 4-5 oz on pocket holsters so they can conform a little, but I don't make many of them. To the issue at hand, with the tools you have. I started with a "thonging" (lacing?) chisel. Chisel holes in dry leather, not wet. The tines of the chisel typically have some harsh edges from being stamped out, smooth out the rough spots and polish the tines. Some 400 grit and a polishing wheel on a rotary tool along with a medium grit polish should do the trick. There is a link to my Amazon store in the video description, there is a set of diamond chisels that aren't terribly expensive that I've been using for years. Also, if at all possible, try to do your wet forming after the holster is stitched. Feel free to email me if you have questions. [e-mail]

[@YoderTexas]

@@FatManLeather - I am afraid to count the mistakes that I have made on this project, like not wearing cotton gloves so I don't accidentally nick the leather with my nails while wet forming. I did trim them very close, but made the nicks anyway. This leather is 1/8 of an inch thick and I like how it's turning out. So, you are saying that I need to do a 25 cent trigger job on my chisel... The chisels that you are recommending, are they the Craftool or the Aiskaer brand? You have both in your store, but only the latter comes as a set. The set that I am using is a 3/32, which appears to be the width of each tine, and they are set at 5mm on center. I assume that the 5mm Aiskaer is spaced like mine, but the tine appears smaller. That will be fine, just as long as I have room to saddle stitch. Sometimes, I like to double up the saddle stitch because I think it looks better with heavier stitch lines. Thanks for your help.

[@FatManLeather]

Yep, 25 cent trigger job on your chisel, it's the first thing I do to a new chisel, any hole or slot punch, just about anything that cuts leather. The Aiskaer brand is the ones I was referring to. Every manufacturer is different, I like a 4mm spacing (center to center), I have at least 4 different size tines on the 4 different sets I have. Weaver also has a budget friendly set that has a bigger tine. Maybe I should do a video about this subject.