How To Craft a 1911 Leather Holster | EASY | Hellhound Original

Full tutorial build video on how to craft the Hellhound 1911 western-style holster intended for those with an intermediate skillset in leathercraft. This is a best seller and a customer favorite! This is an incredibly sturdy holster with the perfect amount of style for the Old West enthusiast wanting to carry a modern firearm.
The Acrylic Holster Pattern can be purchased from Hellhound here:
hellhoundleath...
The holster can be purchased from Hellhound here: hellhoundleath...
Follow us on Social Media:
Instagram | / hellhoundleatherco
Facebook | / hellhoundleatherco
Pinterest | / hellhoundleatherco
Many thanks to Social Paragon for this video: www.socialpara...

[@Terry-n1i]

Great video!! I truly enjoy watching you craft!! Looking forward to getting some templates from you. Thanks

[@kcg3927]

Nice work

[@TexHoss1]

Durn nice holster. Excellent work Sir.

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

Thank you Eddie! appreciate that

[@MichiganSilverBack]

1)What does Allow to case mean? 2) after you sand edges, (before finish edges as desired pops up) what are you applying to the leather and is it the liner side or outer side? 3)what is the leather lace for that you trim off at the end? ( I have recently sent you a lot of money for some patterns and stuff, thank you this is great!!)

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

1) So 'allow to case' means when you get your leather wet for tooling/stamping, you let the leather sit for a while to give the water time to spread evenly throughout the fibers. Letting the water spread evenly throughout the leather will help your tooling come out more evenly and have crisp clean lines because you don't have sections of leather that are soggier and squishier than others. (Eventually we'll do a video specifically about casing) 2) Thats just neatsfoot oil and we apply it to both the liner and outer sides (veg tan, no suedes). We also typically oil the edges of our holsters and let them sit for a long time (so the edges aren't oily/soggy when trying to apply edge coat) to guarantee that the edges don't crack when we fold the holster over (which can happen with especially dry pieces). 3) The leather lace we use on our holsters (tying down skirts, hammer thongs, leg ties etc.) we cut ourselves from a chrome tan that we source from Weaver (usually). For a long time we used Kodiak Lace (from Tandy) but started cutting our own because it would break too often. I suspect they were splicing the lace together to get longer spools and it creates weak points. Not to say that you won't run into those occasionally even when you cut your own. And THANK YOU for the support! We appreciate it!

[@locknload62]

Great work!!

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

Thank you!! Its a fun one :)

[@bryanherbkersman3318]

Love the look of all of your products - ordered this template with the intention of using it for my son-in-law's Glock 21 (similar footprint) for a gift and then for my 1911. Questions about the video: 1. What snap hardware did you use? 2. What Chicago Screw and size? 3. It looks almost like you added the welt in two steps, once on one side and then the other layers (2?) on the other side before folding the sides together with glue. Did I see it correctly? I'm going to be stitching this by hand, so have my work cut out ;-)

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

Hey! Sorry for the delay - happy to answer questions! 1. We use Buckleguy snaps Line 24( www.buckleguy.com/line-24-snaps-cap-15mm-ring-socket-antique-brass-s15b51ln-solid-brass-100-sets-per-bag/ ) 2. The Chicago Screws are also Buckleguy, flatheads 3/8" post ( www.buckleguy.com/cs7705-flat-head-chicago-screws-3-8-post-antique-brass-solid-brass-ll-50-per-bag/ ) 3. The welt is a single actually - we glue to one side along the back edge, set the welt, and then glue the other edge and fold over to meet. Hand stitching will be hard on the hands, but creates such solid work. We'd love to see it when you're finished!

[@bryanherbkersman3318]

Another couple questions: 1. What size is the lace that is used for the hold down? It looks like it might be about 3/16" wide, but very hard to tell as well as what weight or is it an off-the-shelf product. 2. What type of knot was used to tie it off? Hard to tell from the video. Thanks again for all the answers.@@HellhoundLeatherCo

[@PatrickAmundsen]

Beautiful exceedingly fine

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

Thank you kindly

[@bobm5096]

You ran a piece of lace thru the bottom two holes then at the end of the video you cut them off short, what purpose do they serve?

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

Hey Bob, the lace through the bottom just holds the end of the skirt to the back of the holster body. That way, when you draw the firearm, the holster doesn't shift upward through the collar. Just helps everything stay put.

[@ewhays]

Any recommendations for someone hand stitching this holster? I'm thinking about making one for my Father-in-law and I don't have the money or space for a sewing machine. I also like some of the other patterns you have for sale.

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

Actually, standard stitching chisels don't work with several layers of heavy weight leather, they never seem to be long enough. So early on in my career before I could afford a sewing machine, I would improvise with various other tools. One of my favorite ways was to file a nail down so that it had a sharp thin edge and hammer it through the layers (make sure your holster is well-glued so the edges stay put while you're doing this). Also, a drill with a very small bit will do a great job.

[@ewhays]

@@HellhoundLeatherCo thank you for replying, I have a drill so that should do the trick!

[@corbinfolsom5286]

Absolutely love the holster. I wanted to craft my grandfather one for his birthday. Do you happen to have a pdf version of the pattern for sale? Or do you only have the acrylic template?

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

Hey Corbin, thank you! I'm sure your grandfather will love it. Unfortunately at this time we only have the acrylic patterns.

[@corbinfolsom5286]

Bought the acrylic pattern! Absolutely love it. Can’t really get the dye to come out well, but that got me wondering. What leather do you use for this holster as well as for the lining? Thank you again!

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

@@corbinfolsom5286 Awesome! Glad you like the pattern! (and thank you for the purchase!) So our main line of leathers come directly from Wickett&Craig tannery and they are dyed during the tanning process. Having the leather pre-dyed just helps me out a ton by cutting down that whole step and so we stick with four basic colors (black, brown, tan, oxblood). We craft these holsters in a 10oz W&C saddle skirt (standard grade, which is their highest) and line them with a 2oz of the same leather. That being said, we do custom colors as well and so we still do a lot of dye work. If you'd like I'll do a tips/tricks video on dye.

[@powderpatchandball424]

Such beautiful work! 1. When you sewed in the liner you had no feet on the sewing machine, but when sewing the welt you had both feet on. Any special reasoning for this technique. 2. What do you typically use for your final finish?

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

1. Thats because when I stitch on the liner I have to make it past the snap and its set too close to the edge for the foot to make it, so I just remove the foot for those holsters. Also, they're actually two different machines - the first one where I stitch on the liner is a flat bed. The second machine is a cylinder bed, which is easier to stitch the welt edge since it doesn't have to sit flat. 2. My final finish? Jazz hands! 👐 I use acrylic resolene that has been watered down about 30%.

[@powderpatchandball424]

Thanks for the info. Beautiful work!

[@dmitrybenedytsky4253]

Excellent work. What leather did you use and where to buy it? Thank you

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

Thank you! The leathers used in this video are a 10oz premium grade vegetable tan saddle skirt and a 2oz veg tan saddle skirt lining. We source most of our leathers directly from Wickett&Craig Tannery and the leathers shown in this video are from Wickett&Craig.

[@dmitrybenedytsky4253]

@@HellhoundLeatherCo Thank you.

[@TravisFoxTN]

Hello, can I ask what model Juki sewing machine you have or recommend? The heaviest leather I use is around 10 ounce. Thank you for your time

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

Our Juki is a 1508NH. Our leathers range from 2 to 14oz and it works through everything without trouble. Its a great machine for flat work.

[@rickynash4561]

What type of leather works best for the liner of a holster ???

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

There are different opinions amongst makers. Some prefer suede, because it is soft. Others claim that suede traps dirt more easily and ends up scratching the firearm worse. Some claim that a full gran veg tan is offers no padding and so rubs away finish. Personally, and in my shop, we line all of our holsters (unless the customer specifically requests otherwise) with a full grain 2oz veg tan (from either Hermann Oak or Wickett&Craig, depending on supply lines). I believe that the smooth liner is easy to wipe clean and ultimately prevents a build-up of dirt and grit from wearing on the firearm.

[@rickynash4561]

Thank you, that's probably the way I'll go...all it made sense...

[@michaellong6002]

Can I have you make one for my Kimber 1911

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

I would be happy to! A Kimber would look sweet with that leather. Email me at [e-mail] and lets make it happen!

[@nestorramalhorozpoveda9072]

Perfeito , show 👍👏🇧🇷👊

[@stephenmartin6995]

Have you considered adding a 4th part to your acrylic template for the trigger strap?

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

Yeah, we did discuss adding it, but it doesn't seem like a good value add for our customers. It'll increase the cost slightly but not improve the pattern substantially since its just a straight strap. Also, the pattern comes with instructions outlining how long and wide to make the retention strap, so most folks will just cut a strap to those dimensions and not actually use the template piece.

[@demnklnr]

I feel like I can smell this video...

[@HellhoundLeatherCo]

Hahah Good, huh?

[@demnklnr]

@@HellhoundLeatherCo yes. Very good

[@russellridge8623]

So you made a cheap copy of an El Paso Saddlery Austin model holster