Friday, November 29, 2013

Make Your Own Crossbreed Holster

Since this is an IWB holster (inside the waist band), I needed to ensure that I had a proper fit. It took me a total of three hours to finish this holster, and compared to the $70-$100 price tag plus shipping for a pre-made Crossbreed, I am winning hands down.



I ordered all the hardware from Tandy Leather Supply, and it arrived on the second day with ground shipping. My Kydex work could be better, but it sits great, and the small play it has due to the form not being perfect is tightened to perfection by my belt. Who knew?


The fit is excellent, and I am very happy. It makes a very low print, and sits comfortably, even while sitting. Of course, the Makarov is a fantastic little gun...

Monday, November 18, 2013

CMR Sheath

I received the custom Mini Skinner blade from +Chuck Richards-Handmade Knives and knew I had to make a sheath for it right away.


The knife is 5 3/4" oal with a 2 1/4" bellied cutting edge. It weighs 3.2 oz. and fits my hand nicely. The steel is Bohler D2 and the handle material is black G10 with solid brass pins. The steel has been cryo treated with a final HRC of 59-61.



I did a bit of tool work, and my stamping isn't the greatest, but I think it came out decent enough. I especially like the button closure, it really suits the knife. I wanted a closed sheath since it's such a small blade, even though the sheath is friction fit and wet molded. I didn't expect to have taken a full 7 hours to make this sheath, but it was worth it.



I decided to make the design handy, streamlined and simple. The belt attachment loop is sewn on (top and bottom), and used the integral portion of the leather for the flap closure, keeping the smooth, finished leather exposed to show off the tooling. The dye is mostly brown, but I also highlighted the edges with black to give it some depth.







I went with a 9 oz. veg tanned leather, which is a bit on the heavy side, but I utilized most of the thinner portion of the shoulder, so it could possibly be around 8 oz. --As always I use Fiebing's leather dye, acrylic resoline, tan kote, and mink oil.






Full video on my YouTube Channel. Thanks to Chuck for a wonderful blade!