perch
Member
Having just gotten my CCW a couple weeks ago and a new S&W 642 to go with it, I found myself needing a holster and not having much (any) money to spend. I hate wasting money on junk and prefer to wait until I can afford quality things so I thought I'd try making a holster to get me by.
I found (within my own home, for experimentation purposes only) that Mexican carry seemed to actually work pretty well and that a holster didn't have a difficult job ahead of it. With that in mind and an old leather wallet in my hands I set out to make a holster.
I basically tore the pieces of the wallet apart and played around with the different parts to puzzle together a configuration that would work. I wasn't too concerned with looks, just utility, since I figured I'd probably make an updated version or get a 'real' holster within a year anyhow.
A lot of the stitching ran along previously stitched parts so I didn't have to do a lot of hole punching. The little I did do wasn't too hard with a regular sewing needle. I was also able to cut the leather pretty easily with my jackknife. I credit both of those things to having softened the wallet's leather with over a decade of use. The straps are borrowed from my Mosin Nagant sling.
I've worn this every single day for 2 weeks now with absolutely no problems. It's been very comfortable since day 1 and has only gotten better. It was catching a little bit on my shirts (which tend to be tight) and so today I cut a new hole in the holster (for the rear loop) to add a few degrees of cant which has helped a lot.
The stitching, despite being a quick and dirty job and looking like hell, is holding up great so far. The only other thing I would change would be to maybe set it just a little bit lower in my pants; but really, it's fine where it is.
The only advantage I can see to buying a fancy $100 custom leather rig is longevity, aesthetics, and a stiffness that allows for easier reholstering than this one does.
Oh, and it wouldn't open me up for teasing on thehighroad ;-)
I found (within my own home, for experimentation purposes only) that Mexican carry seemed to actually work pretty well and that a holster didn't have a difficult job ahead of it. With that in mind and an old leather wallet in my hands I set out to make a holster.
I basically tore the pieces of the wallet apart and played around with the different parts to puzzle together a configuration that would work. I wasn't too concerned with looks, just utility, since I figured I'd probably make an updated version or get a 'real' holster within a year anyhow.
A lot of the stitching ran along previously stitched parts so I didn't have to do a lot of hole punching. The little I did do wasn't too hard with a regular sewing needle. I was also able to cut the leather pretty easily with my jackknife. I credit both of those things to having softened the wallet's leather with over a decade of use. The straps are borrowed from my Mosin Nagant sling.
I've worn this every single day for 2 weeks now with absolutely no problems. It's been very comfortable since day 1 and has only gotten better. It was catching a little bit on my shirts (which tend to be tight) and so today I cut a new hole in the holster (for the rear loop) to add a few degrees of cant which has helped a lot.
The stitching, despite being a quick and dirty job and looking like hell, is holding up great so far. The only other thing I would change would be to maybe set it just a little bit lower in my pants; but really, it's fine where it is.
The only advantage I can see to buying a fancy $100 custom leather rig is longevity, aesthetics, and a stiffness that allows for easier reholstering than this one does.
Oh, and it wouldn't open me up for teasing on thehighroad ;-)