Description
Study this course and you will be making custom holsters for your guns in just hours. The Leather Holster Making Course from AGI, covers everything you need to know to begin designing and producing high quality leather holsters for both pistols and revolvers! Each aspect of the process is presented in the usual AGI style giving you all the information you need step-by-step, with lots of insider tips and tricks that make the process easier and faster.
Your instructor is renowned leather craftsman and internationally recognized holster maker Chris Andre who has been working with leather all his life. He began at age six learning the craft from his mother. As he grew and progressed, he studied under some of the most renowned leather craftsman in the firearms industry, and now, for over two decades he has been creating and selling his own complete line of leather holsters and gear for regular carry, concealed carry, and Cowboy shooting applications.
He teaches hundreds of people in the USA and internationally the art and skill of holster making each year, through private, small group, and hands-on classes. In this course you get access to his knowledge and training without leaving the comfort of your home! Now, for the first time ever, all of his knowledge, skill, and experience is available to you as your personal one-onone instructor on video. All the information is presented with the same level of quality and attention to detail that you’ve come to count on from AGI.
Chris guides you step-by-step through the entire process of creating TWO different styles of leather holsters, one for Cowboy-style action shooting and Chris “Slickbald” Andre is an award winning, professional leather artist and maker. Chris works mostly in Cowboy Action and Concealed Carry gun leather and is an active and competitive member of SASS and Cowboy Fast Draw, and a lifetime competitive shooter.
• Cutting the leather • Machine stitching including stitching the “welt” • Trimming
• The process of gluing • Hand stitching • Two methods of “wet forming”
• The art of “slicking” • How to create a plug • Edge burnishing
• Sanding • Punching • Dying and applying sealer
• Pricking • Skiving
When you complete this course, you will have all the knowledge and skills you need to create any type of leather holster using existing patterns or by creating your own custom designs!
The course begins with an introduction to the world of leather making including: the history of leather holsters: when they first appeared and why, as well as the evolution into the modern styles and designs we have today. Chris gives you a comprehensive overview of leather as he covers the different types (cow, sheep & exotics), their applications, and the different tanning processes used in the industry including a guide on how to select the best type and quality of leather for your project.
He then provides you with the basics of holster design, showing you how to create a pattern and introduces you to all the tools you’ll be using to create your holsters, giving a detailed demonstration of each one.
With all the background information under your belt, it’s time to begin making holsters and Chris guides you step-by-step through the entire process and at the end you will have created a handsome, functional, well-made, Cowboy-style holster for a revolver!
Then, in order to be certain that you understand everything completely, Chris takes you through the entire process again, but this time you create a completely different style of holster. One used for concealed carry of a 1911 style pistol. Along the way, Chris introduces you to more tools, techniques, tips, and tricks that make the process easier, faster, and result in a better finished product.
Now that you fully understand every aspect of the process of making a holster, Chris introduces you to the tools and techniques used in hand-stitching so when you complete the course, you will have the skills needed for working by hand or machine. He finishes up the course by showing you many different examples of where you can take this craft including the art of ornamentation and decoration through leather carving, stamping and dyeing. Chris even shares with you all of the leather industry insider organizations and publications that provide information, training, and support.
Whether you’re a novice or an advanced beginner, this course presents all the knowledge, skills, resources, supplies and techniques you will need to begin creating beautiful, functional leather holsters for yourself and others. You will be continuing a time honored tradition of over 100 years using the same materials and techniques.