Pocket holster

So-so photography warning in effect

Lots of us have a small revolver or autoloader for a pocket pistol; one that’ll fit into a pocket when we can’t/don’t want to wear a holster on the belt. If you’ve ever just stuck one in the pocket, you know what a pain that is: it’ll shift all over, wind up butt-down much of the time and wind up with lint in every crevice. So you need a pocket holster.

If you want to make your own, thought I’d lay out how I’ve made mine. In this case I already had one for most pants, but a while back I bought some 5.11 pants from this place Uncle recommended, and the way the front pockets are cut caused the thing to sit cocked, so I’m making a new one.
Please note, with just myself to take pictures there are steps I left out; if you have any question e-mail me or just ask in comments and I'll try to fill in the holes.

First time made one, laid the pistol in question on a piece of paper with the muzzle near the edge, traced it, turned it over(rolled it over, keeping the pistol in contact with the paper) and repeated. Then I traced around that outline and added extra at the sides for the part that stabilizes things, and cut out that pattern. Then fold/fit/adjust/trim around the pistol until had the final(I hoped) pattern. At this point it really helps to have some poster paper or something like it, you can cut the pattern out and staple and tape it enough to hold the piece and try it in the pocket. When you’ve got it finalized, I’d suggest tracing it onto stiff paper to keep, then trace it onto your leather and cut it out.
On the leather: I used 4-6 ounce, something stiff enough to keep shape but not so thick as to make it ungainly. And unless you’re better at patterning than I, I’d suggest cutting the leather just a touch outside the line; you can always trim it down but stretching it is a bitch. One other thing: you’ll notice that the sides are a little different; I do that so the side toward the leg covers more of the pistol to protect it from sweat in hot weather. If you use that design you’ll want to remember to trace the leather so the rough side will be on the outside of the holster, if you do the sides identical you don’t have to worry about layout as you can fold it either way.

Lay the pistol on it and fold the leather over, see if anything you need to trim or adjust now. When it’s all ready, wet down the leather; if you’re making it like mine, the center and the side that’ll be molded in to fit. On this pattern it’s molded on the side toward your leg, so the flat side of the holster is toward the front; I think it prints less that way. If you’re going to just fold it so the sewn part is centered so it’ll fit either pocket, damp both sides equally. Then wrap the pistol in some plastic wrap or a veggie bag or something, wrap the leather around and mold it to fit*. In this shot I’ve got it against a piece of thick, stiff leather and then clamped while it dries a bit; if no clamps available you’ll have to find some way to hold the leather in place against the piece while it dries.
When dry, look things over, and if all’s well use contact cement or something similar to glue the two sides, holds them together for stitching.

Once the glue is done, you can trim/smooth the edges(if you didn't before), and then mark the stitching pattern. Long ago I bought a stitching wheel for marking knife sheaths; it's a spiked wheel that marks a certain number of stitches per inch, you roll it along the stitching line and it gives you a nice line of where to make the holes
No, the butt end didn't come that way, a canine decided to taste-test it . But it still works.

Once marked, I use the drill press to make the holes; set the leather on a piece of scrap wood and used a 1/16" bit. You can use a hand-held drill, just be careful to keep the holes straight. Then I use two needles and suitable thread to saddle-stitch it.
If you're not familiar with that stitch, you cut a piece of thread and put a needle on each end. Push a needle through the first hole, even the thread on both sides, then run the needle through the next hole, then the other needle through the same hole going the other way. Keep doing that all the way around. I usually have to use a small pair of pliers to pull the things through(you can try using larger holes, but don't get them too big). When you reach the hole you started at, keep going for two or three holes, the overlap locks the thread very nicely so you can cut it off flush. Which I haven't done yet in these pictures.

Here's how it looks with the pistol in place, a Ruger LCP with Crimson Trace laser sight
Yes, part of the trigger guard is exposed; the trigger itself is below the level of the leather.

What I do next isn't essential, but I prefer it. I like to stiffen the leather and waterproof it a bit, so I wax it. What I worked out for knife sheaths is half paraffin, half beeswax and a little Lexol or neatsfoot oil. Melt the waxes together over low heat, stir in the Lexol or neatsfoot. What I prefer for something like this is to make a tray of heavy foil, wipe the wax mix over the outside heavily, then put the holster in the tray and in the oven on warm. Leave it long enough for the leather to heat and soak up the wax. If the leather looks dry, you can brush on more wax(I use one of the wool daubers made for leather dye) and back in the oven. When it looks like it's got enough, stick the plastic-wrapped gun in. Push in enough to make sure it's all the way in, do any turning or adjusting you think needed, then let it cool; it'll look something like this
Nice thing is that if you find the leather too pliable for you, just give it another coat and back in the oven, then put the pistol in and let it cool; repeat trips won't hurt the leather, though I'd STRONGLY suggest you not put it in the oven with the pistol in place. Here's this one after the waxing was done, pistol in place
This one holds the pistol in the position I prefer in the 5.11 pants pocket. Yes, I now have holsters customized for different pants; I think this makes me a True Gun Geek or something.

Added: Weer'd has a post on the subject of Pocket Holsters, Use Of


*About that molding: most of the time when you make a holster you want it to fit the piece very well, so you mold or 'bone' it: while the leather is damp, now or after the stitching is done(after for the very best fit and appearance) you stick the piece in- in plastic wrap or something- and then work something hard and smooth over it with light to moderate pressure; it'll form the leather to the gun very nicely and keep that fit after the leather dries. The problem with that, for a pocket holster, is it causes the holster to actually hold onto the gun: not a good thing here. You're talking about reaching into the pocket and grabbing the grip and pulling it out of the holster AND your pocket, so a holster that holds onto the pistol is, in my opinion, a Bad Thing. You're not worried about it falling out of the holster, you're just needing the holster to keep it upright and clean(er). First holster like this I made, I boned it the way I usually did, and it was a bitch to draw without pulling the whole damn rig out of the pocket. I wound up heating the holster, wrapping a fake credit card around the slide and then the plastic wrap, and boning it over that to remove the nice fitting from the first try; it drew much more easily after that. So when I say 'mold' in this case, I mean to fit the side of the holster to the outline of the gun only, so it'll hold it upright.