OWB Holster for Baby Eagle RS

This is my latest venture into the world of holster making. (Click on the pictures for a closer look.) It is an Outside the Waistband (OWB) paddle holster with a thumb break snap and two different cants. I built it to carry either openly on my hip or concealed behind my hip. After using the holster for a couple weeks, I actually like the canted setting best for either position. The vertical position is nice because the gun rides a little higher, but the FBI cant is definitely more comfortable for both carry and draw.

I cut the back first, then cut out the top piece on the barrel side of the holster and sewed it on. Then I wet-formed the leather using a plastic bag around the gun, a wooden form and lots of molding with my fingers. After it was dry I dyed the inside, put the front snap (on the back of the holster) and cut out the grip/trigger side and sewed it. Finally, I died the outside and put the back snap on. I covered the back of the back snap with a piece of suede to keep it from scratching the gun. The strip of leather around the mouth of the holster is there partially to provide a little extra stiffness to hold the holster open (a trick from the IWB holster world), and partially for looks. The gun was really tight, so I had to do the "put it in a plastic bag and ram it into the holster" trick. Next time, I'll add another 1/4" to the width of the back piece.

From the back, my stitches don't look as straight. If you compare to my first IWB holster, though, I think I've made some good improvement. The stitching wheel my Dad gave me last Christmas really helped. This was a fun project, but my wife is happy to have me back with the rest of the family and not constantly down in the basement.

Next will probably be a magazine holster for the other hip...