[sheathmaker]

Fishguy: This method works for me. It is not the only method and may not be the best, but it works great for me. First, I line every sheath or holster I make, so traditional wet forming is an excercise in futility. When the holster is complete as far as construction, stitching etc is concerned, I dampen the interior with a spray bottle...not soaking wet ,but fairly damp. then I force the gun into the holster. This may take three or four attempts to fully seat the gun all the way into the holster. once this is done I remove the gun and dry it and oil it to be sure no rust happens. Then wrap the gun with Saran Wrap and reinsert. At this point I hand work the exterior of the sheath to get the general"soft" shape of the gun on the outside. This has the effect of wet forming the interior to a pretty good degree. I then fan dry the sheath for a couple of hours and remove the gun carefully. Fan dry some more until completely dry. The leather has now hardened some and is ready for Neatsfoot oil and top finishes of choice. Most of mine fit very well and will"snap" when gun is inserted. The exterior has the soft shape of the gun and looks more like the traditional period pieces. I forgot to mention that 99.9% of my holsters are either carved or stamped which is another reason not to bone or stretch the exterior. Now, let's see what Sandy, Mike, Dave, Chuck and others have to share, because if there's a better way, I want to learn it too.

PS: Edited to add: At the point that I'm ready to reinsert the Saran wrapped gun, I spray the exterior completely to dampen it,wait a couple of minutes and then hand massage it.

Paul