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These holsters are hand-made. What does that mean, exactly? Every step on these holsters is done by hand. Here you can see the design, tracing, cutting, marking, edging, sewing, molding, and finishing of a KCL holster - all by hand.

First, the gun is traced and measurements are taken of various dimensions. We have to translate the three dimensional gun onto the two-dimensional leather. Not only must we know how a 3D object can be projected onto a 2D medium, we also must be intimately familiar with the way that leather stretches and changes shape.

Then the design is traced onto a selected piece of leather, and cut with a pair of leather shears. Detail trimming is done with a utility razor blade.

The sewing lines are marked with a sharp instrument, and then holes are punched for sewing. The punched piece is laid upside down on the corresponding piece and the punched holes are marked to be sure that the holes line up when it is stitched.

The edges of leather are bevel cut with an edger, so that later it can be smoothed. Any steel insert pieces are cut and shaped now.

The pieces are lined up and stitched by hand with two needles, and the ends are double stitched for strength. Any steel inserts are put between the pieces of leather before stitching.

Once the holster is all sewn, it is soaked in water and the gun or gun mold is pressed into the wet holster. The water makes the leather pliable and stretchable. It can be made to take the shape of the gun by a process called "boning" whereby the leather is rubbed with a smooth object.

The holster is allowed to dry, and the edges are painted with gum tragacanth to soften the leather and hold the fibers together. The gummed edges are then rubbed with a smooth tool to give them a rounded, polished look.

Now it's time to dye the holster (unless it's to be left natural). Dyes are diluted if necessary, and applied by wool dauber until the color is deep and uniform. Then the holster is dried.

Any snaps are set now, with a punch and anvil, using a mallet.

The final step is application of Resolene, an acrylic, water-resistant finish. After dipping, a final layer is carefully applied by hand, and then the holster is left to dry. After it dries, it is polished and then function tested. We check to be sure it fits the gun, and feels comfortable. Now it's ready to go out!