Iwb Holster Problems

[glockanator]

I recently finished up my first IWB band holster for a 4inch revolver. The holster itself came out really nice the only problem is when its in the pants and you remove the gun I cant get it back in with out taking the holster out of the pants.

In this picture its not quite finished but enought to test it in the pants.

This is the test in the pants. Any suggestions on how to fix this?

[Colt Hammerless]

Is the holster collapsing when the revolver's out? If so either the leather isn't thick enough, or from a soft part of the hide. If it's just not thick enough you could go thicker, or add a re-inforcement piece at the mouth. It's hard to tell from the photos, but it looks like you molded nice and tight behind the cylinder. I haven't made a revolver holster yet, but one thing people do with them (if they mold behind the cylinder,) is to SLIGHTLY bend the mouth opening outward during wet forming to act as a guide for re-holstering. That by itself might be the solution.

Colt Hammerless

[glockanator]

Is the holster collapsing when the revolver's out? If so either the leather isn't thick enough, or from a soft part of the hide. If it's just not thick enough you could go thicker, or add a re-inforcement piece at the mouth. It's hard to tell from the photos, but it looks like you molded nice and tight behind the cylinder. I haven't made a revolver holster yet, but one thing people do with them (if they mold behind the cylinder,) is to SLIGHTLY bend the mouth opening outward during wet forming to act as a guide for re-holstering. That by itself might be the solution.

Colt Hammerless

Yes that is what is it doing. I have thought of adding a piece to the front of the holster but not sure if that will work.

[Shooter McGavin]

Looks like belly leather from what I can see of the inside of the back panel. If thats the case, it will never support itself with a belt squeezing in on it.

Having said that, I'm not one to fall in to the "tactical reholstering" school of thought so I wouldnt be bothered by it at all.

[Dwight]

I recently finished up my first IWB band holster for a 4inch revolver. The holster itself came out really nice the only problem is when its in the pants and you remove the gun I cant get it back in with out taking the holster out of the pants.

In this picture its not quite finished but enought to test it in the pants.

This is the test in the pants. Any suggestions on how to fix this?

Glockanator, . . . this may sound hard, tough, cruel, . . . don't take it as such, . . . just trying to help.

Mistake # 1 was the design itself. Trying to use a 2 sided pancake for an IWB is almost like putting an innertube on a wheel and wondering why it won't hold up. Just not made for that.

Mistake # 2 was that you built the handgun down too far into the holster. In the picture, the holster comes back over the rear of the cylinder, . . . which is all well and good if you are going to have an open carry holster, . . . hunting holster, . . . or LEO holster. Not good for IWB. Trip the top off so that the last 1/4 inch of the cylinder is outside the holster, . . . and roll that edge out and away from the gun, . . . making it sorta like a funnel.

The 2 sided pancake is an OWB design, . . . unless you seriously add frontal support(s) and seriously mold them.

A 1 sided pancake you can get away with as an IWB with only a good mouth support.

What I mean by 1 side or 2 side, . . . it is the number of sides that are seriously molded. A 1 sided pancake is almost flat on the side touching the human, . . . all the molding goes away from the body, . . . the molding itself becomes the strength of the holster. Adding a 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 inch mouth re-inforcement across the front of that holster will seriously stabilize that puppy.

A 2 sided pancake is where the front and back are both heavily molded, . . .and that dude will close up quicker than a tight-wad's change purse, . . . once the weapon is withdrawn. Usually it will not as an OWB, because there is no outside force pushing in the outside of the holster like the belt does on an IWB design.

You would be much better off punching some belt loop holes in that one, . . . and building a better IWB rig.

You also should buy some shoulder or double shoulder leather for your next holster. That belly stuff you used for this one, . . . it'll just never get the stiffness you need for a holster. I know it is cheaper, . . . but when you make it cheaper, . . . and it will not work, . . . did you actually save anything?

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited March 24, 2012 by Dwight

[glockanator]

Glockanator, . . . this may sound hard, tough, cruel, . . . don't take it as such, . . . just trying to help.

Mistake # 1 was the design itself. Trying to use a 2 sided pancake for an IWB is almost like putting an innertube on a wheel and wondering why it won't hold up. Just not made for that.

Mistake # 2 was that you built the handgun down too far into the holster. In the picture, the holster comes back over the rear of the cylinder, . . . which is all well and good if you are going to have an open carry holster, . . . hunting holster, . . . or LEO holster. Not good for IWB. Trip the top off so that the last 1/4 inch of the cylinder is outside the holster, . . . and roll that edge out and away from the gun, . . . making it sorta like a funnel.

The 2 sided pancake is an OWB design, . . . unless you seriously add frontal support(s) and seriously mold them.

A 1 sided pancake you can get away with as an IWB with only a good mouth support.

What I mean by 1 side or 2 side, . . . it is the number of sides that are seriously molded. A 1 sided pancake is almost flat on the side touching the human, . . . all the molding goes away from the body, . . . the molding itself becomes the strength of the holster. Adding a 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 inch mouth re-inforcement across the front of that holster will seriously stabilize that puppy.

A 2 sided pancake is where the front and back are both heavily molded, . . .and that dude will close up quicker than a tight-wad's change purse, . . . once the weapon is withdrawn. Usually it will not as an OWB, because there is no outside force pushing in the outside of the holster like the belt does on an IWB design.

You would be much better off punching some belt loop holes in that one, . . . and building a better IWB rig.

You also should buy some shoulder or double shoulder leather for your next holster. That belly stuff you used for this one, . . . it'll just never get the stiffness you need for a holster. I know it is cheaper, . . . but when you make it cheaper, . . . and it will not work, . . . did you actually save anything?

May God bless,

Dwight

Tanks for being honest. This is the third holster that I have made. I personally dont care for the in the waist band holster anyway but when the customer is paying for it. Would a pocket style be a better choice for an IWB?

[Lobo]

I agree with Dwight on this. IWB-style holsters based on pancake-style construction will always flex inward along the stitch-lines due to belt tensioning applied when the handgun is removed. Even when made of very sturdy leather and firmly formed, after a short period of use the leather will be softening and flexing more and more. Adding reinforcement around the holster mouth may help to retain mouth shape but will also add bulk to the finished product, possibly affecting comfort and concealability.

Every holster design involves compromises among the four basic factors of comfort, accessibility, security, and concealability. Whenever one factor is emphasized there will be compromises in the other factors.

In this case the factor emphasized is concealability, as the IWB-style holsters contain the bulk of the handgun within the trousers. The trade-offs are in comfort (for many people) and accessibility (specifically the ease of re-holstering the weapon).

All of this is fine so long as the customer has a realistic expectation for the holster he has ordered.

When a customer inquires about holsters that allow easy one-handed re-holstering I try to direct that customer to any holster design other than IWB-style. If IWB-style is required by the customer I make sure that the customer knows what to expect.

In general, customers are far more knowledgable about holsters now than they were in years past, with countless sources available for commentary and reviews of different designs. There are also quite a few customers who have read enough comments and reviews to build the "ideal holster" in their minds, sometimes without any connection to the realities of what to expect. I jokingly refer to these folks as "graduates of Holster Genius School" when I receive their e-mail inquiries filled with unlkely to impossible requirements.

I can't stress the point strongly enough about making sure that the customer's expectations are reasonable and achievable before accepting an order. You can build a holster any way a customer wants, but when it does not perform the way that customer expects he will always remember that it was your failures in design and application rather than his bad ideas that caused the problem. From a business perspective it can be much better to decline an order than to have a dissatisfied customer.

Best regards.

[katsass]

Well, just two cents worth from the grumpy old guy. First off, listen and take to heart to what Lobo and Dwight have to say. You'll not find better advice anywhere. Also, as Shooter says, 'tactical' holstering is not of any concern to me, not even very much when I was a LEO. I believe that I commented on this previously, but, especially when wearing an IWB (or any other concealed method of carry) re-holstering with a flourish or aplomb can be very difficult, if not impossible. When it is safe to use both hands on a bad guy, I really don't give a Hoo-Haw ( notice the politically and socially correct term) if I have to stuff the shooter in my hip pocket to get the job done. That said, the reason for so much current emphasis on the re-holstering is (IMO) the advent of the (now) omnipresent video camera AND the perception of the public about just what, and how, the 'good guy' (LEO usually) does with that shooter when it's time to finish taking the bad guy into custody. Now, I make a few holsters now and then --- have been doing this for a while. All of mine are made from shoulder leather because of it's inherent firmness, and because of the fact that the firmness of a holster is created in the grain layer of the skin, I (usually) bond two layers of lighter leather together on their flesh sides. This gives me a solid piece of leather to work with, with two grain layers and two smooth sides that, when wet molded, firm up stiffer (IMO) than a single thickness of leather of equal weight. The holster is also automatically lined with smooth leather.This type of construction takes a bit more work, but as said, I just make a few holsters now and then in comparison to many others on here, but I am sure of the firmness of each rig I make, and that it will perform as the customer requires. I'd rather work that way than make something in a style that the customer 'thinks' he wants, then finds unsatisfactory. A holster maker must pretty well understand the various strengths and limitations of the holster style that he constructs. Mike

Edited March 25, 2012 by katsass

[glockanator]

Thanks.all for you advice. I am still able to make this a own holster. I was secptical about making this anyway.

[TABcustomleather]

There is one more detail I havent seen mentioned yet. If you extended the side that goes next to you body just a little bit it would do a couple of things for you. One it will let you feel the difference between the two sides when you are trying to reholster and second it will protect you from hard edges such as the hammer spur while wearing it. Now like mentioned before IWB carry is not the most comfortable method in the world thats for sure. Add to that fact that your making an IWB holster for a good sized revolver with a nice thick cylinder on it, comfort is a luxury that combo wont provide. I've made IWB revolver holsters for folks before, my sister carries a S&W J frame in one I made her. What I do is keep the side of the holster thats next to the body as flat as possible, extending the inside leathers mouth a little and add a band of leather around the back of the cylinder for support. Just my two cents. I know I have a picture of an IWB I've made to show you what I mean. Don't know if I still have a revovler IWB picture, I'll look.

Nope, don't have any revolver IWB pictures in the computer. Anywhos, see the holster on the bottom right? Thats the concept about adding another layer of leather at the throat for reinforcement, also the extended inside leather. That just happens to be for a glock 36. I'll get some pictures of my IWB revolver holsters on here if you would like.

Like it was said before I would cut some belt loops on that holster and have a really nice open carry piece.

take care,

Tom

Edited March 26, 2012 by TABcustomleather