Lobo

I agree with the observation that it is a result of the leather used. Could be from a belly. But 4/5 is pretty light for use in a holster of this style, and the suede lining won't help much with strength or rigidity. The leather usually found in hobby shops is probably imported. Tanning methods are unknown and may be questionable (tanning leather with urine and feces is still pretty common in much of the world). I use 7/8 oz. for most holster work. Lined holsters are usually made of 6/7 with a lining of 2.5 to 3 oz. I recommend the products of Wickett & Craig and Hermann Oak tanneries. Both old-line US companies with excellent reputations for vegetable-tanned cowhide. For those wanting relatively small quantities I recommend Springfield Leather Company (see banner ads) where Hermann Oak veg-tan can be purchased by the square foot rather than full sides or shoulders. The difference in cost for a holster is pretty small, and since labor is the major factor in holster making using good quality leather will save a lot of time and frustration.

I make only one style, which is intended for non-uniform use. Fairly simple design with open top, open bottom, folded belt loop on back, two welted seams at the sides. Handcuffs are inserted with chain and locking points down. Leather is wet-formed over the cuffs for retention. When I was a working cop I preferred open top handcuff cases in uniform because when you are cuffing someone they are not always being cooperative and I didn't want to fumble with a covered pouch and flap closure. When working plain clothes I just carry my handcuffs looped over my belt and waistband.

The best internet sales will be via a website (your "store" showing what you offer, what you charge, and how long it will take to receive an order). The challenge is in driving traffic to the website. Yahoo offers webhosting at very reasonable rates (about $119 per year) and has free site-building tools that allow you to create your own site quickly and easily, as well as manage and maintain the site. Also included are business e-mail accounts for responses, inquiries, and ordering. Basically, your "store" will cost you less than $10 per month to keep the doors open and communications flowing. Getting traffic onto your website can be done by being active on forums and blogs that are focused on the shooting sports (competition, hunting, etc), firearms in general, firearms by manufacturer, self-defense, and concealed carry. There are dozens of such forums, and selecting those that are most closely related to the market niche for your products is the key. Once you become active on a forum other members will start noticing your name and business, visit your website, hopefully start ordering, and ideally making their own posts reviewing your products (which can be positive or negative, of course). Auction sites such as eBay and GunBroker may provide some action. But many of those shopping such sites are bargain hunters, looking for cheap deals. On the other hand, some will take note of what you are offering and send inquiries for other designs or products. I started on-line marketing on eBay and GunBroker, moving a few every week. I made holsters in designs of general interest for the more common handguns, listing them as they were completed, and just about everything sold (although the sale prices were not what I would like to have received). The positive side was a steady flow of inquiries for holsters made for different guns, holsters in different finish colors, and related products (belts, mag pouches, cartridge pouches, etc). This gave me a good handle on market demand (specific holster designs, which handguns people were wanting holsters for, etc) thus allowing me to build my product line accordingly. When I put up the website I had a selection of products that met a broad range of market demand. Beyond that it was a matter of gaining brand name recognition and a reputation for completing and filling orders in a timely manner. I started with relatively simple products at modest prices. Over time I expanded the product line to include more elaborate products, and gradually moved prices upward based on a simple evaluation of order volume vs. production capacity and my willingness to work. Assuming that 100 people per week want what you make, and your ability to produce is limited to 20 per week, you need to find the price point at which order volume correlates to production capacity. Another factor that comes into play is the waiting time. Some folks want what they want right now. Some are willing to wait a couple of weeks. Some may be willing to wait a month, and so forth. As your order backlog increases your production capacity will dictate how long each customer will have to wait. As wait times increase you will see order volume decline. It is a delicate balancing act. When prices are too high order volume drops off. When wait times become too long order volume declines. Matching these factors against your ability to complete orders will define the best possible balance. It helps to constantly remember that you must produce as promised. If you tell a customer to expect a 4 week wait, then deliver in 3 weeks, everything is good. If you promise 4 weeks and deliver in 29 days your are a low-life bottom-feeding cheat and a fraud to many people. In other words, learn to under-promise and over-deliver. It is better to lose a sale from time to time than it is to develop a negative reputation, which will cost you far more in future sales. Financial control is essential. You must remember at all times that what you have been paid has not been earned until the order is completed and delivered. Business expenses come first (materials, supplies, everything that is needed in the shop every day to keep production moving). There can be no profit to spend on anything else until the bills are paid. There are many more skilled and talented leather craftsmen than there are good business managers. And don't forget about taxes, business licenses, insurance, and all the other requirements to keep a business alive and well. As a business owner you control all the money, but you are the last person to get paid. In the event something prevents you from completing an order (illness, injury, family emergency, etc) you must be ready, willing, and able to send a refund immediately. A final word of advice is to keep your telephone number(s) private. Many customers can act like children in the back seat of the car on a long road trip (Are we there yet? When are we gonna get there? Are we there yet? When..................?). Others will call just to chat, or discuss an idea they have had, or want a status report on their orders. I have found that there is a new graduating class from Holster Genius School every week, and each of them has an idea for "the perfect holster" that they are looking for someone to make for them. I receive 350-plus e-mails per week from my website, and I spend 30-plus hours reading and replying, answering questions, acknowledging orders, and sending out completion notifications. If I took telephone calls from a fraction of those people there would be no time left to do production work. Best regards.

Red Cent is correct. There is no absolute shield contained in incorporated businesses. Other tests may be applied such as co-mingling of funds and accounts, maintaining completely separate accounting and payment procedures, and so forth. I suggest that any shield is better than no shield at all.

The most overlooked benefit of carrying business liability insurance is that it provides legal representation in the event of a claim. Being the defendant in a lawsuit is not a joke, folks. The costs of defending against a claim can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, which can easily ruin a small business long before the case gets to court or a judgment can occur. Operating without business insurance leaves the business owner responsible for attorneys' fees, investigation costs, court costs, and all the other expenses of case preparation and trial. I have little real concern about a claim or lawsuit being filed, but I have considerable concern about funding the necessary defense. My business is incorporated as a limited liability company. In the event of a judgment against the business only the company assets can be attached in settlement; my personal assets (home, retirement funds, savings accounts, etc) are not company assets. An individual doing business as a sole proprietor, working at home, has far greater exposure. All assets are at risk. We may not think we have all that much, but having it all taken away would be devastating no matter what the total might be. Anyone who has not done so yet is urged to consult with insurance companies regarding business insurance. Anyone who has not done so yet is urged to incorporate their business as a legal entity separate of their personal finances. You may find that it is surprisingly easy and affordable.

Good point. For the woven cartridge loops I have found that it takes about 2.25" of strap per .38 caliber cartridge loop, so I cut the strap for 2.5"-plus times the number of loops. For .44 and .45 caliber it takes about 2.75" per. Also, when weaving the loops they must be pulled up very snugly over the cartridges, and this should be done with the leather absolutely dry. If done with damp leather it will stretch as you pull up snug, and the strap will get narrower as you proceed.

Lengthy disclaimer on the website (my only form of advertising). Written disclaimer included with every product delivered. Business insurance policy with 7 figures of liability coverage. We can't fix stupid, but we don't have to participate in it.

This will vary a bit depending on the leather weights you are using. My belts are made with 7/8 oz. outer strap with 6/7 oz. inner strap, so the cartridge loops are installed on the 7/8 oz. side. I have used both 6/7 and 5/6 for the cartridge loops with good results. With these combinations I space the loop slots at 1/2" on centers for .38/.357.

Everything in holster design involves compromises among the 4 basic factors of comfort, accessibility, security, and concealment. When one factor is emphasized there will be compromises in the other factors. Only the individual can decide which factors are most important for his needs and how much compromise he is willing to accept in the other factors. Holster mouth reinforcement addresses accessibility, i.e.: ease of drawing and holstering the handgun. Reinforcement necessarily adds bulk, with some degree of compromise in comfort and concealment. IWB-style holsters in general are intended to emphasize concealment by keeping the bulk of the holstered handgun inside the trousers. Some people carry IWB all the time without problems, but many people cannot stand having the bulk of a holstered handgun inside the waistband for any length of time (I am one of those people). By adding the bulk of mouth reinforcement to the IWB-style holster we are reducing concealment (primary advantage of IWB carry) while aggravating the comfort issue (primary disadvantage of IWB carry). All I can suggest is to make absolutely sure that the customer understands what to expect before accepting the order. So many are Holster Genius School graduates these days (meaning that they have read several gun magazines and an internet blog or two and now have some mental image of "THE PERFECT HOLSTER"). If you make exactly what they say they want, then it does not perform exactly as they dreamed it would, they will never remember that the bad idea was all theirs, but they will always remember that YOU failed to turn their dream into reality. My approach to IWB holsters has been to maximize the advantage (concealment) while minimizing the disadvantage (comfort issues) by keeping the overall package as slim and trim as possible. Any time a customer expresses a concern for easy one-hand holstering I recommend that they consider any other type of holster than the IWB. YMMV.

Nice clean slots that require little or no additional effort can be done with the round punch and wood chisel method, but only if two details are attended to. 1. The punches and chisels must be sharp, capable of making the required cuts with one good rap of the mallet. 2. The piece being cut must be fully supported on a solid cutting board surface. A good kitchen-style plastic cutting board supported by a solid work bench will work just fine. Wooden surfaces will not provide the support needed for the cutting tool to complete a clean cut. If your current set-up seems to require pounding away on the chisels and punches to get the job done, and the underside openings are ragged looking, there is some room for improvement. I buy good kitchen cutting boards for about $10 each, and each lasts about a year or so in the shop (probably about 1500 cuts) before they are so beat up they need replacing. Sharpening a wood chisel requires only a few minutes with a good whet stone, perhaps once per month. The round punches seldom need attention unless they are driven through a piece into a surface that will damage the edge, and even then at about $4 per punch it is easier to replace it than to try sharpening. Punches up to 1/2" can be chucked into my drill press and the cutting edge touched up with 600-grit emery paper, but I'd rather just keep extra punches on hand and trash one when it becomes difficult to use. A 2-lb. dead blow mallet will drive the chisels and punches through two layers of 8 or 9 oz. cowhide like cutting butter, seldom requiring a second blow.

Any weight of veg-tanned cowhide can be wet-formed. The differences will be in the degree of moisture content required and the effort necessary to do the forming work. Most of the holsters coming out of my shop are made of either 6/7 or 7/8, depending primarily on the size and weight of the intended handgun and the specific holster style. Much of my production is lined holsters, for which a lining leather of about 3 oz. weight is used. Some of my designs utilize double-layer construction, two layers of veg-tanned cemented together flesh side to flesh side, for which I use 5/6 oz. (makes an extremely sturdy holster). When wet-forming there are a few guidelines I can offer: 1. Unlined pieces absorb water more readily than lined. Undyed leather absorbs water more easily than dyed. 2. Using hot tap water results in easier forming more quickly. 3. Generally I allow about 1 second of immersion in the water per ounce of leather weight (longer for lined and two-layer pieces) before starting the forming. 4. Your leather will not begin to retain the forming work until the moisture content has dropped considerably. The first forming will be very general, with some stretching and molding to intended shape. 5. After the first forming the holster needs to dry quite a bit. I use an oven maintained at about 120-125F degrees, allowing about 8 to 10 minutes in the oven after the first forming. 6. Second forming will then start to take final shapes and contours, and light boning can be done at this stage. Then the piece goes back into the oven for 8 to 10 minutes. 7. Holster should be ready for final forming and detail boning. Belt loops or slots can be formed to final shape (I use wooden mandrels 1/4" thick by actual belt width forced into the loops to form to correct size and shape). 8. After final forming and boning the holster goes into a drying cabinet maintained at 105-108F degrees. Complete drying can take 3 to 5 hours, but longer times won't hurt anything and I've been known to leave it going overnight. The key to forming is doing the work when the temperature and moisture content of the leather is optimal. When the moisture content is too high the forming will not be retained. If the moisture content is too low the forming, molding, and boning will be incomplete at best. We have to find the "groove" and stay in it. I also recommend against overworking the leather, especially while boning. One pass of the tool can leave a precise impression, but multiple passes are likely to result in sloppy impressions. The 8 to 10 minute oven cycles allow me to do other work such as cutting, assembling, and stitching the next order in line, dressing edges and beveling, etc. Following a cycle as described usually allows me to complete a production batch of 8 to 12 pieces over a few hours, then leaving that batch in the drying cabinet for several hours. Three or four production batches like this are done each week followed by a day of finish work (oiling, burnishing edges, sealant, final finish) and hardware on 30 or 40 pieces at a time. After finishing and hardware I always allow 24 hours minimum for everything to dry completely and finishes to cure before packaging for delivery. Been doing this so long I have trouble imagining doing just one piece at a time anymore. A slow week here is 25 pieces. A busy week will be closer to 50 (holsters, pouches, belts). Back to the grind now.

The simpler the better. The object of the exercise is to create brand recognition and attract people who want what you make. If your business specializes in a particular type of product I would suggest indicating that in the business name. If you are offering custom design and build products that could be worked into the company name. In Colorado you can easily access the Colorado Secretary of State's website and search trade names filed there. Any trade name not taken can be registered for a small fee. While on the website you may want to look into incorporating as a limited liability company or subchapter S corporation, which provides some protections of your personal property (home, bank accounts, retirement funds, etc) against any claims that may be made against the business entity. Depending on what you are making you may wish to discuss business insurance, specifically business liability insurance, with your agent or broker. I make holsters and accessories; if a customer does something stupid, like trying to holster a loaded pistol with his finger on the trigger and blows part of his leg off I prefer to allow an insurance company and its lawyers deal with the claim, rather than shelling out tens of thousands of dollars to a law firm to represent me and try to reach some kind of settlement. Business insurance is amazingly affordable. If your products cover a broad range it might be best to do business under your own name/identity. Again, simpler is better; if you have one of those eastern European surnames with no vowels in it you may not be remembered by anyone not from your particular corner of Slovakia or Romania or wherever. My business is called Lobo Gun Leather. Simple and easy to remember. Clearly identifies what we do (holsters, belts, accessories for carrying a sidearm). I am in southern Colorado where the Spanish influence is strong; "lobo" is Spanish for wolf, two syllables and easily pronounced and remembered. That trade name is registered with the Colorado Secretary of State and owned by my Limited Liability Company, CoryCo LLC. I have a federal employer identification number, which qualifies my business for trade purposes such as wholesale pricing from many suppliers. I carry a business insurance policy including significant liability protection. Having a corporate identity is also handy when dealing with people who want to chisel out a cheap deal. I can easily explain that I am running a business, not playing with a hobby. Best regards.

There is an easy method for converting leather weight to thickness. Each ounce of leather weight equates to about 1/64" in thickness. An 8-oz. strap will be very close to 1/8" thick. A 6-oz strap about 3/32". 4-oz is about 1/16". As others have pointed out, the intended use of the belt can dictate how it is made. If it is to support a full-size handgun (2.5 to 3 lbs. loaded weight) a heavier combination will probably be better (total around 14 to 16 oz.). For a lightweight compact handgun less strength is required, so a combination of about 10 to 12 oz. might work well. My standard is a top strap of 7/8 with an inner strap of 6/7. The inner strap is terminated before the buckle attachment point, eliminating either a lot of work skiving the straps for the buckle attachment or a huge lump at the user's belly. Finished thickness is just under 1/4" and these are very strong. We send out between 200 and 300 of these every year, and I know of many remaining in use after 5 years or more. As with my other products I make prototypes for testing prior to production, and I am still using two of those that are over 6 years old with no measurable stretching. They have just conformed nicely to the shape of my hips over time. I tell customers that these are just about ideal for beating children, but far too heavy to use on pets. Nobody listens to me anyway so I can get away with stuff like that.

The Colt Diamondback was made on the D-frame (Detective Special, Agent, Cobra, Police Positive) with a ventilated-rib barrel with full underlug and adjustable sights. Essentially a miniature version of the Colt Python. Any D-frame Colt could be used to replicate the frame (other than adjustable rear sight), cylinder, trigger guard, etc. Frame dimensions are similar to the S&W J-frame and Ruger SP-101, but not identical. No other production handgun will match the barrel profile. The Diamondback has been out of production for quite a few years, and the Diamondback was always a relatively small production and high dollar revolver so not all that many exist. Those that exist are highly sought after by collectors and Colt aficionados, bringing large prices when offered. Your combination of a relatively rare revolver and a customer demonstrating a demanding nature offers an excellent opportunity to say "No thank you". Too many ways for that deal to go badly.

There are three production revolvers that share similar profiles and dimensions: Colt Python, S&W L-frame, Ruger GP100. These revolvers are not identical, but quite similar. If you are making a closely formed holster the actual model is required. For a more general fit it is possible to use these 3 interchangeably to some degree, with some caveats: 1. Fit will not be "perfect". The handgun will shift around in the holster to some degree during normal body movements during use, bringing the likelihood of accelerated holster wear to the handgun finish (not a small issue, particularly with the pricey Colt Pythons). 2. Of the 3 the largest frame dimensions will be found on the GP100, particularly at the top strap and rear sight areas. A holster formed on the GP100 is likely to accept the S&W L-frame or Colt Python, while the reverse is less likely to work. 3. While overall profiles and dimensions are close, the actual dimensions and locations of key features (such as cylinder, trigger guard, etc) are measurably different, and these can affect both fit and function of a holster. 4. The long hammer spur of the Colt Python will require considerably more clearance in a holster with thumb-break retention. Without having one on hand for patterning and forming it will be difficult to achieve a good result. Best regards.

I can see two things being involved with this. First is the steel belt clip. In order to perform its function the clip must be strong enough to hold and contoured to fit the belt pretty closely. That means that it will always apply pressure (and possible abrasion) to the leather surfaces when being put on and taken off, as well as during use. Adding some type of padding will affect the fit to the belt, and is likely to wear and deteriorate with repeated use, so might not be the best solution. Second is the Resolene finish, which is a water-based acrylic lacquer. The acrylics are relatively durable and can provide a pleasing finish with minimal effort, but they will scratch and abrade fairly easily and these markings are very visible. There are other finishing products and methods that are less subject to abrasion and display the effects less, such as wax-based formulas. These can require more time and effort to apply, and may not be capable of the high gloss possible with Resolene, but may be better for the purpose. Touch-ups and regular maintenance can also be done to mitigate minor surface wear, which is seldom possible with the acrylics unless one wishes to deglaze and completely refinish.

Mike Craw's post above is outstanding advice that should be read and read again until it is completely understood. So many of the things that people obsess about are so far down the list of priorities that they are essentially meaningless. A large part of the holster making business is providing sound advice to customers and, when necessary, injecting a dose of reality. By the way, about 60% of my holster orders are for revolvers. Those makers who believe that revolvers are outdated, or otherwise unworthy of consideration, are just helping to build a market niche for other makers.

Working with my Combat Classic holster design with holster mouth reinforcement modified for inlay of exotic leathers. Had some alligator tails on hand. First holster is made for the S&W 629 Deluxe 3" .44 magnum, in russet color with gator inlay dyed dark brown for added contrast. Second holster is made for the Colt Commander, in black with gator inlay in tan for high contrast. Alligator hide is fairly easy to work with, although rather thick and heavy. Dyes easily with some natural contrasting highlights from the scaling pattern which does not absorb the dye as quickly or thoroughly as the background. I found the effects pretty attractive.

44 years ago I left the US Army and joined the police department. I had a wife, 2 kids to feed, a mortgage and bills to pay on some pretty skinny cop paychecks. There were items of gear that I needed, and others I just wanted to have, but I had little ability to pay for them. I started making those things, learned as I went along, and purchased basic tools as I needed and could afford them. Other cops I worked with saw what I was doing and started requesting things for themselves. That brought in a little cash, started paying for my materials and other tools leading to more products as I learned more. Over time the word spread around the region and I was making holsters, belts, and accessories on a regular basis, and contributing to the household budget as well. That is how everything remained for over 30 years. Basically a small sideline business serving a small regional market. Never enough to live on, but usually enough to prevent too much month left at the end of the money. Retired from law enforcement, started building houses and running a roofing company while making a few holsters and accessories on the side. Hooked up with several insurance companies doing claims consulting and investigations while making a few things on the side. As the economy and financial markets (including the insurance companies) started circling around the drain in 2008 my regular business income started shrinking. I had been actively buying and selling in on-line auctions for several years, so I decided to start making a few holsters every week to offer on-line, hoping to make enough to help out with utility bills and health insurance costs. Within a few months I was receiving a steady flow of orders and had no time for anything else. My wife put her foot down firmly and demanded that I get all the materials, supplies, and other business stuff out of the house, so I leased a production shop and launched a website. A year later I moved into a larger shop and hired a part-time assistant. Couple of years later I moved into a larger shop. Now my part-time assistant has become the full-time\ manager handling the bulk of the production work, finishing, packaging, etc, while I handle the website and e-mails and focus on new product development. Present capacity is about 40 to 50 pieces per week. We regularly produce 25 to 40 per week for customers in all 50 US states and 33 other countries so far. We offer 13 holster designs, with or without 4 common options, in 4 finish colors, left-hand and right-hand, for 162 different handgun models, resulting in some 84,000 possible variations. This "menu-style" product line allows each customer to customize a standard design to individual needs and preferences. Adding in the different belts, magazine pouches, cartridge pouches, and other accessories leads to over 100,000 products. Other than the website costs I have spent next to nothing on advertising. Everything happens by referral and word of mouth (with the internet this can be huge). No walk-in customers. No phone calls. Everything is done via website and e-mail. Never thought about a business plan. Never borrowed a dime for business. Never applied for any grants. Always paid for supplies and equipment when ordered. Always paid the rent, utilities, business insurance, and other operating expenses as incurred. Now I am approaching the point at which I must start drawing on my retirement funds. My assistant has been with me for 5 years and is fully capable of running the business on a day to day basis, so she will take over with a continuing flow of business and no burden of debt. This will allow her to earn a good living while contributing a bit to my retirement comfort and security. I will stay on in an advisory capacity during a transition period of several years. After more than 50 years of full-time employment and running a business I can't imagine just sitting around without being productive. There are always a few ideas floating around in my head for new designs or ways to tweak an older design, so I expect to keep myself as busy as I want to be. It has always been an interesting ride.

There are several ways to make belt attachment points (belt loops). No one design is better than another, but each is better for some applications than others. It helps to keep in mind the purposes served and how each holster design is intended to function. Basic purposes include supporting the weight and keeping the holster stabilized in position. In addition to the basics, different belt attachment points can be used to spread the weight of the holstered handgun over a larger area of the belt for improved comfort, to pull the holstered handgun snugly into the body for improved concealment, or to offset the handgun away from the body for improved accessibility. Regardless of what I am trying to accomplish with a holster design I always form the belt loops for a close fit to the belt so that the holster has less tendency to move around on the belt and is kept in a constant position and angle on the belt. I do this during the wet-forming operation by forcing a wooden mandrel through the belt loops to pre-form to the specific width and thickness of the intended belt. I make these mandrels up from strips of wood in 1.25", 1.5", 1.75", 2.0", and 2.25" widths, usually 1/4" in thickness (typical finished thickness of heavy-duty gun belts). Attached photos show examples of some of the more common belt attachments for traditional belt holsters, full flap field holsters, my Enhanced Avenger design and Enhanced Pancake design (tunnel-style loops), and a combat competition design.

A few things that might not come to mind until after you start up the store: 1. With customers in the store you will get no production work done. Greeting, answering questions, demonstrating products, all these things take time and attention. If you expect to get a day's production work done you will probably need a sales clerk on staff, and that cost is significant. 2. Depending on the terms of your lease, and to some extent local customs and traditions, the monthly rent is not likely to be your only cost. You may be liable for some form of property taxes. Sales and use taxes are common everywhere, and the "use taxes" can be a real pain (monthly, quarterly, or annual assessments on all of your business equipment, tools, shop fixtures, inventory, etc). Utility bills add up, and commercial accounts are usually at a different rate than residential accounts (frequently double or more); water, sewer, heating, electricity add up quickly (my 450 sq. ft. commercial shop brings utility bills higher than my 2400 sq. ft. home every month). Some commercial leases include responsibility for all interior maintenance, and frequently some or all costs of exterior maintenance, parking lots, common areas, etc. 3. Business insurance. Liability coverage for accidental injuries on the property is an absolute necessity. If you are handling consignment goods you might need to think about coverage against losses to fire, theft, vandalism, etc. Then there is the value of your own tools, equipment, fixtures, supplies and inventory. How about contingent business interruption coverage, i.e.: losses of income and revenue in the event of major losses (fire, burglary, whatever). If you have even one employee you will probably need to carry workers' compensation insurance and unemployment insurance premiums (which vary widely for different occupations). 4. Are you in business as a sole proprietor, a partnership, or corporation? It is usually advisable to create some form of business entity such as a corporation, limited liability, company, etc, in order to shield your personal assets (home, bank accounts, retirement plans, etc) from claims arising from business activities. 5. Business banking needs, including credit card factoring. Many people today think nothing about using charge cards or debit cards, and many carry little or no cash. Accepting credit and debit cards requires subscribing to a service, frequently with monthly fees, equipment rentals (card swipes, etc), and a fee for every transaction. Security of transaction records and customer account information is a major consideration these days (and can be difficult to insure properly). These costs add up and need to be kept in mind when pricing products. If you are doing consignments these costs need to be part of your agreement with individual providers. These are just off the top of my head. There will be other concerns and other costs. Best regards.

Basic rule of thumb is to keep in mind the weight distribution of the intended handgun, including ammunition load, and place the balance point no higher than the upper belt-line. Going higher brings on the likelihood of the holstered handgun tipping out away from the body, compromising both security and concealment. Every handgun different. The modern polymer-framed large capacity semi-autos present some challenges due to the weight of a loaded magazine in the grip-frame, which brings the balance point further to the rear of the handgun. If working with dummy guns we are limited because the weight, weight distribution, and balance point are not really apparent. The only real cure is to handle the actual handgun, fully loaded, to determine where to draw the line. I agree with others who have pointed out that it is best to walk away from the customer who wants an extremely high ride. That customer will never remember that it was his bad idea, but he will always remember that it was the holster maker who failed to make his dream a reality.

Just off the top of my head, which is filled with decades of otherwise useless trivia.

With a few exceptions (see below) just about all pistol magazines will fall into a few categories of body dimensions, with differences in overall length, angle of feed lips, and floorplate dimensions. Single-stack magazines of the same caliber are usually quite close in body dimensions (.380/9 Mak, 9mm Luger, .40 S&W/ .357 Sig, .45 ACP). Double-stack magazines of the same family of calibers are usually quite close in body dimensions. (9mm/.357 Sig/.40S&W; .45ACP). Notable exceptions include: All Glock pistols (polymer body) in all calibers. The 9mm, .357 Sig, and .40 S&W models are all much the same. The .45ACP, 10mm, and .45 GAP differ. The newer Glock 42 .380 magazine is completely unique, nothing else close to it. S&W M&P Shield (9mm and .40S&W, modified double-stack to single feed design unlike any others). .22 LR pistols magazines vary widely in all dimensions, and some have exterior knobs to facilitate loading that must be accounted for in the pouch dimensions. Colt 1911 pistols (and clones). All calibers share the same overall magazine dimensions (differing lengths and floorplates), with the smaller calibers using mag bodies having ribs pressed into the sides to fit each caliber (.22LR, 9mm, .40S&W, .38 Super). Overall length is less meaningful for open-top pouch designs, but can affect pouches with snap-flaps. Many of the more recent pistols have magazines with all kinds of odd shaped floorplates, many contoured to the grip-frame profiles. Double mag pouches must allow sufficient clearance. Covered pouches must allow sufficient clearance and shape. Many gun stores and pawn shops will have boxes or drawers full of magazines, frequently with no idea of what pistols they might fit. I have purchased a dozen or more this way over the years, usually for only a few dollars each. For those with the time for the project carving wooden forming pieces can be effective. For me, if I think I will need a magazine more than once or twice I will just buy the thing (GunBroker.com and eBay have hundreds of listings all the time). Really oddball pieces, I just ask the customer to send a mag for patterning and forming. With standard patterns for just about all of my different magazine pouches it takes only 10 or 15 minutes to cut, assemble, and stitch up a mag pouch (plus forming and finishing time), so I'd rather spend $20 or $30 for a magazine than spend an hour or more cutting a wooden replica.

When a holster is configured for cross-draw a reverse cant is usually used, which has the effect of lowering the grip-frame into closer proximity to the belt and waistband. Raising the ride height allows this to be done without adversely affecting accessibility (ability to obtain a solid grip on the pistol during the draw). Doing this for a full-size 1911 pistol usually presents no other problems. Attempting the same approach with many of the compact or sub-compact pistols can have the effect of raising the balance point of the loaded pistol too high above the belt-line, resulting in the holstered pistol tipping out away from the body which compromises both concealment and security. The best suggestions I can offer are (1) make sure your design allows proper accessibility, and (2) make sure that the weight distribution of the holstered handgun keeps the balance point no higher than the upper belt-line. If your customers are looking for good concealment and order cross-draw holsters with that expectation you may expect to hear negative feedback. Cross-draw rigs simply cannot provide the same level of concealment as strong-side rigs.