Ankle Hoster Pattern and tutoral

[Randy Cornelius]

Someone asked about an ankle holster. I have one design that I have been making for several years that seems to go over very well in the Law Enforcement and Conceled Carry communities. So I thought I would try to show everyone how I make one. I used to make them out of neopreme but my supplier for the kind with a cloth front and back is not able to get that anymore so I have taken to using chap leather. So to get started here is a list of materials needed.

1 pc of 5 oz chap leather about 5- 1/2 X 15 inches

1 pc wool sheepskin scrap about 4-1/2 X 5-1/2 inches

2 pc of 2" x 4" Velcro Loop side

1 pc of 2" X 4" velcro hook side

1 holster designed to fit your weapon system of choise.

The first 3 photos are of my old hoster that I carry amost every day. The other two is the pattern for the wrap around piece. I am not sure how to do this to get the words under the right picture as I go but I hope Johanna will see what I am trying to do and fix it.

Next I lay out the chap leather after cutting and attach the 2 pieces of loop velcro on the top side at one end. Then attach the hook velcro on the botton side at the other end, this way when you wrap it around your ankle it will over lap and attach to each other. Sew the velcro and the sheepskin on. See photos

Next lay your holster in the area of the sheepskin and adjust it to the proper draw angle and sew it in place laying open, Next , this is a good time to install one side of the snap. There is one other option I have done before that needs to be done now. If the customer wants a garder strap to go up over the calf of the leg to help hold the holster up higher on the ankle you can install a 3/4 square in the area of the snap to attach the garder system, I make those out of 2" wide elastic and velcro also. Then fold over and sew the holster and finish the retention flap and finish installing other half of the snap.

This design has served me well over the last 2-3 years. It is very secure and you can wear it on your ankle or over a lace up boot. You may have to adjust the overall length of 15" one way or another. !5 inches works well on me but I have large ankles and wear it over a lace up roper boot while on duty.

The last picture show it on my ankle with just a pair of shoes. I have pleanty of room to put it over my lace up boots tonight when I go on duty. Bad Guys Beware!!

Hope this helps someone. Any questions let me know.

Randy

Edited April 22, 2009 by Randy Cornelius

[Lobo]

Excellent post, Randy. Very well presented. Looks like a very good design for the purpose.

[Randy Cornelius]

I am bumping this back up as I am not sure why only one person commented on the idea.

Randy

[carljc72]

Very nice. I just hope I can find this post when someone asks for an ankle holster. Thanks for sharing Randy.

[Huntbuck]

Very Nice, thanks for posting... always interested in learning more and this is a huge help for a beginner...

[Shorts]

Randy, thanks for the write up. I've yet to attempt an ankle holster yet and this will give me a great stepping off point

[ryan]

Randy,

Thanks for sharing; I might have to give this design a try. I have one of my partners trying out a design I came up with for his Bersa that is fairly similar but I like your method a little better. Do you find it gets a little bulky over your duty boots or not so much? A lot of us are going to wearing our back ups on our vests but doesn't work for all models. Have you or anyone else you know tried your design with a Glock 27?

Ryan

Edited June 26, 2009 by ryan

[Randy Cornelius]

I broke up your questions and answered each. Hope this helps

Randy

Randy,

Thanks for sharing; I might have to give this design a try. I have one of my partners trying out a design I came up with for his Bersa that is fairly similar but I like your method a little better.

Do you find it gets a little bulky over your duty boots or not so much?

I wear a Justin lace up not like most cops I don't go for the combat boot look. So I don't have much trouble with much bulk.

A lot of us are going to wearing our back ups on our vests but doesn't work for all models.

I have seen some that use a velcro attachment to go on the vest, I don't have anything against it but anything very big would show to some extent.

Have you or anyone else you know tried your design with a Glock 27?

The G-27 is fairly big gun for an ankle holster, not saying it cannot be done but most of the ankle holsters that I have made have been for the Ruger LCP, Walther ppk, and other simular 380 and 9mm pistols. Along with the the small frame revolvers.

Ryan

[mattsh]

Very Cool Randy - I like it, simple and effective. Thanks for the tutorial.

[Shorts]

Randy, do you think this design would work for a concealed thigh rig? (skirt or kilt carry?) If not, what would you do different?

[Randy Cornelius]

Randy, do you think this design would work for a concealed thigh rig? (skirt or kilt carry?) If not, what would you do different?

I never have given much thought to carring a holster on my thigh, but I supose you could modify it for that. But you would have to hook it to your garder belt to keep it from falling down unless your knees are larger than your thights. Possibly you could add a strap to tighten it up so it would not fall. but gravity works good and you would still have to have something to keep it from falling.

Randy

[carr52]

That looks like it will be just right for my little KELTEC 9mm. Gonna have to try tis one for myself. Thanks Randy.

Tom

[siege]

Nice tutorial. I put one together for myself, and it works very well. Thanks !

As a side note to Shorts, holsters on thighs can cause circulation

problems. Pressing on the femoral artery is a very effective way to stop bleeding. A well tightened

thigh rig could work as a tournequet.

Wakling or sitting, the ankle area does not change shape much, and an ankle holster

will usually remain comfortable all day. The "geometry" of the thigh changes with position and

movement. Please use caution.

[Guardrail]

Been looking for a pattern for my daughters to be fiance, a deputy sheiff in Wyoming and aux for the state park service in Wyoming. Also many

law enforcement persons I ride with in the American Legion Riders and Patriot Guard.

Ron Lowery

BM1 Retired Navy Coastal Warfare

Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iraq

[cleveland]

Very nice!

I have not had much luck finding Velcro in any form other then strips. Where do you find the sheets of it for your holster?

[ryankim3612]

Randy, You are,"Da Bomb" for helping us beginners out. Thank you Thank you Thank you.

Ryan

[George B]

Thank you so very much for posting this. I had a customer who wanted an ankle holster for his .32 cal derringer, your tutorial made it easier than I thought.

Turned out great!

Now I can start making my own patterns and designs.

George

[mikesmith648]

Thanks for the tutorial..........I have a friend that wants one to carry a set of double mags on one ankle and his CCW on the other.........this will help a lot!!

Mike

[silverbullet]

I'm a basic newbie but I'm gona make this. I kinda work out of my hospital bed in my house on leather projects. I have a nice sewing machine in my garage but it's been so miserable weather wise I don't get out there in the winter. But I cut sew glue light tooling and finish here. Using a lot of scrap leather from eBay my stuff is mostly functional . I call it .. It ain't pretty but it works , the people on here make beautiful items but I try to improve on each item . Thanks for all the help gary

[Pappys Leather]

I was working on my own pattern before I saw yours. My original plan was to use elastic strap with two rings on one end to pull it through to tighten it up on the ankle. The problem I ran into was it did not pull the center of the leather where the holster would be against the leg. So I made a leather piece with Velcro on it, stitched it in two places to the main body. It still does not seem to allow it to be pulled tight enough to keep it from sliding down on the leg especially if you put it over a sock. Here is a picture of my design. Any help would be appreciated. It looks like yours is down low on the ankle. How does the pant leg cover this up?

[camano ridge]

Pappy, what is on the backside of the leather holster pad is it just leather/ If it is that could be part of the problem. You don't want to have to pull it tight enough to turn your leg blue. You need to have some friction as well. Either suede or shearling should help, neopreme might work but may cause sweating.

[Pappys Leather]

I used black pig skin suede. But the strap I ran through does not have any on it. So would it help if I put a piece on it also? I used 4-5 ounce leather for the body and strap.

[Pappys Leather]

I made a new pattern that is similar to yours. I find that when wrapping it around my ankle the attaching ends want to go crooked. Not sure if I am explaining this so it is understandable what is happening. If I force them to be straight, the body where the holster is attached pulls away from the ankle at the bottom. Any suggestions?