Thumb Break Design

[JeffGC]

Shortly, I will be constructing a IWB holster for a hammerless J-Frame revolver. I am designing it with a retention strap and a thumb break. Most holsters of this type reinforce the tab on the thumb break with some sort of stiff material. What do some of you use for the stiffener?

[Lobo]

Jeff: I will be very interested in seeing your IWB design for a hammerless S&W revolver with a thumb-break retention. These revolvers do not permit the use of traditional thumb-break designs, so yours will draw a lot of attention if it provides positive retention.

As for the common means of reinforcing the thumb-break, I use 24-gauge sheet metal. Others use Kydex. And there are pre-fabricated reinforcement tabs offered by a couple of sources.

Looking forward to your completed project.

[dickf]

Shortly, I will be constructing a IWB holster for a hammerless J-Frame revolver. I am designing it with a retention strap and a thumb break. Most holsters of this type reinforce the tab on the thumb break with some sort of stiff material. What do some of you use for the stiffener?

Hi Jeff! I personally think that an IWB with thumb break is a liability and not safe. If you're going OWB, then that's a totally different animal. Decent boning along with friction from being inside the pants and the added rigidity of a belt should be plenty of retention. An IWB is a means of concealment, and getting past your cover garment and drawing cleanly and quickly is hard enough - adding a thumb break only complicates things and makes a potential situation even more dangerous.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck!

[JeffGC]

Unfortunately, I mis-spoke (or mis-typed). I'm making an OWB holster for the J-Frame. Recently, I made a pancake holster for this revolver (340PD) which works well. I'm a bit concerned about retention in the holster. With autos, there are a lot of features (ejection port, slide release, mag release, etc.) that, when boned, aid in the retention of the weapon in the holster. There isn't much with a revolver. That's why I'm considering redesigning the holster, adding a thumb-break retention strap. If you have any other ideas, they would be greatly appreciated.

Edited January 20, 2010 by JeffGC

[TwinOaks]

What I've done with a few revolver holsters is to carry the holster and reinforcement band a little higher on the cylinder/rear shield and make a little bit of a lip there. It isn't as secure as a strap but it helps. When making for a completely shrouded hammer (aka hammerless), there really aren't too many options. Another option is to completely cover the cylinder and hammer (less) portion of the gun with a continuous piece (front of the holster) and extend it to form a strap. Mold the leather to enclose the cylinder when you do this. I'll see if I can find my pattern for this, if not I'll redraw one.

[JeffGC]

What I've done with a few revolver holsters is to carry the holster and reinforcement band a little higher on the cylinder/rear shield and make a little bit of a lip there. It isn't as secure as a strap but it helps. When making for a completely shrouded hammer (aka hammerless), there really aren't too many options. Another option is to completely cover the cylinder and hammer (less) portion of the gun with a continuous piece (front of the holster) and extend it to form a strap. Mold the leather to enclose the cylinder when you do this. I'll see if I can find my pattern for this, if not I'll redraw one.

Mike-Thanks for your suggestions. If you can find the pattern, I'd appreciate it.

[Tac]

Another option is to use a style similar to a Bianchi holster for this type of revolver, where the "thumb break" is actually placed over the rear of the trigger guard and snaps behind the gun. The retention strap is then released by the shooter's middle finger during the draw.

Here is a link to the Bianchi web site that better illistrates the design.

http://www.bianchi-intl.com/product/Prod.php?TxtModelID=55L

-Tac

Edited January 21, 2010 by Tac

[Bronson]

Another option is to use a style similar to a Bianchi holster for this type of revolver, where the "thumb break" is actually placed over the rear of the trigger guard and snaps behind the gun. The retention strap is then released by the shooter's middle finger during the draw.

That's what I did with my Ruger GP-100. I had to go back and shorten the strap since it wasn't tight enough to actually provide any retention. I also added a tension screw just below the end of the crane which helped.

Here's the holster before I made the above adjustments. http://www.flickr.co...57606586066759/

If you look at mine you can see that the strap falls a little shy of the junction of grip/trigger guard. I think the closer you can get to this junction the better your retention is going to be. Some forward cant to the gun will also help. Mine is a straight drop holster and if it was tipped forward a little it would've provided a better angle for the strap.

Bronson

Edited January 21, 2010 by Bronson

[JeffGC]

Bronson - Unfortunately, the Flicker link does not work for me.

[Bronson]

Bronson - Unfortunately, the Flicker link does not work for me.

This should fix it http://www.flickr.co...57606586066759/

Bronson

Edited January 21, 2010 by Bronson

[katsass]

Shortly, I will be constructing a IWB holster for a hammerless J-Frame revolver. I am designing it with a retention strap and a thumb break. Most holsters of this type reinforce the tab on the thumb break with some sort of stiff material. What do some of you use for the stiffener?

Jeff, I have made a number of holsters for J framed Smiths. All have been for off-duty or plain clothes wear by LEO's. None of them have wanted a retention strap and all have been quite satisfied with my simple design for this sort of use. Here's a couple of pics of my latest J frame holster.....left handed in this case. Just something to think about. Mike

By the way, all of these are made with two layers of 3/4 oz veg tanned leather, bonded flesh side to flesh side and saddle stitched all around.

Edited January 22, 2010 by katsass

[TTcustom]

I have been using the banding strap material from palletized cargo to reinforce the snap area.

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

Unfortunately, I mis-spoke (or mis-typed). I'm making an OWB holster for the J-Frame. Recently, I made a pancake holster for this revolver (340PD) which works well. I'm a bit concerned about retention in the holster. With autos, there are a lot of features (ejection port, slide release, mag release, etc.) that, when boned, aid in the retention of the weapon in the holster. There isn't much with a revolver. That's why I'm considering redesigning the holster, adding a thumb-break retention strap. If you have any other ideas, they would be greatly appreciated.

It is actually fairly simple to get good retention with a revolver holster. Just make the holster completely cover the cylinder and bone the leather in above the cylinder a little bit. Just be sure to flare it back out at the mouth so it is easy to insert the pistol without fighting with the holster.

[TwinOaks]

Good news, I found the holster pattern/ drawing. Bad news- it'll be this weekend before I can re-scan it and post it (I'm on the road).