New Elephant Holster - Dang You Kevin At Slc

[mlapaglia]

I have tried and tried to ignore this but I have to ask, Do you charge the elephant extra because a holster designed to fit an elephant uses more leather?

(I know, I know, Ill go back to my corner and be quiet)

Michael

[lonestar tactical]

I have tried and tried to ignore this but I have to ask, Do you charge the elephant extra because a holster designed to fit an elephant uses more leather?

(I know, I know, Ill go back to my corner and be quiet)

Michael

Michael,

Sorry so long but I had to put some thought into this one and still working on getting my first cup of coffee down lol.

Honestly I have to charge more because of the cost of the elephant hide and also the hardware used on this particular design. Also, I decided to ship the holsters with elephant via 2 day insured fed ex vs standard USPS priority mail. Even with my Fedex business account it costs 20.00+ to ship 2 day delivery with insurance.

I had an elephant holster get "delayed" by 2 weeks with USPS during the storms in the NE USA. Another client (lives 4 miles away from the first ordered the same day, shipped the same day) paid extra fed ex cost and got his... lesson learned - elephant holstes are going fedex. Costs too much to replace the elephant hide used. I am a start up, so customer serice is key - even though he opted to go with cheaper cost shipping I would have replaced it to make it right.

In addition to the cost of premium cowhide there is the added cost of buying exotic hides - not remnants mind you - actual grade 1 hide costs significantly more. You can buy sqft pieces of unknown quality or from unknown section it comes from for around 18.00 for a sqft piece (plus shipping) this is a great deal for your own personal gear - but when you buy grade 1 elephant panels the cost is 265.00 for a 8sqft panel (Roje Leather). Tooling leather cost significanly less than that at 6.00-9.00/sqft (retail cost).

Needless to say I did do a lot of thinking before even taking my first special order for ones in elephant. The first ones I sold were from sqft remnants that I picked up from SLC and priced as such and shipped via usps priority. They were decent pieces but after visiting a local car upholstery shop and seeing what grade 1 looks like I had no choice but to make the switch and buy a whole panel from Roje. Would 75% of my clients know if I choose to use seconds? Probably not but I would. In the end it only takes one client bashing your quality all over the web to destroy what you attempt to accomplish.

To be honest - when you compare what I am offering at that price compared to many cowhide only holsters going for significantly more I feel confident in our pricing. Not interested in being one of the big boys - just interested in maintaining my good name in the community and passing on a business to my sons some day.

Our Elephant front holsters are:

IWB/OWB holsters - sold as a combo only (holster and mag carrier)

Premium Tooling Side 8/9oz

Grade 1 Elephant hide panels

Eyelet Reinforced cant adjustment slots

Eyelet Reinforced attachement points

elephant full front

elephant front iwb loops (removable for OWB carry)

Mill/Spec snaps

handstitched - holster and iwb loops

Fed Ex insured 2 day delivery

Let alone time put into each holster elephant or cow.

Thanks for the question and be safe,

Doc

Edited September 22, 2011 by lonestar tactical

[dickf]

Thank you to everyone on the board who has offered feedback and made suggestions.

I took to heart the suggestions and moved my rear stitch line in on my 1911 holsters to better fit the curve. My design was only recently adapted to 1911's - prior to this the bulk of my business came from LEO using Glock polymer guns (square trigger). As you know Glocks have square trigger guards.

Also, I shortened and rounded more around the edges to make it about .75" shorter across.

Thank you dickf and others.

(added information - this is for my clients 1911 Commander order I mentioned earlier)

Be safe,

Doc

That stitch line is definitely much better, but could still be closer. Think about the profile of the gun and it's curves. The 1911's are my favorite to build because they are so thin compared to plastic guns, you can really get a tight line tucked in there. Also, I think your slots should be rounded, not squared off like that (for the same reason as outside corners). My suggestion is to forego the exotic hide at the moment and concentrate on getting the pattern absolutely right. Once you've locked it down, you can add whatever bells and whistles you want.

Keep it up!

[lonestar tactical]

Thanks - I agree with the belt slots and have since picked up a 1/2" rounded punch for the slot ends. Working on a leather holster at this time and also another elephant holster. WIll post images when done.

Let me ask you dickf - I traced my mock gun and then took a wing divider at 1/2" to mark my stitch line around the firearm including the trigger guard area. Also there is a molded sight track in there as well. What spacing do you think I should use? Currently like I said I am going exactly 1/2" on my 1911s and other slim firearms and 5/8" on my Large glocks (45acp /10mm).

Are you saying to use 3/8's or 1/4" space between 1911 and my stitch line.

Thanks for the assist.

Be safe,

Doc

[dickf]

Because it's covered with elephant and not heavily molded on the outside, it's really hard to tell without having my hands on it, but, it looks like it's an ideal distance at the rear of the trigger guard but then drops away from the gun near the curve of the guard. The line deviates away from the trigger guard at the front and then moves into the straight run for the dustcover (which also looks like a good distance). My only suggestion left on the stitch line is to correct it at the front of the guard like the drawing I posted. You can see a clear void where the line should be to follow the gun and where it is currently. The goal is to eliminate that void. Keep in mind that the trigger guard for a 1911 isn't anywhere close to the thickness of the slide.

I'm not saying that my opinion is best or that it's the only way to do it, so I hope I'm not coming off that way. I'm just giving you advice that I've gleaned from experience, some of which was disappointing after putting things to hard use. I suppose it's an attempt to save you and others time, effort, and money.

[lonestar tactical]

Dickf

In the USN I learned to shut up and listen to those with more experience. I did not get to where I am in life by not adapting and learning – any advice people offer is taken. So thank you for the feedback and the assist.

One of my greatest attributes is the ability to take constructive criticism and making the appropriate corrections. I agree with what you are saying – just need to implement.

Thanks again and give me a few days to finish up my current orders and I will post images of the correction on the 1911.

Thanks again and be safe,

Doc