Examining Commercial Holsters

[SooperJake]

I was at our local Fleet Farm store today and they had two new holster displays up in the sporting goods area. The displays had a variety of Galco and Blackhawk holsters, most of them made of leather. It was an opportunity to study how they make their products, including leather thicknesses, stitch lines, molding, etc. Needless to say I wasn't impressed, over all, but I did find interesting the Galco Stow n Go suede holsters for their stiff upper lip. I assume they have some sort of insert in there to retain the shape? Possible a wire in there? The lip of the holster opening is folded over and sewn also. The belt clip was some kind of Kydex-tupe material, and ended with a a double hook to hang on to the bottom of the belt. An interesting design. The Blackhawks where quite flimsy, with very narrow belt slots. It was an educational way to spend an hour waiting to get to the gun counter, only to find that the pistol model I was after was out of stock.

Edited November 3, 2012 by SooperJake

[IngleGunLeather]

I'd agree with your observation on those two companies. I would imagine that they're much like anything else that's mass produced. It went down an assembly line and most assembly lines require a certain production rate be met. The workers probably don't give two hoots about the product either. One thing I have noticed about companies like that is they're at least innovative when it comes to the hardware they use. I wish I could buy some if their thumb break stiffeners and snap covers.

[SooperJake]

I'd agree with your observation on those two companies. I would imagine that they're much like anything else that's mass produced. It went down an assembly line and most assembly lines require a certain production rate be met. The workers probably don't give two hoots about the product either. One thing I have noticed about companies like that is they're at least innovative when it comes to the hardware they use. I wish I could buy some if their thumb break stiffeners and snap covers.

I did like the snap on the Blackhawk.