Questions Posed On Another Forum

[chiefjason]

Thanks for the responses but the fact still remains that the customer associates detail/boning and quality. And they believe it is necessary for proper tension. Glad that the cowboys know better. Building a good cowboy holster demands that enough tension is provided to endure full out running and abrupt stops but still allows a smooth and quick draw. Neither Mernickle or Kirpatrick bone their leather.

Seems it is centered around the concealed carry bunch. Now were did I put that deer antler............

The difference between what folks think and what is can be amusing. Detail boning can actually increase retention, but not always in a good way. And not always long term or consistent. And it's not necessary for "proper" retention, but we know that. I think CC folks like that "snap" when the gun locks in at the trigger guard and ejection port. But sometimes that snap can make for a difficult draw. And when those areas stretch, that snap goes away too. Probably also why the SASS guys don't want it. Too much of a chance to snag something with no real benefit to them. Plus it's easier to do on Semi's than revolvers.

Like Eaglestroker said, don't try and be everything to everybody. Do what you know and what you like. I've sent guys to other makers because I did not have the skill set or time to deal with what they wanted.

[Dwight]

Red, I do not believe that detail molding is a sign of a good holster. I think it some waht tends to be a marketing ploy and to compete with Kydex. With kydex you mold the thermal plastic around the gun and the lines show when pressed. There is a little bit of a cool factor when you can more or less see the pistol through the leather so to speak. How ever I have seen some very detail molded holsters that I would not give two cents for. Those holster were made of 5-6 oz leather so they could get very detailed lines showing through. That light of leather is not going to hold up for the long haul. On the other hand look at the holsters Katsass (Mike) makes, two layers 5oz laminated together. No detail molding on the outside However they are quality holsters with plenty of retention. I make my holsters similar to his. However If a customer requests the detail molding I will do it and use 7 - 8 oz leather and tell the customer that I am using lighter leather to give them what they request. Any properly made holster can be properly molded to give adaquate retention without detail molding. On my holster when I mold them you may not see the detailed lines on the outside, however you can look inside and see the lines of the gun impressd into the holster. That is where the retention is. I have seen some holsters over molded, they did everything they could to get those wondeful detailed lines only to realize that it was very dificult to get the gun out of the holste. Really the detailed boningand molding is the advent of the last few years.

There have been many good quality holsters with retention made prior to the detailed molding and boning craze. Any one that says you don't have proper retention with out the detail molding and boning does not know what makes a quality holster. Just my opinion.

I couldn't have said it better, . . . so here it is a second time: what ^ ^ ^ ^ he said ^ ^ ^ ^

May God bless,

Dwight

[jfdavis58]

I have my own preferences and that's where they shall remain. I find it ironic that the group most wanting of detailed boning is the concealed carry crowd. First it is never going to be seen except by the user (at least it shouldn't be) and two, if seen the boning removes all doubt as to what it contains. Just 2 cents...