Reinforcing Mouth Of Iwb Holster

[asbandr]

Hello! I have a small holster making business and have had great reviews so far. One suggestion a friend made was to reinforce the mouth of my IWB holster for easier reholstering. I use 6-7 oz leather that is wet molded to the gun. I've seem where people add an extra strip of leather to the top of the holster. I make a pancake style double clip holster and was wondering how to best add this. Does it need to go all the way around the front and back? Or can I just put it in the front? How effective is adding it to reinforcing the mouth? I'm guessing after curing the leather I would stitch this on, then stitch the front and back together then wet mold it all. I'll add a pic of what I make and am welcome to taking suggestions for improvements or alternatives to the leather strip for reinforcement.

[Denster]

Adding a reinforcement piece to a pancake style holster is useless and only makes the holster thicker. It can be used effectively on envelope style holsters with many makers using a thin strip of steel under the leather.

[camano ridge]

SHow us a picture of what you are making. Like Denster said on a IWB pancake style a reinforcment piece is not really going to be effective in keeping the mouth of the holster open as much as you want. I know some one that shapes a piece of kydex that is sandwiched between two pieces of leather he says it works. I have not tried it and do not know how it works over long term.

[asbandr]

So sorry, thought I had added a picture.

[supercub]

SHow us a picture of what you are making. Like Denster said on a IWB pancake style a reinforcment piece is not really going to be effective in keeping the mouth of the holster open as much as you want. I know some one that shapes a piece of kydex that is sandwiched between two pieces of leather he says it works. I have not tried it and do not know how it works over long term.

I did one awhile back by sandwiching a strip of galvanized steel between the layers. It worked well, but was a bit of a PITA to build.

Mine was a prototype and is pretty crude, but it keeps the mouth open as well as a kydex holster.

[supercub]

Tried to post a picture of the prototype, but unable to do it on this IPad. I'll try it later on a real computer. I posted a pic of it sometime ago, so those who are interested can probably find it in an earlier post.

Check out " tuckable pancake" using the search function.

Edited October 23, 2014 by supercub

[Dwight]

I'll play the devil's advocate, . . . take a look at a Versa Max 2 holster from Milt Sparks, . . . take a look at my Cactus on my website, . . . we both use a reinforcement piece, . . . and I do know for a fact it makes a difference.

My Cactus will stay open with that reinforcement piece, . . . and it does not need a piece of steel or anything else sandwiched in between. I cannot speak for the VM2 as to whether it has or does not have metal in it, . . . but the extra leather does far more than add thickness. It adds strength, . . . and it does also aid in keeping the mouth of the holster open so the re-holstering can be accomplished with only one hand, . . . something that cannot be done if the mouth collapses.

But it is a "to each his own", . . . Lobo makes all sorts of holsters, . . . without reinforcements.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Denster]

Dwight makes a good point that a reinforcement can be used effectively on a pancake design like the VM2 or his cactus but only if it wraps around the front of the gun. If it only attaches to the front panel, the way most do, then it will not be effective in keeping the holster open.

[Matt Alsaker]

Most (I think all but one) of Milt Sparks IWB holsters use a steel reinforcement piece under the leather reinforcement. I use a piece of 20 gauge stainless steel that is custom laser cut to the shape and size I want at a local shop for me. When I first started building holsters it was for local cops and they demanded the steel reinforced mouth (probably because a lot of them were wearing a Milt Sparks holster). For the most part cops want to be able to holster easily with one hand. Cops train to constantly be evaluating dynamic situations. They want to be able to transition quickly in and out of the holster, potentially several times during a single incident. The civilian concealed carry crowd tends to be a little different. If presented with a threat, civilians tend to stay out of the holster until law enforcement arrives. There tends to be very minimal dynamic transitions into the holster. **This is general statement based on my observations / experience and wont' be true everywhere or for everyone.** Each customer needs to determine their needs and potential applications may be when buying a holster. The customer should know any pro's and con's of the particular style / model holster they chose to carry in, then train to compensate for the con's.

Will an IWB stay open without steel reinforcement? Yes, but to a lesser degree than one that is reinforced with steel. Some of it depends on the size of the handgun (small frame versus larger frame), some of it depends on how tight your belt is cranked down (I know some that carry with it so loose you'd think if they ran the entire holster would bounce around and others that wear their belt so tight I'm surprised they can breath), and some of it depends on the quality of the materials / construction. Does the steel reinforcement effect comfort? I've never had any complaints, many makers use steel reinforcement, and Milt Sparks doesn't seem to have a shortage of customers. Should the reinforcement piece (leather and / or steel) wrap around the mouth of the holster? I think that method works the best, but have seen "clam shell" style reinforcement (individual reinforcement pieces for the front and back). The "clam shell" style IWB's I've seen I have not been impressed with. IWB carry is not for everyone for a variety of reasons, but those that carry that way tend to love it.

Building an IWB with a wrap around stainless steel reinforcement piece does take extra time and until you get used to doing them you'll mess up the occasional holster, but being able to do so opens up more of the IWB market for you. That being said, I have another style IWB holster out in the field being tested. It does NOT have any type of reinforcement and the feedback has been great (although the testers are all skinny LEO and military athletic types who carry IWB pretty much exclusively).

Good luck.

[BHPshooter]

I'll play the devil's advocate, . . . take a look at a Versa Max 2 holster from Milt Sparks, . . . take a look at my Cactus on my website, . . . we both use a reinforcement piece, . . . and I do know for a fact it makes a difference.

My Cactus will stay open with that reinforcement piece, . . . and it does not need a piece of steel or anything else sandwiched in between. I cannot speak for the VM2 as to whether it has or does not have metal in it, . . . but the extra leather does far more than add thickness. It adds strength, . . . and it does also aid in keeping the mouth of the holster open so the re-holstering can be accomplished with only one hand, . . . something that cannot be done if the mouth collapses.

But it is a "to each his own", . . . Lobo makes all sorts of holsters, . . . without reinforcements.

May God bless,

Dwight

Agreed. I'm a big believer in the reinforced mouth. Everything I make these days has a mouth reinforcement.

Dwight makes a good point that a reinforcement can be used effectively on a pancake design like the VM2 or his cactus but only if it wraps around the front of the gun. If it only attaches to the front panel, the way most do, then it will not be effective in keeping the holster open.

That has not been my experience. I make some IWBs that have the mouthpiece wrap around (like the Sparks VM2), and I make some that don't. I haven't ever had the mouth collapse on any of them... and I carry IWB all day, every day.

It's not everybody's thing, I get that. But I'm a believer.