New Slim Holster

[TwinOaks]

I'm going to second a lot of what Dwight said, even though it was a little coarse. It is always a good thing to try and innovate new products, new designs, and even new ideas....but there are only so many ways to wrap a dead cow (or horse) around a gun. When trying a holster design, please don't disregard the work of your peers and especially your predecessors. We, the people who've come before you, have done a LOT of the legwork for you in determining what works and what doesn't. In the case of handguns, safety is of UTMOST CRITICAL IMPORTANCE. At no time is an "oops" acceptable. There is simply too much liability, both Legal and personal, to risk having a gun fall out of a holster. Since such risk is involved, practice and learn on established designs, not what "some guy on youtube" instructed you to do. Odds are, he tried something and it "sorta" worked, so he made a video and it's become sacrosanct because the viewers didn't know what a holster SHOULD look like or how it SHOULD perform. Early in my holster making career, I had a heated discussion with Kevin from K&D holsters, arguing what I thought was best vs. what he (as a professional holster maker) KNEW was best. Much to my relief, the convo was lost in the crash of '07, so there's no actual record of how much of an ass I made of myself. Two or three years, and MANY failed holster designs later, I had the opportunity to apologize to him. He graciously accepted and offered some invaluable mentoring to my efforts. Nowadays, I use tried and true holster designs - some 'standard', some of my own. But before I offer them, I do the legwork on the design - I personally use the holster, I have trusted friends and fellow shooters use the design in training courses. Only when a 'new' design passes some pretty harsh testing do I even consider it for production. There's at least 20 designs where I tried to "Improve" an existing idea....and all of them failed.

Holster design is really pretty simple: The holster needs to hold the gun securely in ONE place; it needs to be comfortable enough for all day, every day carry; it needs to allow the wearer to instantly access the handgun by providing excellent access to the grip and cleanly releasing the gun....but only when it's supposed to; and finally...the holster needs to endure whatever it is you face on a daily basis without negative effect on its performance.

Once those criteria are met, then you can apply whatever aesthetics you want to the holster.

Specifically regarding the holster pictured above - If it works, then great. But I see the following issues with it (some already mentioned): It doesn't provide a clear grip; the molding/retention/stitch line can still be improved; and most importantly, the suspension for the holster is very likely to be insufficient. The straps (thankfully stitched) are thin and loose, which will allow the pistol to flop around, no matter how tight the belt is. This will become more pronounced as the holster gets some wear on it and the straps stretch a bit. You may be able to mitigate this by stitching them down a little higher so that the strap is laying as flat as possible along the back of the holster. The snaps on the bottom are a concern...if you used pull the dot snaps (aka security snaps) then it wouldn't be too bad as long as the release direction isn't vertical.

Lastly, I would like to add that comments like these are not usually intended to belittle you, mock you, or make you angry. Those of us with experience are willing and able to help you improve your designs and your construction methods....and let you know when something isn't likely to work. I haven't seen your first attempt, but this one has some people commenting on it being improved. That's a GOOD thing. For your second holster, it's a decent effort. Now, take the comments we've made into consideration and build the next one even better.

[mike6642]

Twinoaks you are right on all accounts,I'm seeing slot of things that should be changed. The stitching should be closer, better strap design for snaps,I really don't like that idea,the second holster has a good tight fit,believe it or not but the gun is easy to grip. thanks to you and many others on this forum have made me a better leather worker and for this I thank you and please continue to give your advice because that's how I'm going to get better.

Edited November 26, 2014 by mike6642