Holster Lining... Suede Or No Suede?

[GaryNunn]

I keep reading, and I've been told, that I shouldn't use suede for holster lining because chrome tanned material can potentially cause issues with the gun finish.

But then I watch Sam Andrews videos, and he's using suede to line his holsters. Clearly he knows what he's doing, and has been doing this for years, so how is it he's using suede? I can't believe that he would still be using suede if it were causing probelms with his clients guns.

[JLSleather]

I keep reading, and I've been told, that I shouldn't use suede for holster lining because chrome tanned material can potentially cause issues with the gun finish.

The issue is not the finish of the leather, but the tannage. "Suede" is merely the surface condition. The grain has been removed. In fact, if you take [ what people around here call ] vegetable tanned leather, and flip it over, viola... suede. But not chrome tanned.

I personally don't care to use suede leathers, but I have done it. Again, if you make an unlined holster, then the inside IS "sueded" (though not actually buffed so it's 'nappy'). Long as it's vegetable tanned leather, you could use it to beef up the thickness of the leather, to firm up the holster (two thinner layers are firmer than one layer of same thickness), or perhaps to have the inside and the outside of the holster a different color.

PLUS, Andrews was talking about and showing a glock POLYMER pistol, not blued steel. With today's finishes and materials, the "writings" about "suede" are less relevant than they were in previous years.

[GaryNunn]

You're absolutely right... he was putting that in a holster for a polymer handgun! I didn't catch that when I watched the videos.

[RickHodges]

Um, the slide on a Glock is steel.

[smirak]

Umm, there's absolutely nothing wrong with a polymer handgun either I've got two currently...

[malabar]

Sam Andrews is a master of the craft, but this issue with chrome-tanned suede is widely known. Don't know what Andrews is using for his "suede."

[Shooter McGavin]

Sam Andrews is a master of the craft, but this issue with chrome-tanned suede is widely known. Don't know what Andrews is using for his "suede."

Old habits die hard?

[Lobo]

Many customers have strong preferences for or against certain things. Lots of folks insist on suede linings and won't consider any holster without it. Unless you are willing and capable of convincing the vast majority of the buying public that one way to do something is definitively better than another way all you will be accomplishing by refusing to provide suede linings is to send potential customers to another source.

There is really no big problem with suede holster linings. The problem comes along when people leave their fine firearms stored in leather holsters or cases over long periods of time. As long as the firearm is removed from the holster after each use, wiped down properly (oily rag or silicone-treated cloth), and stored separately from the holster there should never be any problem.

All suede leather is produced by tanning methods utilizing chemical salts (chrome tanning, aniline process, etc) and residual chemical salts remain in the leather. These can readily go into solution with water (precipitation, perspiration, ambient humidity) and are capable of etching metal (blued steel, nickel plated steel, stainless steel, Parkerizing, manganese phosphate, etc) which can result in corrosion and damage over time. All leather items (vegetable tanned, chrome tanned, brain tanned, or rawhide) will absorb and retain moisture, so the only viable protection is regular cleaning and proper storage practices.

[Red Cent]

I have owned two suede holsters in my lifetime. I bought one for a Smith 39/59 probably 30 years ago. Simple and beautiful holster (OWB) but you could not draw with any haste. I still own the holsters albeit I dismantled the holster and use it for a pattern these days.

I have a shoulder holster for my nickel 6 1/2" Smith and Wesson M29. Bought in the Dirty Harry days. It works because you use the gun as a lever and pry the handgun out of the holster. The shoulder holster has been "hanging around" for about 45 years.

If you carry a handgun for self defense and use a suede lined holster, I would challenge you to see how fast you cam come from the holster and hit a target.

I use suede on the back side of some concealed carry holsters.

[JLSleather]

Tip:

Vegetable tanned "splits" are "suede".

The definition:

The term comes from the French "gants de Suède", which literally means "gloves from Sweden".^[1] Suede leather is made from the underside of the skin, primarily lamb, although goat, calf and deer are commonly used. Splits from thick hides of cow and deer are also sueded, but, due to