holster shape

[MikePatterson]

If hard is what you want why don't you just buy a 18.00 fobus to rub the finish off your gun. I want my leather holsters to not only be comfortable but easy on the finish of a fine weapon. I think a good holster is like a pair of jeans they get better with use.

Enough of that just kinda hit a sore spot with this holster maker.

[MADMAX22]

Chuck is right as far as how strong you can get that stuff by the boiling method, I played with a piece of 8oz just for fun and put it thru several stages of heated water. Stuff by the end was like a piece of rock, totally useless but you could throw it at someone and do some damage lol. That was a fun experiment.

As far as holsters you have to think that someone once had one that collapsed on them so people started wanting a little stiffer or wanted to make sure that the holster they were getting was stiff enough not to collapse on them when they go to reholster. This probably led to sellers talking about this since the customers were "concerned" about it. So then one seller decides to put a weight on theres to show how strong it is then it snow balls into I can drive my f250 on my holsters.

Its got merit in some respects it just gets going a little to far I think, ofcourse that is the nature of things nowadays, gotta do it just to get noticed half the time lol.

[Shorts]

The reason stiffness matters is what madmax said above, the mouth collapsing and making one hand reholstering more difficult and not smooth. This isn't much of an OWB issue, though I like good and stiff. But the big thing these days is IWB. Many folks wearing IWBs want a holster that will not collapse when they pull the gun. Well I can agree and disagree. I don't think one handed reholstering matters if you ever pulled your gun in defense. Chances are you aren't reholstering anytime until the threat is stopped and you have to sort out some things anyway. BUT on the other hand, folks need to practice their draws. Lots of folks do dry fire practice at home (I am one of them). Lots of folks do live fire drills out at the range (I am also one of them). Learning to draw from the preferred method of carry is vital. And, in order to practice drawing, you have to reholster.

Now you can insert the preferred method of mouth support here. Makers have different methods like metal inserted, kydex or a leather piece.

Soooo, all in all, do your leather how you prefer. Customers talk and compare notes and yap on the internet. Some characteristics will sell a holster, some won't. It depends on the customers. The beauty of it is that we all have our own methods and we all have folks who we've supplied and made happy.

[dickf]

The reason stiffness matters is what madmax said above, the mouth collapsing and making one hand reholstering more difficult and not smooth. This isn't much of an OWB issue, though I like good and stiff. But the big thing these days is IWB. Many folks wearing IWBs want a holster that will not collapse when they pull the gun. Well I can agree and disagree. I don't think one handed reholstering matters if you ever pulled your gun in defense. Chances are you aren't reholstering anytime until the threat is stopped and you have to sort out some things anyway. BUT on the other hand, folks need to practice their draws. Lots of folks do dry fire practice at home (I am one of them). Lots of folks do live fire drills out at the range (I am also one of them). Learning to draw from the preferred method of carry is vital. And, in order to practice drawing, you have to reholster.

Now you can insert the preferred method of mouth support here. Makers have different methods like metal inserted, kydex or a leather piece.

Soooo, all in all, do your leather how you prefer. Customers talk and compare notes and yap on the internet. Some characteristics will sell a holster, some won't. It depends on the customers. The beauty of it is that we all have our own methods and we all have folks who we've supplied and made happy.

Well said!

[Peterk]

Thanks all for your comments. I have always wondered why someone would want a leather holster that hard... Being a marketing person myself I can understand and relate why you would want to find that "edge", "gimmick", "special something" to get people's attention and ultimately purchase what you're selling, so in this case, if it works for these makers then great! I just wanted to find out if there was real benefit to rock hard leather, outside of the body-building industry...

Edited December 8, 2008 by Peterk

[Shorts]

I'd like to comment on Kydex. A big plus to kydex/polymers is that the holsters can be readily equipped with locking mechanisms instead of a thumb break.

In the Open Carry and Law Enforcement communities, for example, Blackhawk Serpa holsters with the various levels of locks are very popular. I know for leather makers, Galco has tried several locking mechanisms in their lineup. A variety of retention methods is good.

I'm not posting this to open a debate on OC, kydex vs leather or best retention mechs. I'm simply posting to relay holster characteristic information