magnets

[mustangman2]

I got a client that wants a iwb holster but wants a magnet to hold the belt loop to the holster. It would have to be strong enough to go through the leather as well as cloth material of the pants. Has anyone ever done something like this, and if so how big should the magnets be?  any ideas

[chuck123wapati]

never tried it but neodymium magnets are really strong they  may be the ticket, i have bought flat 1 inch square ones and they come with a 1/8th inch plastic spacer between, if you get two stuck together its almost impossible to separate them.

[Grumpymann]

Agree with neodymium magnets but BE CAREFULL with them, my fingertips still twitch when I type the word.

[fredk]

2 hours ago, mustangman2 said:

I got a client that wants a iwb holster but wants a magnet to hold the belt loop to the holster. It would have to be strong enough to go through the leather as well as cloth material of the pants. Has anyone ever done something like this, and if so how big should the magnets be?  any ideas

use as large as you can possibly use. Also use ones rated N50 or N52, they are currently the strongest. But even these struggle to hold thru 2mm of leather over them. Skive the part over the magnet down to about 1 mm thickness. And if using two magnets, mind your polarity. Nowt so annoying to find the magnets repulse each other after you've sewn it all up!

I reckon, it'll be ok for one end of the belt loop to be held by magnets, for quickly removing the holster, but no way would I trust both ends of the belt loop being held by magnets

[mustangman2]

Thank you, not sure i like the idea but will try to make one

 

[1961Mike]

Hi

I would try to make the holster and belt look such that you can slit the thread holding the magnets on and get rid of them if he wants to at a later date.  I'm not big on having a magnetic field run through me.

Later

 

[billybopp]

12 hours ago, mustangman2 said:

Thank you, not sure i like the idea but will try to make one

 

I'm certainly no holster expert, but I do know that just about the last thing you want to have happen is for that expensive pistol to come loose (even in its holster) and hit the floor!   I'd make it perfectly clear to the client that it is an experimental kind of thing that they have requested, and agree to NO liability as a condition (I'd get that in writing as well)!    It may work well, but even so you don't want to be on the hook if for any reason it does not after it's out your door!

- Bill

[chiefjason]

If you use a loop for the IWB holster the magnet just attaches to itself as a replacement for a snap.  If he want's something to attach the holster to his pants via a magnet he want's a miracle.  I've learned that sometimes the best thing to tell a prospective customer with a ridiculous request is "No."  An explanation and guidance in a better direction might get you a sale and and easier build.  

 

If you do try it I would not bury the magnet under any leather.  That leaves just the pants material to deal with.  They make magnets with flared holes that should be capable of mounting to a T nut that is buried in the holster. 

[toxo]

On 11/4/2020 at 8:38 PM, mustangman2 said:

I got a client that wants a iwb holster but wants a magnet to hold the belt loop to the holster. It would have to be strong enough to go through the leather as well as cloth material of the pants. Has anyone ever done something like this, and if so how big should the magnets be?  any ideas

Forgive my ignorance but I can't see where the belt comes into it if the holster goes inside the trousers (pants). And if the thing comes loose surely the gun/holster would fall down the leg rather than on the floor? What am I missing?

[chiefjason]

1 hour ago, toxo said:

Forgive my ignorance but I can't see where the belt comes into it if the holster goes inside the trousers (pants). And if the thing comes loose surely the gun/holster would fall down the leg rather than on the floor? What am I missing?

IMO, a loaded gun that's loose in your pants OR on the floor is a bad situation.  One of the reasons for a holster is security.  If the design does not meet that criteria what is the point?  Trying to hastily grab for a loaded gun that is falling into your pants can lead to some very bad outcomes.  

[ScottWolf]

On 11/4/2020 at 1:38 PM, mustangman2 said:

I got a client that wants a iwb holster but wants a magnet to hold the belt loop to the holster. It would have to be strong enough to go through the leather as well as cloth material of the pants. Has anyone ever done something like this, and if so how big should the magnets be?  any ideas

Based on the limited info you have provided, I'd say you need to tell the customer NO. With that said, can you better explain where this magnet is supposed to go? As a gun person, I'm drawing a blank as to where this application would even go. 

[wizard of tragacanth]

Really late to the party, sorry. I know a woman who has one of these. The magnet is very strong. Here is a link to the design. Unfortunately, I do not know a source for the magnets. 

https://www.pistolpackaging.com/Mag_Jic_Holster_p/mjc.htm

IIRC, the magnet is round and approx. 3/16" thick. It is glued to a thin metal disk that is a slightly larger diameter. The magnet is not covered with leather. There is a hole cut for the magnet to protrude through. The thin metal base is glued to the backing leather and the sewing goes as tight as possible to the disk. Her magnetic eventually pulled out because there was only the glue and a 1/8" border of leather holding it around the perimeter. 

She asked me if I could fix it. I told her I could and explained how I would cut the stitching, glue and re-insert the magnet and stitch it back up. In the process of showing her this, she insisted that the large disk had to go to the outside. I told her that that was impossible... what would hold the magnet then? We couldn't come to terms on it so she did not have me do the repair. She had shown me this holster a month or two before the magnet pulled out, so I saw for myself that there was a shiny 1/8" of the magnet protruding from the rear of the holster. The strap that the magnet clings to has a fairly heavy, long piece of metal in it, which may or may not be a magnet.

Here is another version but hers was more similar to the first link. https://jm4tactical.com/original-magnetic-quick-click-carry-holster-6-colors-available/ 

Edited December 20, 2020 by wizard of tragacanth

[Samalan]

Magnets work yes but I think you will find just how much junk will stick to it I have done a lot with magnets and now every time i think of using a magnet I think again and find a different way that's my experience with them . also IMHO