custom holster requested

[JLSleather]

"custom leather holster" is his term .. 

request today looking for "first generation Ruger LCP w/lasermax centerfire.  looking for owb/iwb combo"

I'm ducking out - vacation is vacation.  if you make holsters and want the job, respond in next couple hours with where to refer him.

 

[Lobo]

I have posted this before but it bears repeating:

Those who take on custom work should understand that when the customer's great idea doesn't work out exactly as he envisioned he will never remember that it was all his stupid idea, but he will always remember the guy who failed to make his dream a reality.

[JLSleather]

10 hours ago, Lobo said:

Those who take on custom work should understand

I would agree that you shouldn't' take on jobs that exceed your skill level.   I have not personally had anybody not like what I sent them.  No matter, I'll conclude that nobody here is interested in that.  Cost me nothing to NOT refer somebody

 

 

[Lobo]

Just about every week there is a new graduating class at the Holster Genius School. Having qualified by reading a book, two gun magazines, and a half-dozen internet forums, the new graduate has a mental image for the "perfect holster". All he needs is someone to turn that mental image into reality.

Convertible IWB/OWB, strong side/cross-draw, SOB option, connection for shoulder harness (ambidextrous of course), and pocket carry in Speedo's with a tank top. Ride heights so far above the belt that altitude sickness can become a factor (not to mention gravity's effect on the loaded handgun). Why shouldn't a western buscadero rig be fully concealable in a tube top?

Those who wish to spend hours discussing a "custom" project, then work up a preliminary pattern for customer approval, then produce a prototype, then revise the pattern based on customer review, make another prototype, maybe finally get the customer's "go ahead" order to produce, then have Mr. Customer throw a fit about the final finish with his selection of dye color, I say GO FOR IT!

What can you charge for a single holster order that could justify 6, 8, 10, 12 or 20 hours of your time?

What will you do with Mr. Customer's "great idea" project when he sees that it won't work as he thought it should and refuses to pay for it?

Maybe the worst case, but what do you do when the customer really has a good idea, you make one for him, and then crank out a hundred more for the retail market. Then he comes back with his lawyer demanding royalties for the use of his intellectual property rights?

Some of my better ideas about holster design and production methods spent a year or two fermenting in my brain before I took out a piece of paper and started drawing. A drawing might become a pattern for a prototype testing piece. That pattern might require a dozen modifications, each one requiring a prototype piece to test in actual use. The final design might be ready for production a year or two after my first brain fart, and the marketplace never guarantees acceptance or reward for the effort.

Quite a few of my other ideas turned into chew toys for the dogs.

During most of my years in the business my usual response to requests for custom work were pretty simple: $60 per hour plus materials and shop supplies. How long will it take? I don't know, I haven't done it yet. Realistically, send me a couple hundred bucks and I'll get started, when the money runs out you can decide whether or not to continue. Whatever exists at any point in time belongs to you. Whether or not it works is not my problem, it is your idea and not mine. Faced with reality, very few want to play.

I'm an old retired guy. The nice folks who work on my cars charge $85 per hour for shop time. The good guy who takes care of my plumbing needs charges $100 for a service call, then tells me what it will cost to do what needs to be done. Nice man who takes care of my landscaping and lawn needs charged me $40 per hour to plant the shrubs my wife wanted. My dentist doesn't work for nothing. The lawyer who helped us settle an estate for an elderly family member charged us $350 per hour, and every time papers needed to be filed with the courts there was another $100 for the filing fees.

Having a hobby is nice. Running a business requires a plan and discipline.

[kgg]

24 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Convertible IWB/OWB, strong side/cross-draw, SOB option, connection for shoulder harness (ambidextrous of course), and pocket carry in Speedo's with a tank top. Ride heights so far above the belt that altitude sickness can become a factor (not to mention gravity's effect on the loaded handgun).

That just cracks me up. I needed a good laugh.

kgg

[Dwight]

I am certain that down thru the years . . . one or more did not meet or exceed the buyer's expectations.

One I did for a Texan . . . had to be done over . . .  and he was happy . . . but others  . . . well . . . just have not heard.

Did do a belt for a gun shop owner in Tenn . . . wanted a pants belt with 6 loops for .38 special . . . I made it . . . he didn't like it because he had to unload it to put it in his pants or take it out of his pants.

I made him a new belt . . . I've got the old one . . . draped over a filing cabinet.  

I've always taken the tack that much like automobiles . . . ya gotta do some new stuff . . . make a different product . . . or you wind up selling 38 Ford coupes for 80 years straight.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Charley1]

Learned this before I started making holsters...Everybody is different. What works great for one person is a miserable, uncomfortable POS for another person. That's why most of us who carry regularly have a drawer full of holsters that didn't work for us.

[Lobo]

14 hours ago, Dwight said:

I am certain that down thru the years . . . one or more did not meet or exceed the buyer's expectations.

One I did for a Texan . . . had to be done over . . .  and he was happy . . . but others  . . . well . . . just have not heard.

Did do a belt for a gun shop owner in Tenn . . . wanted a pants belt with 6 loops for .38 special . . . I made it . . . he didn't like it because he had to unload it to put it in his pants or take it out of his pants.

I made him a new belt . . . I've got the old one . . . draped over a filing cabinet.  

I've always taken the tack that much like automobiles . . . ya gotta do some new stuff . . . make a different product . . . or you wind up selling 38 Ford coupes for 80 years straight.

May God bless,

Dwight

Dwight: I'll take all the old '38 Ford coupes I can get, and I'll be happy to pay sticker price for them!

43 years pounding hides and I always had a new idea percolating in my head, usually at least one project moving from mental image to design, to prototype, to function testing. Most ended up as chew toys for the dogs or play things for the kids. A few made it into regular production and earned me some income and market share.

Seriously, during the time I was active in the holster business I offered 13 holster designs, with or without 4 common options, left-hand or right-hand, in 4 finish colors, for 130 different handgun models. That resulted in over 80,000 possible variations, but people always wanted something else. I did business via website and e-mail, receiving an average of 35 e-mails every day and spending a couple of hours responding to questions, acknowledging orders, estimating production times, and dealing with every week's graduating class from the Holster Genius School. I made a point of NEVER publishing my phone number simply because 30 phone calls per day, each eating 10 minutes of my time, would require 5 hours every day!

Custom work, by definition, is one-of-a-kind production to individual customer specifications. That is all fine, but only if Mr. Customer is willing to pay for the hours of discussions and for the 2, 3, 4 or more iterations of patterning and prototype production to achieve the desired result. Making a single holster from start to finish, starting with a blank piece of paper, working from concept to pattern, then a prototype, followed by adjusting the pattern until everything comes together, all these things take hours and hours of time (and dollars worth of materials and shop supplies). How much can we charge each customer to make that commitment of time and resources? How many customers are willing to pay multiples of retail pricing to get that one-of-a-kind result? I can hear them now: WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? JOHN BIANCHI? ROY BAKER? SAM MYRES? A.W. BRILL?

I remember the guy who had a very specific idea for a knife sheath, bent my ear for a couple of hours describing just what he wanted. I asked him what he expected to pay for it, he replied "How about $20?" I told him that would cover the materials, but the 2 or 3 hours of work would cost a little bit more. The guy is a union electrician, probably makes $50 per hour but can't understand anyone else being worth minimum wage.

One of my little brain farts involved laser-etching of holsters, including such things as military unit crests or police department badges. All that was required was a clear scan of the item to be depicted, my laser guy could load that into his computer-driven laser and reproduce just about any image you can imagine. I spent a lot of time and effort on that little project, then offered the service at a modest price as an optional feature. In a year's time that resulted in 7 orders. Lots of wasted time for no gain.

Had an idea rattling around in my head for a couple of years for a different approach to IWB-style holsters, and I fiddled around with it through several prototype projects as time allowed. The project stalled with my discovery that it would require a new and different type of belt clip design to support and secure the holstered handgun. I found a clip manufacturer willing to take on the project for an initial order of 500 pieces, sent a check for the first production run, received an estimated production date, then a year went by with nothing, the company shut down, and I never saw a clip or my money again. Two years went by and I found another manufacturer who produced what I wanted, the product was developed and went on the website, and it became one of my best selling models (but only about 3 years after the initial concept).

My point is that the time spent on developing a new design is an investment in the future. If the new idea is successful it can become profitable by multiple orders on a regular basis. If the idea is a one-of-a-kind custom job all of that time and effort has to be paid for to justify the investment.

There is true "custom" work, and there is "customized" production work. A fairly standard holster design can be "customized" by incorporating unique features (exotic leathers, hand-carving, unique tooling patterns, etc). This can be a way to generate interest and desire for the customer to order from you instead of shopping with your competition. In my mind this is working "smart" instead of working "very hard".

By the way, like you experienced I have also had a customer wanting a belt with cartridge loops, then discovering that there is no way to put it through the belt loops with cartridges in the loops. One of those things that if we thought about it for a few minutes in advance we would mention to Mr. Customer that maybe it wouldn't work quite like he envisioned.

I have also had customers wanting 12-round cartridge loop carriers for .44 caliber ammo, then complaining that the carrier would not ride on the belt in the position they wanted. Somehow I messed up the job because 12 loops for .44 caliber revolver cartridges take up about ten inches of belt space, no way to shrink the dimensions! I'm sure it was all my fault.

Then there was the young cop who just had to have a double magazine pouch with handcuff case and tactical light holder. Comfortable in use? Concealable? You can guess the answers to those questions. I'm sure it was all my fault.

Nice guy wanted a holster, belt, and mag pouch in horn alligator hide. I sourced the alligator hide and quoted my regular prices for the items plus the cost of the hide. Mr. Customer had no kind words for me at all! I was the worst kind of thieving bottom-feeder in his estimation.

Another customer had a tanned elephant hide from an African safari years ago, wanted a couple of holsters, belts, accessories made of it. I asked him to send me a small piece, determined it was chrome-tanned (very soft), but it was very nice and distinctive in appearance. I suggested bonding the elephant to veg-tanned cowhide, then producing his pieces with the elephant on the exposed portions. Worked like a dream! Mr. Customer got everything he wanted at very modest prices, allowed me to keep all the leftover elephant leather as a little bonus. I then cranked out several holsters and belts for some good prices!

More rambling from an old retired guy with arthritic hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, and no longer capable of doing the work. Thank God, a good family of great leather craftsmen bought my business and keep it running today!

[Shootinglady123]

Hey there!

Maybe you could also check Craft Holsters. Here is a link to Ruger LCP holsters and on the right side is a drop down menu for choosing IWB, OWB or Light and laser bearing holsters: https://www.craftholsters.com/ruger-lcp-holsters. Hope this will help :).

[tsunkasapa]

I've had folks ask for things that are just beyond comprehension. "Can you make me a belt? I want it to pay down the National Debt, fight Climate Change, feed the hungry.....OH, and it should hold my pants up too."  I just tell them my schedule is pretty backed up.

[YinTx]

Great conversation, but seriously, hijacked the thread.  Someone trying to make a job available to another leatherworker - but lost in the shuffle.  Anyway to break this off into another thread and clean it up some, admins?

YinTx