My IWB holster attempt

[DBagnall]

I have made various holsters here and there in the past but this is my first attempt at making an IWB holster. I very much like Crossbreed and Comp-Tac holsters but I could not bring myself to purchase yet another holster for my latest acquisition when I could potentially make one myself.

I made it out of leather as you can see and I ordered the clips from Comp-Tac and I was quite pleased with how it turned out.... Wore it all evening last night and all day today and I have no complaints!!!







If any of you have any positive criticism, I am all ears. Thanks for looking.

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[safetyman]

Awesome job on the holster! How is the fit? Have you ever thought about wet-forming to allow the holster to 'hug' the gun better?

 

[billdeserthills]

Good looking holster

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

That is pretty darn good holster.

 

[Swedish K]

Looks good - how is retention? I was thinking of doing something similar but leather backing and kydex formed to the gun for better retention. The last kydex holster I did I was a bit concerned about the heat from molding the kydex causing it to stick to the gun so I made a plaster mold of the gun and formed the kydex over the plaster model. Not sure if I had to do that but it seemed a bit less expensive than finding out the hard way.

 

[yotehunter]

when the gun is drawn does the holster collapse? That's the only thing I see as a possible problem. Maybe put another strip of leather at the rim so it doesn't fold?

 

[novamind]

A fine piece of custom craftmanship

 

[wayoutwest]

I think you did a fine job

I agree with 'yotehunter' , are you able to reholster one handed, does it stay open?

 

[FarmerTed1971]

Nice!

 

[DBagnall]

I apologize for the lateness of my replies. I will try to answer all questions as well as I can.

First off, I did wet-form the leather to some extent to the gun, so the fit is quite snug. I have not figured out how to mold the leather so well as to show the minute details of the gun itself without marring the leather badly. Something I will continue to work on in the future as leather makers like Galco and Bianchi seem to do ok at it. Regardless the holster was made for the gun that you see pictured and I have no complaints as to the fit.

The retention is fantastic. Since I formed the leather to fit, the gun seems to "snap" in to place. Also since I made the holster portion rough side in, that coupled with the tension of the belt created the necessary friction. The gun is going nowhere unless I want it to. I also think the forward cant helps a lot as well.

The leather does not collapse and yes, I am able to re-holster one handed. I used some medium weight leather and by "wet-formimg" and allowing it to dry, it created a substantial amount of stiffness and I am not concerned with it losing its shape at all. I actually like it better than the Comp-Tac Minotaur holster as the Kydex in that does collapse for some reason. It seems the Kydex is flimsier than what is used in the Crossbreed holster I have.

Hopefully that suffices as an answer. Thank you all for the kind compliments.

 

[buck]

very nice indeed

 

[DBagnall]

when the gun is drawn does the holster collapse? That's the only thing I see as a possible problem. Maybe put another strip of leather at the rim so it doesn't fold?

Though for this holster I didn't think the additional strip of leather was necessary, I do think it is an excellent idea. Thanks for suggesting it. I might even make another one where I fold the leather over and stitch it down to create the same result. It also can potentially lend some additional character to the piece as well...

 

[billdeserthills]

A fine piece of custom craftmanship

Plus if it isn't perfect nobody will ever know, as nobody should ever see your IWB holster anyway!

 

[DonovanJay]

Nice.

 

[novamind]

There is a market potential for custom/gun holsters....You know what they say about opertunity knocking....

 

[glockman99]

That is a very nice-looking IWB holster...When can I put my order in for a left-hand version for my Ruger Police Service-Six, with 2.75" barrel?

 

[DBagnall]

There is a market potential for custom/gun holsters....You know what they say about opertunity knocking....

Thanks for the suggestion. I have thought about it... I should post some of my other work too, see what folks think... My problem is I don't really know what kind of value to fix to my creations. I started making holsters because 1. I enjoy working with leather and 2. I didn't want to pay 80+ bucks for something I could make relatively easily and have fun doing it.

That is a very nice-looking IWB holster...When can I put my order in for a left-hand version for my Ruger Police Service-Six, with 2.75" barrel?

Thanks for your confidence . I wouldn't be opposed to it, I would need to get my hands on a gun like yours though to get the fit right, etc.

 

[dragonsden73]

Careful....last time I tried selling a holster I made, I got booted from the site and told to pay $75 a month before I could list them again. Just trying to save you from a headache....

 

[DBagnall]

Careful....last time I tried selling a holster I made, I got booted from the site and told to pay $75 a month before I could list them again. Just trying to save you from a headache....

Yeah, I imagine that to run a business off this website, you need to be a supporting vendor. No worries, I don't have a business and I don't use this site to make money. Thanks for the heads up regardless, though.

 

[mookmanjdj]

Really nice work. Keep going, especially if you enjoy the craft. It's inspiring.