Stretching A Holster

[Howard1955]

I bought this nice leather holster on eBay, and was told it would definitely fit my Ruger P90.

But, no. I tried gradually stretching the holster by adding layers of plastic bags to the pistol, then jamming it into the holster, and adding more layers of plastic over several days. Eventually, the pistol (minus the layers of plastic) could fit into the holster - but the strap for the thumb-break was just too short. The snap wasn't even close to where it should have been.

Today, I soaked the holster in a tub of water for an hour or so, wrapped the pistol in a couple of layers of plastic, and put it into the holster. With the leather being wet, I was able to stretch the thumb-break strap enough to get it snapped closed.

Since the leather will shrink a bit as it dries, I've tied the thumb-break in place with some parachute cord. In a few days, when the leather is good and dry, I'll remove the cord and see if the snap works.

Meanwhile, the holstered pistol is in a garden window where it can get a lot of direct sun. Keeping my fingers crossed...

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[titsonritz]

The P89 is a 9mm, the P91 is the same gun chambered in .40 S&W the P90 is a scaled-up version of the P89 chambered in .45 ACP. I would expect a holster made for P89/P91 to need to be stretched in order to fit a P90.

 

[Tinman357]

Soaking in warm water is the way its done. On the plus side, it will be a perfect fit and you can "bone" the soft leather to follow the lines of the sidearm. It's a nice touch.

I usually only do this to the visible side on OWB holsters. If there is any pattern embossed on the leather, it will need to be retouched.

 

[asiparks]

I wouldn't dry in direct sun- the outer layers can dry and shrink before the deeper layers
causing cracks….

 

[Howard1955]

Thanks for the input, guys.

 

[Howard1955]

It seems to be drying nicely. I took the pistol out and removed the plastic, to do a trial fit. The strap is perfect now, but stretching it has made the hole for the snap a bit elongated.

I think the reason the thumb-break strap was too short is because I have Crimson Trace grips on the gun. The housing for the laser sticks out a bit, and the leather wasn't cut long enough for that.

 

[Howard1955]

The holster is a perfect fit now. The thumb strap reaches over the CT laser, and works properly. The pistol doesn't bind or stick in the holster at all.

 

[Ruger Rich]

I coached girls fastpitch for years. What you're doing is what I did with new gloves. It works.

 

[jtholsters]

I always recommend my customer to use wax paper to stretch the holster. It works much better that plastic bags. Just be careful not to over stretch. I see you have already fixed this though. So on your next holster try wax paper.

 

[Howard1955]

I always recommend my customer to use wax paper to stretch the holster. It works much better that plastic bags. Just be careful not to over stretch. I see you have already fixed this though. So on your next holster try wax paper.

Thanks - I'll keep that in mind.