rnpollard
07-08-2011, 10:58 PM
During my travels this summer I stopped by my brother's place in the mountains of Colorado. I've made a few holsters for my brother over the years and I had a chance to see one I made for him about 18 months ago. It functioned beautifully but it was ugly as sin.
Over the past few months I had some buddies tell me that I needed to make my work prettier and I listened. I went from using a pale thin leather to using horsehide. Horsehide is much more dense and has better body. Once I'm through cutting it out I hit it with a light coat of neatsfoot oil and I spend some time on the belt sander dressing up the edges. I played around with dying some rigs black but have decided not to do it anymore. The dye will rub off on clothing when worn. If a customer wants to dye their rig, that is fine but it isn't an option that I'll be offering.
Don't get me wrong... I haven't gotten complaints from my early customers, I follow up with them when I'm able and the feedback is positive. It is just after making a couple hundred holsters I've gotten better at the fit and finish.
The holsters I make now are designed for the customer to be able to customize them as they see fit. You can see pics of my personal rigs on my photobucket page and they don't look anything like they did when they left the shop. I was shooting a IDPA meet a couple of months back and after the first stage I was back at the bench taking my holster off and trimming a 1/2" off here and there. I've incorporated some of these changes in my basic rigs now.
If you wear a cover garment I really recommend that you use the metal clips that I've purchased commercially. They work well and are very secure. If you need a little more concealment I offer kydex j-clips. These clips go over the waistband of your trousers and under your belt. These clips can be trimmed down to next to nothing and allow me to wear a Kahr PM9 or a Glock 26 under a tucked in dress shirt and you just can't see it. These clips are kydex of course and after a lot of wear they can crack and break. If they do, just let me know and I'll replace them.
You can see some of my holster work and some knife sheaths and edc gear at: http://s1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa467/TopsBlades/Kahr%20Arms%20Horse%20Hide%20and%20Kydex%20Holster s/
Take a look. I look forward to your questions and comments.
Stay safe,
Rick
Over the past few months I had some buddies tell me that I needed to make my work prettier and I listened. I went from using a pale thin leather to using horsehide. Horsehide is much more dense and has better body. Once I'm through cutting it out I hit it with a light coat of neatsfoot oil and I spend some time on the belt sander dressing up the edges. I played around with dying some rigs black but have decided not to do it anymore. The dye will rub off on clothing when worn. If a customer wants to dye their rig, that is fine but it isn't an option that I'll be offering.
Don't get me wrong... I haven't gotten complaints from my early customers, I follow up with them when I'm able and the feedback is positive. It is just after making a couple hundred holsters I've gotten better at the fit and finish.
The holsters I make now are designed for the customer to be able to customize them as they see fit. You can see pics of my personal rigs on my photobucket page and they don't look anything like they did when they left the shop. I was shooting a IDPA meet a couple of months back and after the first stage I was back at the bench taking my holster off and trimming a 1/2" off here and there. I've incorporated some of these changes in my basic rigs now.
If you wear a cover garment I really recommend that you use the metal clips that I've purchased commercially. They work well and are very secure. If you need a little more concealment I offer kydex j-clips. These clips go over the waistband of your trousers and under your belt. These clips can be trimmed down to next to nothing and allow me to wear a Kahr PM9 or a Glock 26 under a tucked in dress shirt and you just can't see it. These clips are kydex of course and after a lot of wear they can crack and break. If they do, just let me know and I'll replace them.
You can see some of my holster work and some knife sheaths and edc gear at: http://s1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa467/TopsBlades/Kahr%20Arms%20Horse%20Hide%20and%20Kydex%20Holster s/
Take a look. I look forward to your questions and comments.
Stay safe,
Rick