Starting a new series, interviewing a holster maker that’s out there, showing the maker behind the mold.
Jason is a regular on my local shooters forum, http://www.carolinashootersclub.com and has been putting out a great and very good looking product. He does business through word of mouth and eBay.
He agreed to answer a few questions for you guys, and share some work examples with you.
1. What do you think is the difference between a good holster and a great holster?
fit and finish.
Fit- Gun fit and body fit.
I’m a fan of molded holsters rather than generic fit. I like to see the lines in the holster, either molded in the kydex or boned into the leather. That said, it’s more a personal thing than a necessity. There are great holsters out there that are lightly boned. But personally I like to see nice boning and detail work in leather. That’s one of the reasons I take the time to do it.
The gun needs to mold well to the firearm for retention. I’ve eased up my thoughts on retention, i.e. I don’t feel the need to be held up by my feet and have the gun stay put. Or do cartwheels. But it needs to fit snug so it does not move in the holster and that fit needs to provide a level of retention too. Enough that the gun is secure.
The holster needs to ride well. Tight to the body. One of the reasons I do my pancakes with flat backs. It lets the back of the holster ride very tight to the wearer. A 50-50 mold will set the holster off the belt by half the width of the gun. A flat back holster rides right up against the belt on the back.
Finish is both materials used and how they are finished. Good quality materials are the best start. I use 8-9 oz natural strap leather, the best grade my supplier sells. I don’t get caught up on the leather brand name though. I’ve seen some bad cuts from some good names. How they are finished includes dying, oiling, waxing, edging, etc. I hand dye my holsters, which is where I get the mottled brown leather look from. To that I add an oil/wax finish that really deepens the finish. Then acrylic sealer. And finish with a finish wax to shine it back up a bit. All edges are dyed black and burnished smooth. Even my hybrids are edged and burnished. And I use 10-12 oz black bridle leather on my hybrids. One of the things I hate are poorly finished or non finished edges. If that detail is left off what else is left off?
2. What consideration do you make when making a holster, for any position and role?
There is always a compromise of safety, security, and fit. I want to make a safe holster, no obvious safety flaws on my end. A secure holster that holds the firearm well. And a holster that fits well when broken in so the customer want’s to carry it.
For the most part I make it how I would want it made. Unless the customer has specific requests, then I go with those. Most holsters get a 12-15 degree forward cant. I put the belt line where the top of the belt runs behind the trigger guard and ejection port which gives it a good ride height. I also have a few absolutes in my designs. The mag release is always cleared of material and I want a full grip that clears the knuckles and keeps the sweat shield clear. And all my holster have a sweat shield and combat cut unless requested otherwise.
3. What difference goes into making a holster for IWB and OWB, even if both are for concealed carry?
Here we go, I don’t do multi role holsters. I have been talked into a couple IWB/OWB holsters. The customer was happy, but I’m never happy with them. I feel each holster has requirements specific to its role.
OWB needs to be wide enough to mold well and I like them to jump 2 belt loops so the loops ride behind the holster. That depends on the pants too. But with that said, I don’t want the loops set unnecessarily far apart either. I run very rough patterns, so each holster is slightly different. And I tend to trim them out in a manner that will look good and function well. Set forward cant. Somewhat high ride.
IWB double clip or loop holsters tend to run a bit wider than OWB. The exception are single clip IWB holster. I tend to offer a couple adjustment holes for ride height and cant in my leather and hybrid holsters. I like to give the customer some options here because some folks want higher ride, and some folks want it closer to the belt line.
The reason I don’t like dual purpose holsters is it makes an OWB holster that’s too wide. The IWB holster might be wider than necessary. When the holster breaks in, it will natural fit better one way over the other. And changing hardware is annoying.
4. What got you guys into making holsters?
Price. I’m a cheap skate. And I have a wicked tinker gene, lol. Also, my first real carry handgun was an older S&W. By the time I got my hands on it, no one offered holsters for it. I was stuck with crappy generic holsters. When I bought a G19 I ordered a big name hybrid. Looked at it and figured I could make that. Then hybrids got me into leather.
5. Other than your own, what is your favorite holster and holster companies and why?
Red Nichols, Brigade Gun leather, Mitch Rosen, Milt Sparks, Zlogonje Gun leather. I’ve learned a ton by reading stuff online from Red Nichols. Probably the best holster maker in the world right now. Brigade GL is just amazing to look at, plus they have several pages dedicated to how they make their holsters that I spent a lot of time looking at. Rosen and Sparks have been doing this for a long time. And Zlogonje is a member of a leather board I frequent and I’ve always like the looks he gets for his leather.
6. Why should I buy your holster over any other one? In other words, sell me on yours as if I am on the fence about buying it vs the leading brands
As for why, I’ve relied pretty heavily on word of mouth here, feedback on eBay, and local word of mouth. Which means I have to put out a good product, and on the rare occasion where something does not work out I stand behind it. Personally, I don’t like having to fix a mistake. So I try and catch them in house. I have my hands on every holster, start to finish. Today I cut up 2 mag holders that just didn’t work out and re started them. Didn’t like the old pattern I had for a hybrid so instead of just going with it I re patterned it for the holster I’m getting ready to send out. I think that attention to detail has worked very well so far.
I’ve got several guys that refer to me as “their holster guy”. You see it on gun boards too. Guys like their gear, and they like being able to talk to and work with the guy making it. And I’m still small enough to be able to do that. And I’m not really out to be the biggest guy on the block. I want to put out a solid product, at a good price, that I would use.
But to be honest, holsters are like shoes. Some guys love my stuff, some guys don’t. And that is fine. Which is why you see so many folks in the market. And why some of these niche makers are out there doing one or two things but doing it very well. If I am doing what someone else likes, great. If I can’t do it, I’ll try and point them to someone that is doing it.
Check out Jason’s work, and grab a holster from him if you’re needing or wanting one. EBay name is chiefjason50, or Chiefjason on the Carolinashootersclub forum.
everydayconcealed 