1911 Colt Commander Inside the Waistband Leather Holster

The pattern for this inside the waistband leather holster is based upon my IWB Model CCL-002.

This is my first machine sewed holster. I purchased an old Adler sewing machine a few weeks ago. I have been working on the sewing machine trying to get it tuned and up and slowed down so I can use it to sew holsters.

I have also been experimenting with a two toned dying process using.

Hand Tooled Outside the Waistband Leather Holster

This is my first try at hand tooling one of my holsters. I built this holster for my Glock 19. It has a 15 degree cant.

Another OWB Design

This unique design is not your fathers pancake holster.  I use 7-8 ounce leather with the leather over the front of the gun skived down a couple of ounces. Also prior to wet molding the gun I box fold the leather so the leather envelope is asymmetrical. That combined with the strategically placed lighter weight leather makes for a holster that basically keeps more of the guns profile away from your body. 

The areas of lighter leather mold closer to the gun profile and make for a great balance of retention and speed of presentation.

The two anchor points allow for the belt to pull the gun closer in, giving less print through. In fact on my body type it performs equal to an inside the waist band holster.

Outside the Waistband Holster

This outside the waistband holster has a single anchor point for the belt to pass through so I made it as wide and snug around the belt as I could so it wouldn't rock back and forth when it was being carried. This design creates a narrow platform, barley wider then the gun. 

Sometimes depending on your build and your belt line you get a little more print through with this type of holster, then an inside the waistband, but it is incredible comfortable to carry. 

IWB Model CCL-002

This holster provides more forward cant for strong side presentation. The ride height is as deep as I can get it while still presenting the guns grip so it can be accessed without any interference from the belt and trousers. The front of the holster is cut out giving you shorter draw to presentation.

The snaps are single direction pull of the highest quality. They can only be unfastened by pulling from the top, no accidental un-snapping here. The base of the snap and loop are fastened using “T” nuts and screws set in red Loctite©. This method makes it possible for you to service the loops yourself if it becomes necessary.

Inside the Waistband Holster Model CCL-001

Traditional pancake holsters take two pieces of leather and sew them together then wet mold the gun. The profile of the gun is symmetrical. That is to say that the side against your body is the same as the side away from your body. I wanted to make an asymmetrical design, with more of the guns profile and retention being away from the body and less of the profile against the user.

To accomplish this I had to have more leather on the front then the back thereby naturally forcing more of the guns profile away from the user's body. This makes it more difficult to create patterns, sew and wet mold. But the result equals more comfort for all day carry.

This holster provides a slight forward cant for strong side presentation. The ride height is medium to high with the emphasis being on the guns grip being positioned so it can be accessed without any interference from the belt and trousers.

The mouth of the holster is reinforced on three sides and the unique construction of the holster creates a box like corner that provides a virtually crush proof opening that will always allow one handed re-holstering.

The leather loops are molded to securely fit the belts width. Experience has taught me that the weakest part of a holster is the loops, they take a lot of abuse and can become worn out long before the rest of the holster.  These loops are fastened using “T” nuts and screws set in red Loctite©. This method makes it possible for you to service the loops yourself if it becomes necessary.

Model CCL-001

A Different Pocket Holster

I made this pocket holster back in 2009. The body of the holster is formed around the gun but I kept it loose, because to much retention with a pocket holster could be a problem.

The main design challenge you have to overcome with a pocket holster is two fold; (1) keep the gun from rotating in the pocket so the grip presentation is predictable, (2) make sure the holster stays in the pocket when you remove the gun.

My solution incorporates a snap on outside cover, at first glance it might seem that this is just to help the gun from any unwanted print through. That is part of its job, but the main one is to keep the gun from tumbling in the pocket and help keep the holster behind in the pocket when you draw your weapon.

I usually shipped this holster with two or three leather covers with snaps. One of the covers was trimmed out to fit a common Levi jean pants pocket, the other covers where left untrimmed so the user could shape them to fit their pockets. When the user controls the actual profile of the holster he is better able to insure proper fit and performance for various pocket sizes. And the snaps make it possible to quickly change the holsters profile for various types of pockets.

Just for good measure I added a little extra piece of leather across the mouth of the holster to help keep it open for re-hostering.