Prototype of a really different holster design.

[jimmarch]

Plastic holsters like the Blackhawk Sherpa, Fobus and the like have the ability to adjust the tilt angle to the user's needs. But, they're plastic. We haven't had a really adjustable leather outside-the-waist rig...until now.

This is an early prototype of a holster I made three days ago and have been wearing since. The cosmetics are not where I want them to be, I still need a better edge trimmer and stitch groove tool. This is a "working prototype/proof-of-concept" only...but it DOES work!

All of these pics are of the same holster, same belt mounting hardware, zero changes except adjustment.

In this pic we see my personal favorite carry setup, a high-ride crossdraw:



Here it's set up for a more traditional low-riding crossdraw:



Here's a strongside setup with an FBI forward tilt - note how the tilt angle is going completely the other way:



Here we see it still forward-tilt a bit, higher-ride, carried high and forward in an appendix-carry mode.



Many other positions are possible!

So how does it work? Well there IS some kydex involved - two thin strips about 1/2" wide, thick .125" grade for strength with holes up and down their length. Each hole is a potential mount point for one of the belt connectors. There's eight positions on the triggerguard-side strip, eleven on the sights-side.

Those thin black strings you see dangling on three of the above photos are used only when dialing in the adjustments - once you have it where you want it, you cut those off. Here's a series of three pics showing how a belt mount is attached to the holster.

Step one, the "adjustment string" (thin black string in this case but anything will do - fishing line, whatever's handy) is strung through one of the kydex mount points:



As you can see, the kydex strip is sewn onto the core holster.

A loop of the 550 paracord is pulled through:



...and then you pull the rest of that side's belt mount buckle through the loop and cinch tight:



My original "blueprint" for this called for a series of metal rings but the kydex strip probably works better: all the lacing together holds it steady so it's more stable, and it can't rust or go all green in the case of brass:



As far as I know, this design is completely unique to me. So it's licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 license:

creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

Read: feel free to make one for personal use, credit me if you share the design and drop me a line for low-cost commercial licensing fees.

[steveb]

After having focused on things tactical for the last 5 yrs, am now getting back to my S.A. roots. Maybe this leaves me in a better place to appreciate your "hybred" holster. I don't see a problem mixing leather and kydex. Think its quite innovative of you. steve b

[jimmarch]

The amount of kydex involved is very small and doesn't touch the gun or affect the holster's shape. The kydex isn't heat-molded at all, just shaped and drilled. This is still a leather holster. In fact, my original plan called for a series of rings (stainless steel?) as the attachment points. I also considered brass strips with holes drilled in.

Solid strips work better than rings because the whole mount setup is more rigid end-to-end...in other words, if I'm anchored second-up-from-the-bottom on one strip, the stitches holding the whole strip down (and the leather behind those stitches) support the anchor point. If I used rings, all the stress would be on far fewer stitches and less leather - over time I'd have problems.

If I used brass strips I'd have to polish the heck out of 'em to make sure they didn't cut the paracord over time, and I'd still have possible rust issues. Kydex leaves no sharp edges, it's strong enough in this grade thickness and it's rustproof.