Breaking in leather holster?

[Quoheleth]

I recently purchased a like-new UBG holster from a fellow THR member who had the same 1911 model as me. See the holster at www.ubgholsters.com/IWB.html - it's the Canute model. It looks nice and holds my 1911 very snugly. VERY snugly. VEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRYYYYY snugly. So much so that when I put the holster on (4 o'clock), holstered my weapon and then tried to draw, it wouldn't come out. I loosened the belt thinking I was cinched too tight. Tried it again, and this time my pants hiked up 6" (can you say "wedgie"???). I tried moving it back and forth on my belt from 3 oclock to 5 o clock with the same results: draw the gun and the whole shebang comes with it.

How does one go about breaking in a holster to allow for a smooth draw? Just use it - insert and draw the weapon to form the leather to the gun?

THIS IS NOT A RANT. I have no complaint with the gentleman I bought this from, UBG holsters, or the tooth fairy. I am trying to figure out how to make this work.

Advice appreciated.

Quoheleth

 

[Car Knocker]

From the Milt Sparks site:

My holster is too tight! What's the best way to break it in?

Tightness in a new holster is not uncommon and is much preferable to the alternative. If the draw is a little stiff at first, it is recommended that you work with it to see if it doesn't loosen up with a bit of use. About 25 to 50 presentations should be a good indicator of whether the holster will break in sufficiently on its own or if maybe a little blocking out of the leather is in order. There are many variables as to why a holster would be excessively tight ranging from the texture of your guns finish, to slight changes in climate or humidity from where the holster is made. Regardless of the reason, a too tight holster can easily be remedied by the end user with a method we have been recommending to customers for over 20 years.

To block out (stretch) your new holster first UNLOAD your pistol or revolver and place the gun into the 4 mil plastic bag that your new holster was packaged in. Then carefully insert the bagged gun all the way into the holster (do not! I repeat, do not!! wet or spray the holster with any solution to aid in the stretching process). The blocking out process as described above will in no way harm the crisp detailed molding of your new holster, nor will it ruin its retention qualities. It serves simply to stretch the leather a few thousands of an inch larger than the gun. The amount of stretching time needed for satisfactory results range from a just a few minutes to overnight.
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I've heard of some folks using a thin sock instead of a plastic bag.

 

[eagle45]

I've used the same method described in Car Knocker's post, but used the end of an old dress sock instead of the bag.

 

[asknight]

The plastic bag method has worked for me on all occasions of having a holster fit too snugly. Leaving it overnight has worked best for me.

 

[ceetee]

Some people recommend using a sheet of waxed paper, too.

 

[Rustynuts]

I believe the wax paper method is what UBG recommends