jehicks87
Member
I placed an order with Eric Larssen of HBE Leatherworks for my Glock 36. I settled on his Pro-Slim IWB holster with a few custom touches.
First of all, Eric is a stand-up guy. I love that he runs his own shop and has turned his passion/hobby into a viable alternative for us gun owners and those of us who CC.
For the nitty-gritty, here is a link to a video review of the replacement holster... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZDozYHgwdA&feature=plcp
And the original review of the first holster... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOZ8cLqjjUs&feature=plcp
Now, my dealings with HBE:
I originally placed the order sometime in the fall of 2011... I can't remember exactly, as it has been that long, but I want to say it was in October. He helped me decide exactly what I wanted and was very patient, knowledgeable, and helpful on the phone. He told me it would be 6-8 weeks before he began construction, and then another 6-8 weeks until receipt of the holster. I said this was acceptable, and my order was at that point place.
After not hearing from him during that time period, I assumed it was a non-start. and had already chalked it up to a lost order slip and had begun to shop around for other options by that point but was disappointed because I had been really excited about the holster options we had discussed. About the 3rd or 4th week of January, he contacted me about my order. I told him to go ahead and proceed with the construction but was unable to pay until I returned from JRTC on February 1st. When I returned home after training, I promptly made a paypal payment to him.
I waited around and when I didn't hear from him by the end of March, I began to call. He returned my calls and explained that the hold up was the belt clips he was using were being sent from his supplier were of improper temper and he was sending them back, which was delaying production. I appreciated the fact that he was not using sub-par materials, but expressed my aggrivation with not being kept in the loop. I had paid over $100 for a holster, I felt like I should be informed when the construction ran beyond the projected time frame. He apologized and assured me he would get the holster out as soon as he was able.
I received the original holster in the 4th week of April. I opened the package and was immediately miffed. The color was wrong and there was no metal band as we had agreed upon! I allowed myself a bit of time to cool down, as I can get a temper and I did not want to be unprofessional about what could have been a simple miscommunication issue, and then I called him. We talked for a minute and he explained he had already made me wait beyond what he had originally intended, and wanted to go ahead and get the holster out to me but was unable to perfect the metal banding, so he shipped it without. I was not ok with this, as it was not what I had ordered. As far as the color was concerned he said it was in fact the correct color, but the leather had taken it differently than I had probably assumed. He offered to source another, lighter color and remake the holster as we had originally agreed if I would send the first one back.
Which I did. On my dime.
I got the second holster in much, much quicker... something like 3 weeks. I opened the package and was pleased. However, a couple of things I really liked on the original had changed, namely the interior was now rough-side out and the belt clip design was different. I contacted Eric again, he explained the necessity for the rough-side out and said that the clip was the same quality as the first, it was simply a different design. I liked the original belt clip heads and shoulders over this new one, but it will work and honestly if I hadn't had the first one I would never have given it a second thought.
All-in-all, it is a great holster and it is now exactly as I wanted it to be. I like Eric, I really do, and I love his entrepreneurial spirit... I also like that it is hand-made here in America. I did not like that it took two tries, I waited roughly 6 months, and the lack of communication.
The final product is high-quality, comfortable, and reasonably priced. It is also BEAUTIFUL. I suggest giving him a shot if you want exactly what he has on his website... but a word of caution is stick with his designs, no deviations. I think the main issue in my holster's construction, and my corresponding disappointment, was that I wanted a little something "extra" - namely, the metal reinforcement around the mouth. If I had not asked for that, I would have been pleased with the original holster. Hell, it was high-quality! It simply wasn't what I had ordered.
I give the products Eric puts out an A+ but I give his communication a D+/C-
I would probably buy another HBEleatherworks holster in the future, but I would add a month or two to my expected delivery date and stick with his proven designs.
I hope y'all thought this was informative and am open to any questions or comments.
Jake
First of all, Eric is a stand-up guy. I love that he runs his own shop and has turned his passion/hobby into a viable alternative for us gun owners and those of us who CC.
For the nitty-gritty, here is a link to a video review of the replacement holster... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZDozYHgwdA&feature=plcp
And the original review of the first holster... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOZ8cLqjjUs&feature=plcp
Now, my dealings with HBE:
I originally placed the order sometime in the fall of 2011... I can't remember exactly, as it has been that long, but I want to say it was in October. He helped me decide exactly what I wanted and was very patient, knowledgeable, and helpful on the phone. He told me it would be 6-8 weeks before he began construction, and then another 6-8 weeks until receipt of the holster. I said this was acceptable, and my order was at that point place.
After not hearing from him during that time period, I assumed it was a non-start. and had already chalked it up to a lost order slip and had begun to shop around for other options by that point but was disappointed because I had been really excited about the holster options we had discussed. About the 3rd or 4th week of January, he contacted me about my order. I told him to go ahead and proceed with the construction but was unable to pay until I returned from JRTC on February 1st. When I returned home after training, I promptly made a paypal payment to him.
I waited around and when I didn't hear from him by the end of March, I began to call. He returned my calls and explained that the hold up was the belt clips he was using were being sent from his supplier were of improper temper and he was sending them back, which was delaying production. I appreciated the fact that he was not using sub-par materials, but expressed my aggrivation with not being kept in the loop. I had paid over $100 for a holster, I felt like I should be informed when the construction ran beyond the projected time frame. He apologized and assured me he would get the holster out as soon as he was able.
I received the original holster in the 4th week of April. I opened the package and was immediately miffed. The color was wrong and there was no metal band as we had agreed upon! I allowed myself a bit of time to cool down, as I can get a temper and I did not want to be unprofessional about what could have been a simple miscommunication issue, and then I called him. We talked for a minute and he explained he had already made me wait beyond what he had originally intended, and wanted to go ahead and get the holster out to me but was unable to perfect the metal banding, so he shipped it without. I was not ok with this, as it was not what I had ordered. As far as the color was concerned he said it was in fact the correct color, but the leather had taken it differently than I had probably assumed. He offered to source another, lighter color and remake the holster as we had originally agreed if I would send the first one back.
Which I did. On my dime.
I got the second holster in much, much quicker... something like 3 weeks. I opened the package and was pleased. However, a couple of things I really liked on the original had changed, namely the interior was now rough-side out and the belt clip design was different. I contacted Eric again, he explained the necessity for the rough-side out and said that the clip was the same quality as the first, it was simply a different design. I liked the original belt clip heads and shoulders over this new one, but it will work and honestly if I hadn't had the first one I would never have given it a second thought.
All-in-all, it is a great holster and it is now exactly as I wanted it to be. I like Eric, I really do, and I love his entrepreneurial spirit... I also like that it is hand-made here in America. I did not like that it took two tries, I waited roughly 6 months, and the lack of communication.
The final product is high-quality, comfortable, and reasonably priced. It is also BEAUTIFUL. I suggest giving him a shot if you want exactly what he has on his website... but a word of caution is stick with his designs, no deviations. I think the main issue in my holster's construction, and my corresponding disappointment, was that I wanted a little something "extra" - namely, the metal reinforcement around the mouth. If I had not asked for that, I would have been pleased with the original holster. Hell, it was high-quality! It simply wasn't what I had ordered.
I give the products Eric puts out an A+ but I give his communication a D+/C-
I would probably buy another HBEleatherworks holster in the future, but I would add a month or two to my expected delivery date and stick with his proven designs.
I hope y'all thought this was informative and am open to any questions or comments.
Jake
, yeah, 6 of his holsters. 3 Com 3s, a pro slim, and 2 Pro TLs. Plus one of his belts! I like his Pro TLs the best. I've never had any problems with them being not what they were supposed to be, and I figure between him being busy with orders (if his products sucked, no one would be buying them), the quality, and him also having a LIFE to live, I don't have a problem even if a holster gets to me a few weeks late. Good stuff!!
