Magnetic Holster

[Hunter125]

Someone brought this up in another thread and it's been bugging me.

They said a magnetic holster might mess with your handgun, magnetize parts of the gun and slow down the slide, etc. I keep my XDm attached to my nightstand with a small magnetic strip holster at night, then it goes in the safe each morning until bed time.

Do you think this is going to mess with my gun? I've been doing that for well over a year now and haven't noticed any adverse effects yet, but I'm not sure it's something that would be really obvious. What do you think?

 

[Hanzo581]

Uh...no. It would have no effect. Whoever is telling you that is looney.

 

[rcmodel]

Loony?
So be it!!

The worst that could happen is the slide would become slightly magnetized over time and trap & hold small metal partials from normal wear.

I have had tools & drill bits do that, and it's the devil to get steel grinder dust completely cleaned of them.

But it would take a very powerful magnet to magnetize a slide.

rc

 

[Hunter125]

Good to know. I didn't figure it was going to hurt it, just wanted to make sure.

 

[Miked7762]

There are electronic demagnetizers available if you are actually concerned about this, though they are not inexpensive. Look for them at watch and clock supply shops (mechanical watches and clocks are affected by magnetism).

 

[Hunter125]

I don't think I can say I've ever been to a clock or watch supply shop, unless a jewelry store counts..

 

[Mainsail]

I just happen to be in Salt Lake for a Mag Particle and Liquid Pen classes. It's important to demagnetize the parts after mag particle to prevent interference with a compass (primarily) and to prevent the part from attracting grit.

Whether the holster will magnetize the gun is debatable, but it's important to remember that it will only work with plain old steel. *Most* stainless and alloy slides or frames won't stick to a magnet.

 

[Safetychain]

A demagnetizer is very easy to build yourself from the garage and/or trash pile. Load up the next large standard picture tube style TV thrown out in the trash. The existence of these are falling off now but there are still a lot showing up in the trash. Around the picture tube inside is a coil of copper wire, anywhere between 20 -100 turns around the screen end of the tube and wrapped in tape. (Of course you can make a run to Radio Shack and spend $15 - 20 on new wire) Remove the tape and use the wire to re-wrap the wire around a 4 or 6 inch piece of PVC DWV pipe. Put an old electric lamp socket in series with the coil and screw in a 100 W old style Edison bulb. Connect to 120 V. To demagnetize, simply pass the object through the PVC tube slowly. This will work well with tools or gun slides. Oh, mount everything to a wood base, add a switch and make it look good where you can show it off. It is not needed often but a very necessary device to have around.

 

[Deer_Freak]

Palmetto state armory has nice holsters that slip between the mattress and box spring. The holster is made by Blackhawk. You don't have to worry about the magnet popping off the frame if you are a little groggy or any concerns about turning your gun into a magnet.