My wife recently found a great deal and bought me two Desantis Dual carry holsters, one for iwb and one for owb. However they have a problem, when the thumb break is snapped, it kicks the safety off on my G3c. I removed the thumb break on the one that I will use for iwb but need it for the other for owb unless it was molded. I thought I might wet mold it to the gun using a vaccume sealer, then I would not need the thumb break on the owb either. However it is soft leather and I have never tried this using soft leather. Has anyone molded their gun in a soft leather holster? Thanks for any help.
wet molding soft leather?
- Thread starter old fart
- Start date
Yes they are for my weapon but the thumb break when pressed in will disengage the safety. I checked YouTube and this ain't the first thumb break holster to do this and happens a lot. I contacted Desantis and they said it was not a defect and it can occur with some handguns depending on the safety location or size. My wife got them on sale at a local flea market for $10 a piece but they don't accept returns. The one I cut for iwb works great but the only way to use the other for owb safely is to use the thumb break with the safety off. Unless the leather can be molded but it is soft leather.
Coyote3855
Member
Not sure what you have when you say soft leather. Wet molding usually works best on harness/bridle leather that is relatively stiff to start with. At $10, you have nothing to lose by trying it. But I don't have much hope for success.
Thanks, I think I may come up with another solution so not to damage the leather. With the dual carry there is a iwb stud on the front of the holster that a iwb clip attaches to. I may since I have snaps here, take a strip of leather and sew it to the holster and place a snap at the bottom. then I can bring the strap across my grip and that way keep my safety on. here is a pic of a dual carry holster.
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I agree but being on a fixed income, it's hard to save much money. Seems like just when I get close to enough to get a good one, something comes up and takes the money away.
Sudden Thunder
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That’s often the way money goes - whether with a firearm, vehicle, boat, home maintenance, and of course women…..
Some things are worth saving and waiting for. A reliable pistol and a good quality holster for it are two of those things. Cheap holsters that don't fit right aren't worth owning, no matter what a person's financial situation is.
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Coyote3855
Member
While not top of the line, Desantis Dual Carry holsters are certainly better than the nylon items by Uncle Mike and others.
True. Trying to be helpful. Perhaps I shouldn't have.
Maybe, maybe not. Do the Uncle Mikes holsters flip the safety off when you holster or draw the weapon? I've only owned one, years ago and it was for a revolver, so I really don't know.
A cheap holster can be fine, as long as it serves the purpose of a holster, which is to safely contain the weapon so that it's there, in the condition you want it to be, when you need it. You'll notice, perhaps, that in neither of my posts did I say that the OP should not get a cheap holster. I qualified that with "poorly fitted" and "don't fit right". Avoiding poorly fitted holsters that unsafely and unexpectedly change the condition of the weapon seems like solid advice, regardless of the user's budget.
Coyote3855
Member
bearcreek, I am certainly not disagreeing with your point about owning reliable firearms and good holsters.
The only Uncle Mike holster I owned was a floppy mess. Didn't take the safety off but made it difficult to conceal the pistol.
The only Uncle Mike holster I owned was a floppy mess. Didn't take the safety off but made it difficult to conceal the pistol.
IMO, it's more important for the gun to be in it's proper condition than it is for it to be easy to conceal. Otherwise, folks on a budget might as well go with Mexican carry.
Alllen Bundy
Member
I made a magazine holster from scrap leather from a local surplus store. It was very flexible leather which I'm sure is cowhide. I wet the leather, formed it over a block of waxed wood, clamped the sides of the leather and added a weight on top and then let it dry. I deliberately put the rough sides outward to better hold in place inside my rear pocket.
The holster went through a number of changes while I was making it, hence the reason for the no longer used stitching holes.
I heated the leather with a heat gun and melted beeswax into it to waterproof it.
I had condensation issues so I punched holes in the leather for better ventilation in my rear pocket.
FYI, the light colored areas where I had cut a bevel on the edges have now darkened up with use.
I do plan to remake this magazine holster from horsehide. But it has been working well as is. The magazine is offset to make it comfortable when sitting. All of the commercial magazine pocket holsters had the magazines centered, so I made my own offset holster.
As you got the holster cheap, what have you got to lose by experimenting on it? If it was mine and it wasn't working as I wanted it to I would try to modify it.
With shipping, I paid about $85 for a horsehide pocket holster for my P356X. It had some issues so I modified the stitching to make it work for me. Then to improve ventilation I also punched holes in it like my magazine holster.
Cowhide Cliff
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You probably aren't going to be able to do much with it if it's already soft. Cut your losses and toss it and buy a quality product.
Todd NE WY
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- Aug 26, 2020
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It is not likely to mold well being soft leather and already having been finished. When you work with leather you do all of your molding before applying the final finish.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
I agree with Cliff, probably not much you can do with it if it's already soft.
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