Zundfolge
Member
I get asked about this all the time, so I figured I'd post a thread (so I could just give people a link to it instead of explaining over and over again).
I've been carrying daily for the last decade and in that time I have come to the conclusion that the absolute best (for me anyway) holster is the dual clip style holster like the HBE DC Special, UBG Striker or even the ever popular Crossbreed Supertuck (someday I'm gonna buy me some Crossbreed or CompTac tuckable clips for my conversion).
In addition to being picky about my gear I'm also extremely cheap (just ask my wife ... who thankfully is as scotch as I). So any time I can make an item pull double duty I'm game to do so.
So the reason I do this foolishness is because:
1) Pancake holsters are often cheaper than IWB holsters.
2) My modified Pancake holster is clearly cheaper than both a Pancake for OWB and a dual clip for IWB. One holster is cheaper than two.
Ok, so here's how its done:
Basically you take a pair of spring clips, drill a hole in the back side (this is where a drill press and some good, hard diamond/carbide bits is a good idea as spring steel is effing hard! ... this last set I did I ended up using a hand drill and drilling a small pilot hole and then using a dremel with a cone shaped grinder attachment to get the hole large enough. Also a piece of wood the thickness of the inside of the clip is nice to keep you from crushing/collapsing the clip).
I got the spring clips here. (hopefully he'll always have them available)
Then you use some Chicago Screws (you can usually get them at leather-work supply stores) and a couple washers (from Ace Hardware or if you're like me you have lots of small spare parts and junk in the garage. Just make sure they aren't too thick).
Note that drilling spring clips is a PITA. Spring steel is real effing hard and if you have access to a drill bit and good, very sharp diamond carbide bits you'll do better. Last time I did this I used a hand drill to drill small pilot holes and then used a cone shaped tool on a Dremmel to open the holes up to the size I needed. Also note that the burr you get on the inside of the clip is actually useful to help keep the inside half of the Chicago screw from turning as easily.
They go together like this:
One real nice thing about this method is that you end up with an IWB holster that is adjustable for ride height and cant.
I've been carrying daily for the last decade and in that time I have come to the conclusion that the absolute best (for me anyway) holster is the dual clip style holster like the HBE DC Special, UBG Striker or even the ever popular Crossbreed Supertuck (someday I'm gonna buy me some Crossbreed or CompTac tuckable clips for my conversion).
In addition to being picky about my gear I'm also extremely cheap (just ask my wife ... who thankfully is as scotch as I). So any time I can make an item pull double duty I'm game to do so.
So the reason I do this foolishness is because:
1) Pancake holsters are often cheaper than IWB holsters.
2) My modified Pancake holster is clearly cheaper than both a Pancake for OWB and a dual clip for IWB. One holster is cheaper than two.
Ok, so here's how its done:
Basically you take a pair of spring clips, drill a hole in the back side (this is where a drill press and some good, hard diamond/carbide bits is a good idea as spring steel is effing hard! ... this last set I did I ended up using a hand drill and drilling a small pilot hole and then using a dremel with a cone shaped grinder attachment to get the hole large enough. Also a piece of wood the thickness of the inside of the clip is nice to keep you from crushing/collapsing the clip).
I got the spring clips here. (hopefully he'll always have them available)
Then you use some Chicago Screws (you can usually get them at leather-work supply stores) and a couple washers (from Ace Hardware or if you're like me you have lots of small spare parts and junk in the garage. Just make sure they aren't too thick).
Note that drilling spring clips is a PITA. Spring steel is real effing hard and if you have access to a drill bit and good, very sharp diamond carbide bits you'll do better. Last time I did this I used a hand drill to drill small pilot holes and then used a cone shaped tool on a Dremmel to open the holes up to the size I needed. Also note that the burr you get on the inside of the clip is actually useful to help keep the inside half of the Chicago screw from turning as easily.
They go together like this:
One real nice thing about this method is that you end up with an IWB holster that is adjustable for ride height and cant.