There are quite a few leatherworkers on this forum who would be willing to build what you want.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

IMHO the reason Kramer's wait time has increased is because they are simply the best there is for CCW/EDC and in huge demand. QC is tops and they don't comprise, so quality takes time. That's a bold statement and only my personal opinion, but after using their products exclusively for EDC over decades, I would not consider using anything else! OK - the wait time sucks, but once you get it you won't care. ONLY order the Horsehide!

BTW, I have no affiliation with them and they wouldn't know me if they ran me over - so this is just my honest assessment.

It took 6 months but worth it!!!!!! Perfection!! Kramer for the win! Again!

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So I keep hearing about certain special forces using Kramer horsehide holsters. Which version do the use - the belt scabbard pancake? Or the vertical drop scabbard? I'm just curious.

Shoebox,

I really like the leather, but what can you tell me about the grips? Material. maker etc.?

Thanks,
Jay

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Goal Life Member
Traveling Man

They are Boone trading company simulated ivory. Highly recommend them. Great feel, good mom and pop company

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I would assume the drop? But I don’t know

I have used a couple of Milt Sparks in the past, bought from sellers that had stock and immediately shipped. Nice stuff, but I refuse to wait for CRAZY LONG times. That's just me.

I've used Kramer. TOP NOTCH and I like the Horsehide.

I do recommend Mika for pocket holsters. Not bad wait time, good price, good guy.

I will also use Galco at times.

At the end of the day, life is too short and I'm not a waiting kinda guy.

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Go ahead... make my day.

I have a new 624 that needs a holster but I don’t know if I can use Kramer again ( I’d like to) but this last one took 10 weeks over the 16 weeks and it’s not as nice as my other 4. Like it was rushed

Over the decades, I've used many of the "boutique" makers with often long waits: Milt Sparks, Kramer, El Paso Saddlery, Lobo, Sideguard, Rusty Sherrick, Andrews, Bell Charter Oak, Alessi and Mitch Rosen. Plus many other smaller and/or less well-known shops.

Holsters are very individual. Put three people in a room and they couldn't agree on any particular one. Can't really criticize anyone's particular choice, but I could point out some good features or issues that get overlooked in the hoopla created because some gun guy somewhere was using one.

In my experience of 45 years of daily pistol packing, there is ZERO correlation between price/wait and suitability of a holster. You can pay a lot and wait a long time to have "that", and not have anything that is necessarily any better than a readily available model, unless bragging rights are important to you. "I got the unobtainable Brand X!". Frankly, not impressed.

Eg. You can wait a long time for leather pocket holster, and if that suits you, well that's fine. But I wouldn't give you two plugged nickels for a leather pocket holster, that doesn't perform as well as a $30 DeSantis nylon job.

One boutique maker - not to be named - sent me a holster/mag pouch set that I waited a several months for, and the result was not what was pictured and wasn't anything better than you could find today on amazon. Such are the travails common at for smaller shops (that's why you are waiting), where the owner/operator gets tired/cranky/old/distracted/drunk/sick, or some key employee leaves, and everything suffers.

I've been to the DeSantis factory numerous times, and the holsters leaving that shop will be consistent regardless of who is there, or not there, on any given day.

Having said all that... I have two Milt Sparks mag pouches in horsehide that I have been using continuously for 40+ years and they are as good now as they were then. Of course, he no longer sells that model.

I have a Lobo Offset IWB which was well worth the wait and price. Mitch Rosen gets just about everything right on a concealment OWB belt holster. El Paso Saddlery is quality if you prefer historical and lots of stiff leather. I have a bunch of Sideguard holsters and they are excellent.

Just about everything else... it's Safariland (tactical), or Don Hume/DeSantis (default). I am well past the day when I will wait more than a month for a holster, when there are so many readily available good choices.

To each his or her own.

I’m sick tired of the long waits I can tell You that!

I'm going to say it again: a wait only means that the maker won't gear up to stay on top of its orders. There's no incentive to do so when a maker can actually BRAG about how long the wait is. I could be a custom maker and simply STALL the shipments, or make them only on alternative Thursdays, and I could create a long leadtime. Know what you can't fake: short leadtimes, which in certain models is a Sparks that's already in inventory (yes, Sparks does build for inventory).

The so-called 'custom' makers are a conman industry, hiding inside a secret society. Personally I recommend only DeSantis (full disclosure, I designed many of their current products during the 1990s) and Galco; both as the heir apparents to Seventrees and Bianchi respectively. Agree that if it is horsehide you want (and you SHOULD) then you will have to ignore my choices of makers. But can anyone here really outline the difference in performance between horsehide and cowhide?

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Red Nichols The Holstorian

Red in my neophyte expirience I can tell a difference. It feels like horse is literally “kydex” that has a lil flex. It feels thinner and lighter. My 1791 cowhide for 4 inch guns is thick, hot and heavier. I’m really hoping my new hank Sloan from Doc works out. I’m also a little bit concerned about holster wear ( cow vs. horse). The kramers fit so precise the gun can’t move around. Luckily I only have one blued gun and I have 2 kramers for it

One of these days I'm going to order up some horse butt strips to work with. What I can find for sale are "narrows" and I just think I'm going to have a lot of waste for the price.

I have a Precision brand IWB that's so thin and stiff it almost can't be cow.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

Perhaps your cowhide maker has 'discovered' heat tempering after moulding. You tho have realised that horsehide strip's are the way to go and I found them PERFECT for cutting holster c size pieces from. Tip: use a bandsaw with fine v teeth for metal.

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Red Nichols The Holstorian

Check junk bins! In the past year I’ve picked up many holsters for next to nothing, just sitting in LGS junk bins.

Here are a few:
Kramer - 5” 1911 $20 like new
Sparks - 4” K frame $10 like new
Sparks - 4” N frame $10 like new
Simply Rugged 3” J frame $10 like new
El Paso 3” L frame/Python free like new

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213th FBINA

I was in my own small business for 30+ years. We were always busy, always produced top quality and never compromised quality for speed of production. That is why after 30+ years of being in business, it grew ever year. Let me make this statement - my single biggest issue about being is business was hiring new employees. Some of my lead guys were with me for all the 30+ years I was in business. Not only does that mean I treated them right, but it also means I paid them more than they could get anywhere else. That said, I always had issues finding new and additional qualified workers. It is not easy running a business, having more orders than you can produce to high QC standards when you business grows and you still can not get employees with sufficient skills, work ethics and willingness to do things your way. It is a HUGE problem across the USA these days!

I NEVER delayed shipments to "create" demand and highly doubt the top holster makers do either. They simply have more orders than they can produce in a short time span. There is also another factor about employees..... yes when a company grows and gets more and more busy, they obviously need more employees. The problem is you need and have to be able to support them in slower times also. No business is immune to a slow down now and then depending on time of year, economy, whatever - you need to sustain and get through those times in good shape. You can't have so many employees that in the slow times, you can't pay them and all their benefits too.

DeSantis Leather makes very decent holsters for the price they sell for. AFAIK they are a production line maker and crank holsters out all day long. I am unaware if they do make any custom ordered leather goods. If one can only afford or is willing to spend what DeSantis holster sells for - then it would be a descent choice - but not the best choice IMHO. Just like in most items sold, sometimes to get to the next level, time and money is a great factor. Materials is also a huge factor in procuring and paying for too. Some customers are just not willing to spend the money and wait. After carrying for 48 years - I for one, am. To each his own and that's why there are so many holster makers, price points and wait times. Everyone has different standards and what they deem good enough. I get that.

Company's such as Kramer, Mitch Rosen, Milt Sparks, etc are at the next level and IMHO a different species. Everyone's opinion, budget and tolerances differ.