Has Simply Rugged Changed?

[Mzuri]

A couple of years ago I bought a Sourdough Pancake holster for a k-frame snub. It is supple and flexible but retains the revolver adequately. It looks good and even smells good. I liked it so much that recently I ordered another Sourdough and a Silver Dollar.

These are well made and look good, but the leather is much stiffer than the first one I got. So stiff that I can put my 36 in the Silver Dollar and hold it upside down and it will stay in place. It's actually hard to draw from the Silver Dollar because the leather that fits above the cylinder is so stiff and tightly molded that it scrapes against the edge of the cylinder.

The new Sourdough is also much stiffer than the one I bought a couple years ago, but it is easier to draw from than the Silver Dollar. I do have some difficulty drawing from it, but that's attributable to the combination of limited shoulder mobility, a high ride holster, and 4" N-frame. However, it makes all sorts of creaking sounds that the other two don't.

It's hard to tell but I think the leather in the newer holsters may be a tiny bit thiner than the older one too.

I realize that leather is a natural product that there will inevitably variations in leather holsters. Have Simply Rugged holsters changed? Or did I get two unusual ones? Was my first one as stiff as the two new ones and I have forgotten the break in process that made it the supple, saddle leather-like holster it is?

 

[Shark Bait]

I have several and my older ones are a bit softer. I always figured that was simply due to less use. They should soften up with time. Everything I have bought from him has been very good.

 

[Coot47]

Likewise, I purchased a sourdough for my model 10. Beautiful holster. I recently ordered a Defcon 3 for my 1911, and it arrived with a small stitching error near the edge. They replaced it, no questions asked, with a similar hybrid. As you mentioned, the holster is very stiff and appears thinner than the earlier sourdough. The bottom, at the barrel hole, has softened up considerably compared to the rest of the holster that it no acts as a flap. It appears that they may have changed their procedure.

 

[white cloud]

I recently got a Sourdough from my GP100. It is a very nice holster.

 

[Mzuri]

Just to be clear, the two new holsters I received are not poor quality. But they do seem different than the one I got earlier. So I too wonder whether they may have changed something in their production processes.

 

[Shark Bait]

Maybe just a different batch of leather, or a different supplier.

 

[rednichols]

[quotev=Shark Bait;140080184]Maybe just a different batch of leather, or a different supplier.[/quote]

Plausible. Or the leather was a different "cut", generally a double shoulder is stiffer than a bend. In any case, stiffness is something the modern holster maker has worked towards since Gaylord's time.

Creaking, though, is caused by the layers being unglued, which is the real reason we glue holsters together. Traditionalists think it is for positioning and think they can skip this expensive step but mustn't. You might enquire of the maker.

 

[apollo99]

Just purchased a holster from Simply Rugged for my 65-5 3", the leather seemed stiffer than the ones I purchased before, maybe horsehide. I have no issues with it. The gun fits in snuggly and I don't even feel it on my belt.

 

[kraynky]

My Blackhawk was such a tight fit in my last SR pancake, I slid the gun inside a gallon size ziplock and re-inserted it for a few days, pulling it out and shoving it back in once a day. It's a much better fit now, still snug, but not so tight I felt I was rubbing the bluing off. LOL! Not a complaint, I love their holsters and the Chesty Puller harness system. I bought pancakes for my BH, K frames, N frames and even for my Beretta 92. Great way to carry out of the way!

 

[rednichols]

My Blackhawk was such a tight fit in my last SR pancake, I slid the gun inside a gallon size ziplock and re-inserted it for a few days, pulling it out and shoving it back in once a day. It's a much better fit now, still snug, but not so tight I felt I was rubbing the bluing off. LOL! Not a complaint, I love their holsters and the Chesty Puller harness system. I bought pancakes for my BH, K frames, N frames and even for my Beretta 92. Great way to carry out of the way!

F.Y.I., the plastic bag itself does nothing to improve the fit! It was originally used when remoulding a holster after wetting it, to protect the pistol itself; the bag plays no role in the improved fitment, that's accomplished by the pistol itself.

 

[bluelund79]

I thought I was the only one. I have had one for the past five years for my M69, and use the CP harness. I purchased one for my 5" RIA TAC 10mm full rail, and it's definitely stiffer. However, I've worn the snot out of the one for my revolver in all types of weather, so it's definitely been broken in. A couple of trips to the mountains with the 10mm in tow will help break it in enough that I may actually have to put a holster treatment on that one too. Side note, I love the harness, it really puts the gun in a better draw position when wearing a day pack.