My holster project

Hey Tattoo... Nice stuff! I've played around with kydex holster making and it's fun. One tidbit of advice since you're making a business of your newly found interest... I'd stick with using 0.08" or thicker kydex as all of the 0.06" kydex holsters I've had in the past have cracked in high stress areas in under a year of normal CCW. I've had 2 holsters that were made at the same time... one for my Glock 26 and one for my Glock 19. One developed cracks at the 6 month mark and the other at the 9 month mark.

They were replaced with identical holsters but made with 0.08" kydex and they're going strong with no cracks after more than 2 years now.

I know that there is a draw towards "thinner" holsters being a tad bit more concealable... but honestly, there isn't a whole lot of difference in concealability between 0.06 and 0.08 kydex... but there's a whole lot of difference in ruggedness and durability.

I can tell that you take pride in your work. And every start-up will go through growing pains. My advice is only offered so that the growing pains of potentially having customers come back in 6 months or so with cracked holsters is one that will be avoided from the start, you know?

Anyway... that's all I've got for ya... good luck with the endeavor!

Hanwei
 
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Thank you. I do take personal pride in everything I make. I'm thankfull everyday to live in this country and have the oportunities that we do. Such as starting your own business, and being able to provide for your family.

I'd also like to say thank you for the advice about the .080 Kydex. There are things that I like about it and things that I don't like about it. But the more I use it, I find the possitives are out weighing the negatives. I only have a little bit of .060 left. I'll use it make some stuff for the shop and around the house. Such as business card holders, money clips, cellphone holders, etc. Once it's all gone I'm only going to stock the .080.

I love hearing comments/advice both good and bad. I've always believed that a business owner needs to listen to his customers. Without listening to the feedback, a business can't grow and won't last. I need the feedback to help improve any areas I may be weak in and be able to provide the best product that I can. Customer satisfaction and a quality product are what I'm striving to provide.
 
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I have two crossbreeds and love them.

I definitely want you to make the next one!

Great job man! The black and green one kicks.
Now I just need to finally decide on a new carry piece [smile].

...on a side note, you design is awfully similar to the xbreed. Do they have a patent on the general design? If so, I would imagine you may need to go outside of that (design wise) if your going to legitimately start selling them. I'm not being a jerk, I'm just saying!
 
I am planning on making mag holders available sometime in the near future. At the moment I'm mostly putting my money into purchasing more blue guns. Once the collections of blue guns is complete then I'll start collecting more mags.

Yes the design is very similar to another "breed" of holsters. I had wondered and looked into if there were any patents. At the moment they are patent pending. If they ever do become a certified patent then I will have to change things up a bit. But until then I'm not infringing on anything.

I do have an idea for a new style leather and kydex holster. I just need to find the time to make one and test it. So many ideas and so little time to develop them. [sad]
 
tattoo72 said:
I'd also like to say thank you for the advice about the .080 Kydex. There are things that I like about it and things that I don't like about it. But the more I use it, I find the possitives are out weighing the negatives. I only have a little bit of .060 left. I'll use it make some stuff for the shop and around the house. Such as business card holders, money clips, cellphone holders, etc. Once it's all gone I'm only going to stock the .080.

I love hearing comments/advice both good and bad. I've always believed that a business owner needs to listen to his customers. Without listening to the feedback, a business can't grow and won't last. I need the feedback to help improve any areas I may be weak in and be able to provide the best product that I can. Customer satisfaction and a quality product are what I'm striving to provide.
Click to expand...

Nice. Well, it certainly sounds like you've got the right attitude to succeed. So good luck!
 
Thank you so much for all the possitive feedback and comments. Things have been a bit crazy around here. Been busy working with my business lawyer to get things going. Busy setting up my shop. Busy working my day job. Busy with family life. Just plain busy!. lol. But it will all fall into place soon enough. I know I haven't been able to reply to everyone asking me to pm them about making them a holster. If you want you can email me at [email protected] with what you would want.

I don't really want to sell any holsters until my business is 100% legal and up and running. My lawyer says maybe another 2 weeks until all the paper work is filled and things are good to go. What I can do in the mean time is take orders and make you your holster. That way when my lawyer gives me the green light your holster will already be made. Then I can accept payment and send it out asap. If that works for you than simply drop me an email with your info.

Here is the current list of firearms that I can accomodate:
Walther p22
S&W Bodyguard 380
S&W M&P 9/9C
S&W M&P 40/40C
S&W 617 10rd
S&W J-FRAME
Glock 17/19 Gen2
Glock 17/19 Gen3
Glock 26/27/33 Gen3
Glock 20/21
Glock 36
Ruger SR9/SR9C
Ruger SR40/SR40C
Ruger SP101
Ruger GP100
Ruger SR1911
Colt 1911 w/accessory rail
Sig 226
Springfield Micro Comp 1911
Kahr PM9
Beretta 92fs

leather choices are:
natural cowhide
black cowhide
natural horsehide + $10

Kydex colors:
Black, coyote tan, blood red, carbon fiber pattern, desert tan, e.m.t. red, gunmetal gray, hot pink, olive drab, police blue, safety green, safety orange, safety yellow, urban digital camo, desert digital camo, forest digital camo.

All Kydex will be .080 thickness.

Prices will range from $55-75 depending on OWB/IWB and leather choice.

I also need to contact Derek as I hope I'm not breaking any forum rules by posting this stuff. Once my business is officially up and running I need to find out what is involved in being able to post in the dealers/ranges forum.
 
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Any thoughts on a company name yet?
Great work . I am envious of starting a company and doing somthing you love.
I'm waiting for the 92fs
best of luck
 
Yes. G3 holsters inc. Family means a lot to me. So I wanted the name to be kind of an inside the family code name. The G is for my last name, Gongoleski. The 3 is for the three of us. My wife, my son and me.

I've been wanting to start my own business for years. I've been working in the auto industry for 22 years. It's slowly been burning me out. So one day a few months back. I sat down with my wife and told her "Honey I'm turning 40 this year and I've decided it's finaly time to start my own business". She looked me in the eyes and told me whole heartedly it was an exellent decision. I knew right then and there that my family and I would be 100% dedicated to making it work. I know it's not going to be easy and I have a lot to learn as a soon to be business owner. Luckily I have my father and mother to turn to if I need help on the business end. My father was an electrician and ran his own business for 30 years. My mother was the book keeper/secretary.

A Beretta 92fs may be here soon. [wink]
 
Here is a holster for a G26. Black cowhide with gunmetal gray Kydex. I've had a few people ask me what the back of the holster looks like. So I included a back of the back. I've also had people ask if the leather is black on just the front. No, it is drum dyed. So it is black all the way through.




 
Thanks Bostonasphalt. Bounce back to post #38 on page 4. All the info is there.

Once again. Thank you to everyone. Your possitive feedback and support means a lot.
 
I've had the idea for this holster rolling around in my head the past few days. So today I decided to build a prototype. It took a few tries to get the offset right. It's about a 2/3 ofeset. Being offset will allow it to be used OWB and IWB. I just need to make some OWB style loops for it before I start wearing it to see how good or bad it works.




 
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got my holster today for my g30. its the black one with gray pictured above. heres a few pictures of it on me. quality is second to none and super comfortable. i had a Comp-Tac CTAC before and it is a night and day difference. thinking about ordering another soon

IMAG0399.jpg

IMAG0401.jpg

IMAG0398.jpg
 
diesel112 said:
got my holster today for my g30. its the black one with gray pictured above. heres a few pictures of it on me. quality is second to none and super comfortable. i had a Comp-Tac CTAC before and it is a night and day difference. thinking about ordering another soon
Click to expand...

Could you elaborate on the difference you're finding? I love my MTAC so if there's something better I would love to know.
 
Well with the CTAC, it doesnt have a full backing on it. So that alone is a major bonus in comfort. I like the way the retention feels on this better too. It seems to hold a little better and more positive. The clips are nicer and more sturdy too. They are both tuckable which I like alot. I would rate it right up with the best made holsters
 
TWtommers said:
Could you elaborate on the difference you're finding? I love my MTAC so if there's something better I would love to know.
Click to expand...

+1

diesel112 said:
Well with the CTAC, it doesnt have a full backing on it. So that alone is a major bonus in comfort. I like the way the retention feels on this better too. It seems to hold a little better and more positive. The clips are nicer and more sturdy too. They are both tuckable which I like alot. I would rate it right up with the best made holsters
Click to expand...

Ahhhh. CTAC vs. MTAC is really the issue. So for Tom (& myself), the distinction is really just down to the clips. Still, great work.
 
so I just wanted to add, I recently acquired my G3 Hybrid holster and had a chance to meet the man behind the dream and can honestly say what a great guy.
he puts quite a bit of time into these holsters, making them by hand, and paying attention to detail to make a great product.
The one I obtained is one for my compact 1911, it has the horse hide and .80" kydex, the clips are very strong and "springy" and retain the holster very well....almost too well when you are trying the proper placement on your body that is comfortable for you " I figured out mine is the 4`oclock", once I found the sweet spot the holster felt great, even with an old worn out store bought leather belt ( dedicated carry belt is shipped and on its way to me, which I think will make this holster even better).

photo1.jpg

photo3.jpg

photo2.jpg


the wear that you can clearly see in the pics are nothing, barely surface scuffs, and mainly from me playing around with the holster putting the pistol in and out as I searched for the spot I wanted it on my person.

incase you all skip to the pics and read the end I will leave this at " I LOVE IT"
 
Made a few more today. I made a stripped down bare bones holster for my G26. I've been wearing it all week. I really like with out all the extra leather.

G26 bare bones:



M&P 9/40, black with carbon fiber patern:



Bare bones for Kahr PM9, black with hot pink:

 
Well it is official. I am now a legal Massachusetts small business owner [smile]. I've contacted Derek and will be getting set up in the dealer/ranges forum. Plus this will allow me to sell in the dealer classifieds. G3Holsters.com is now officially up and running.

I want to thank everyone here who posted all the possitive comments and inspired me.
 
BIG CONGRATS!!![cheers] Here's to a sucssesful buisness. I hope everything goes well. I've been telling all the folks at my club about your holsters so now I'll direct them to your website.
 

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