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Before we had all these grand master leather gurus doing incredile work with exotics, there was the age old debate as to which was better cow hide or horse hide to make a carry rig. There was quite a bit of strong thoughts on both sides.

That seems to have died down. Since I'm board and like to stir the pot , lets get someting started about which is better for a carry rig cow hide or your favorite exotic.

As for me, I like cow hide. When its done right its just as pretty as some of the exotics. Its also less expensive. Having said that my favorie is a cow hide bosy with contrasting shark skin trim. Especially in brown and black.

Ok now tell me why I'm crazy and why a your personal favorite exotic is best.

As for you leather making gurus let us know what you like and why and don't forget what you hate to work with and why.

Happy Lee, Jackson, King Day for all you southerners out there.

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Building Hand Crafted Leather for the 1911 Platform

I'll go with horsehide and shark trim, horse just works better for me here iin Oregon as it constantly rains and humidity is high. Horse just seems to do a better job in this type of environment. Some folks don't like horse as they say that it is too thick and can't be properly moulded to a handgun. Alex Nossar has definitely figured it out as his horsehide rigs are much thinner than cow and the detailing is exceptional. It's probably comparing apples to oranges as both do a great job and look great and most people couldn't tell the difference. Some rigs like the Sparks VMII are even made with a combo of both materials. Curious as to what the experts have to say on this topic.
Added: I have several sharkskin belts and shark just takes an incredible beating and never seems to get scuffed like a regular rig would. Wish I could afford a full shark holster!

Rob...to answer your question as to WHY you are crazy...easy, you're an attorney now! and second, you are PROHIBITED by federal statute from owning a sharkskin holster...professional courtesy!!! Take care ol' buddy!!

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"There is a true glory and a true honor, the glory of duty done, the honor of integrity and principle."--Gen. Robert Edward Lee

Aren't the exotics used for holsters, belts, mag carriers just a covering over cowhide or horsehide? While some of the exotics resist scuffs and abrasion very well, I am not sure that they add to the long-term utility (e.g., fit) of the item other than appearance.

Expert opinion needed for further clarification.

John

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NRA Endowment Life Member
I may be big, old, and slow, but so are the ball rounds in my 1911.

Absolutely! Most, if not all exotics have very little structure of their own and have to be used in unison with other base materials for proper strength and shape retention. Some do offer superior abrasion resistance and other characteristics that leather doesnt...but most of my customers just like it, to give the holster a different "air about it", if that makes sense.

Horsehide is NOT to thick...its just a bitch to work with. Nossar is the master of his HH craft, but he also has horsehide thinned to his own specs...something we cant get in the states. There is ONE place we can get it and it doesnt come that thin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AARRGGHH! Anyway.... He is very good at what he does. We can get 5-7 oz HH at the thinnest around here and it actually ranges from 4-8 oz's. That can be to thick for proper IWB holsters.

The difference in Cow vs Horse is simple....in their "NATURAL" state..Horsehide is denser, thus making it more water resistant. What you get a thinner holster that has the same characteristics as the thicker Cowhide offers. That has its advantages to a point and sometimes isnt really better. The density causes it to be more rigid than cowhide and can cause more discomfort in some IWB applications. But I still find applications for it...like where a thin reinforcing pc of leather would be good, HH is better..IE, mouthbands etc.

Imagine a cross of Kydex and cowhide and thats what HH reminds some people of.

The "its better in wet" argument is somewhat mute also. When they are both finished the same way...properly dyed and clear coated. They offer fairly close levels of water resistance.

Horsehide is easy to bone if its cased/boned the proper way (with water so hot, it scalds you!) and it can take dye pretty well to...but not as good as you get with similar cow or steer hide.

What I love is that when you get "just the right" pc of HH, it dyes with a Marbled effect and is very very cool!

Elephant is wonderful...great to stitch and work with, giving a very tough and unique print to the material.
Shark is the same way, just cheaper and theres more of it out there..thus more Shark holsters than most other exotics.
Stingray is a PITA to work with and has cause my stitcher to break a needle and send shards of it, into my wall! Wont play with it anymore.
But for those like, Nossar, Del Fatti and Garrity who work with it enough to LEARN how to use it....its great also.
Crock/Allig are very very very expensive ....they price it by the sq. Centimeter some places!...thus its rarity in most Gun Leather applications.

There are many others that are great to work with and some that arent so great!

Hope this helps..........

My favorite is steerhide/cowhide in Corovan and Black Shark.......nice two tone and classy!

Shoot well and god bless

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice....Rush.

I'll also go with shark/ cowhide and black and cordovan in particular. And by the way folks, Eric does this combo very well.



I loved this combo when I got it from Eric, but found the belt loops on top ( Summer Special style) just didn't fit me the way I like. So this is what we came up with.



When it arrived I my old Kimber didn't look quite right riding in it, so I picked up a Springfield to match. Thanks again Eric.

Too pretty to put down your pants!

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Treat me good, I'll treat you better. Treat me bad, I'll treat you worse!

Thanks guys......Im glad you like it.
Shoot well and god bless

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice....Rush.