BigIrish
06-18-2012, 11:41 AM
I recently bought a horsehide paddle holster (with the FBI forward tilt) from Kramer Leather for an Ed Brown Kobra Carry 1911.
The good:
This is the fourth Kramer Holster I've purchased and its quality is top notch. The horsehide is virtually indestructible, and is bark tanned, not chrome tanned, which means that it won't corrode your gun metal. I can leave a pistol in a Kramer holster for weeks on end in a night stand and I've never had even a spot of rust on a pistol.
Additionally, your holster is molded to your specific gun model, which guarantees a very snug fit and minimizes holster wear on the pistol. Often times, the greatest amount of wear on your pistol comes from the pistol jiggling around all day in a loose holster, not the act of putting it in and taking it out at the end of the day.
The holsters don't come cheap, but you get what you pay for and I believe their quality is top notch.
The bad:
The recession hasn't affected Kramer's business one bit, if you judge from the wait times. They advertise a 6-8 week wait. My order took exactly 15 weeks to the day to receive it, and their customer service is HORRIBLE. The guy who claims to be the office manager never once apologized for the delay, and would often go off on rants (via email) about how they're short on workers, etc. I inquired about the status of my order at 10 weeks, 12 weeks, and then 15 weeks. They never contacted me about my order with an update, and seemed incredibly annoyed that I was contacting them to ask about it. At the 15 week inquiry, I asked for a discount or free product or something to compensate me for such a long wait, and they seemed almost indignant at the suggestion.
In the end, the office manager wound up mailing me a 15% off coupon for a future order, but the wait and the horrible customer service has me questioning whether or not I'll ever buy from them again.
I'd post a transcript of the email exchange and let you judge for yourselves, but I'm not sure that's kosher to do on the boards.
The good:
This is the fourth Kramer Holster I've purchased and its quality is top notch. The horsehide is virtually indestructible, and is bark tanned, not chrome tanned, which means that it won't corrode your gun metal. I can leave a pistol in a Kramer holster for weeks on end in a night stand and I've never had even a spot of rust on a pistol.
Additionally, your holster is molded to your specific gun model, which guarantees a very snug fit and minimizes holster wear on the pistol. Often times, the greatest amount of wear on your pistol comes from the pistol jiggling around all day in a loose holster, not the act of putting it in and taking it out at the end of the day.
The holsters don't come cheap, but you get what you pay for and I believe their quality is top notch.
The bad:
The recession hasn't affected Kramer's business one bit, if you judge from the wait times. They advertise a 6-8 week wait. My order took exactly 15 weeks to the day to receive it, and their customer service is HORRIBLE. The guy who claims to be the office manager never once apologized for the delay, and would often go off on rants (via email) about how they're short on workers, etc. I inquired about the status of my order at 10 weeks, 12 weeks, and then 15 weeks. They never contacted me about my order with an update, and seemed incredibly annoyed that I was contacting them to ask about it. At the 15 week inquiry, I asked for a discount or free product or something to compensate me for such a long wait, and they seemed almost indignant at the suggestion.
In the end, the office manager wound up mailing me a 15% off coupon for a future order, but the wait and the horrible customer service has me questioning whether or not I'll ever buy from them again.
I'd post a transcript of the email exchange and let you judge for yourselves, but I'm not sure that's kosher to do on the boards.