Old-Faithful Stage 3/Quick Assemble Hybrid Holsters

[jacobeterry]

Firstly, I'd like to copy my 'comment' on their website, word for word, which has yet to be approved by their moderators:

"I recently purchased a quick assemble kit holster for my glock 19 pistol, and wanted to make the following comments:

The kydex and leather are thicker than other companies. I am very impressed with the kydex mold, less so with the leather. I find it to be quite brittle, particularly on the unfinished, interior side. I’ve noticed some cracking and wear quite early in the product’s life, which is worrying.

The leather piece is massive. Up/down (or top/bottom, whatever you prefer) size is just right, but left/right size is about 1.5 inches, if not 2 inches too large for my particular firearm. The leather gives a whole new meaning to the word ‘rig’: the holster is so large that it basically mandates wearing at the 5 o’clock position, if not near ‘behind the back’ position. I actually trimmed off quite a bit of one end, drilled new holes in the leather, and re finished it to take the size down. Long story short? Although I realize that the clips are probably spaced so far apart to spread the weight, this is a CC holster that should be a little smaller. I’m sure you use the same size leather for multiple handguns to decrease cost, but maybe offer an option for a smaller piece of leather for lighter/smaller handguns?

I like the idea of screws and t-nuts, but wow, Tom, you are incredible at putting these things together! You do make it look super easy in your videos, but I did demolish two t-nuts during initial assembly. Hats off for knowing your product extremely well.

Also part of the leather critique: it just doesn’t seem to stand up to the torque provided by really tightening those screws and nuts down. I like a nice, tight fit, and even switching to shorter screws, the leather seemed to really buckle and start to fray when I tightened those screws all the way down.

Full disclosure? I think you are on the right track. You provide outstanding kydex and, overall, a product that is on par with others for less money. However, I can’t say in all honesty that I would buy another hybrid holster from you guys. I’d say work on your leather quality, and maybe offer an all-kydex holster.

Thank you for your product, and I hope for the best for you guys."

I'll elaborate now. The product was after I started searching for something a little more 'secure' than the remora IWB i've been using for awhile now. Being extremely... uh... funds sensitive, I still wanted to get a good deal on an IWB holster that was either all kydex or at least a hybrid. After much searching, I found and ordered the Old Faithful (OF) holster kit.

I received my holster in about 4 weeks, which was the advertised time. Customer service about the shipment was excellent, and OF helped me switch to a different kydex shell when my pistol was sold a new EDC handgun was purchased. Again, excellent

I received the holster kit, and assembly was mostly easy. The video, as mentioned above, made it look a little easier than it actually was.

The holster has been on my hip every day for two months now. Comments on the leather quality issues and size are above.

However, to be fair, I find overall quality, considering price, to be pretty much excellent. I wanted to make sure that I mentioned that the materials are pretty solid.

I stand by my decision to not purchase another one of these holsters. I wanted to share my comments on this forum, mostly because I'm disappointed that OF has not approved my 'negative' review on their website. If anyone has any questions or comments on this holster or my review, feel free to ask!

[MSUICEMAN]

think that if i put some leather conditioner on the leather the brittleness factor would go away?

I have one on order myself for a 3" 1911

At least if it isn't my cup o' tea i'm not in it for a lot of cash.

[Aiden528]

Great review, I think I read your comments on the Old Faithful site when I was looking to purchase my holster kit. I've been carrying my CZ 75D Compact in a Old Faithful for about 4 months now and am very pleased with it. That being said I would agree with most of your review. The video does make it look easier to put together then it is. I also had to switch to the shortest screws and cut thinner washers from the extra tubing included in the kit after about a week as the leather stretched to fit the pistol.

I did not have the same issues with the t-nuts but I did a lot of leather work as a kid and made sure to use the flat on my workbench vise as the hammering surface. I did a little bit of trimming but only on the body shield, I'm a big guy so the distance between the belt clips works well for me.

After 4 months the leather has molded it self to my body, making very secure and comfortable. I would definitely get another Old Faithful kit, it is inexpensive and versatile enough to modify to my specific needs and wants.

[Boognish Rising]

I too have purchased from Old Faithful - 2 holsters now, actually. I agree that assembly takes some elbow grease- but there I did find a way of making things a bit easier. If you have a vise, you can use it to seat the screw anchors on the backside of the holster. Basically, you need use the vise to squeeze the anchors into the leather - it will be necessary to use some sort of stand-off on the front side of the leather in order to allow the anchor to fully push through the leather and seat itself without being interfered with by the vise face. After seating the anchors in this manner, assembly was much easier for me.

As for quality, the first holster I ordered 1 month ago was top notch, no complaints there. However, I ordered a second holster last week, and the leather was flimsy. The holster would collapse under the pressure of my body pressing against it and make re-holstering very difficult. I notified Old Faithful, and they sent a new, fully assembled holster without hesitation. The new holster was appropriately rigid, and works great.

[Boognish Rising]

Also, I recommend ordering from their eBay store- options for colors are limited to black kydex on black leather, but they ship immediately - no waiting period whatsoever.