waterforming holsters - SA?

[RaiderZee]

Howdy,

Let me be clear up front: this is not a criticism of holster vendors in any way. I have nothing but respect for the quality of the Indy holsters being offered today: Jake, Lee, etc. Top notch and beyond, all the way.

However, what's the deal with the waterforming? I understand that many folks desire their gun be kept in a "glove" rather than a "sack", but what about SA? The only holster that was clearly waterformed was in CS, for the rest I see no evidence:

Raiders, slight impression of the cylinder, mainly just looks beat up and worn:


TOD, no impression at all, flat as a pancake:


LC, perhaps even flatter:


CS, DEFINATELY waterformed:


So, to be SA, the only style of holster to be truly waterformed should be CS. Yes?

RaiderZee

[Imahomer]

The photos don't lie!

[Dragonlady Jones]

I agree. Perhaps the desire to waterform holsters only became popular with the release of CS?

[Alkali Jones]

Hey RaiderZee,

Excellent observation! Challenging assumptions should be a national sport. Well done.

Dan S

[Indiana Jeff]

Good eye on this one.

I think this is another example of "distressing gear to be more SA" when distressing is not necessary, or at least goes in a different/wrong direction.

The holsters from the first three films are not waterformed, but they are all distressed. Therefore new holsters are put through their paces to knock off the brand new shine.

I think the easiest way to make a holster look well-used is to waterform it. It gives the impression the gun and holster have been together forever even if you do nothing else to distress the holster.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[binkmeisterRick]

I prefer the look of holsters that show their wear spots and where the edge of the cylinder rubs against the leather (as it seems to appear in the pic of the Raiders holster above) but in my eyes, seeing every detail of the gun underneath the holster just looks a bit fake to me. I've seen plenty of old holsters, including Webely holsters, that saw great use, but I've never seen one which outlines the entire gun like the CS holster.

[Dr._J]

While I agree that extreme water forming is unnecessary, it should be noted that the photos from ToD and LC show an empty holster.

[Indiana Jake]

Interesting points about wet molding holsters. I agree that the CS hoster needs a wet mold to be SA. The TOD and LC holsters do not show the gun outline very much. The Raiders holster in my opinion needs something done with it. It just needs to be molded to fit the gun, but the outline and details of the gun do not need to show.

Just my two cents worth.

Indiana Jake

[RaiderZee]

Oh don't get me wrong, TR, I like wet-molded holsters fine. If I ever go for a CS look, then your holster would be perfect. I just noticed that several threads mentioned wet molding holsters in general, and I kinda wanted to set the SA thing on the table before folks went off a did something that looks cool but may not be appropriate to the movie look they're trying to pull off.

I agree, Jake, the typical Raiders holster definately needs a loose wet mold followed by a major distress job. As for TOD/LC, IMHO the holster needs to be thrown into a stack of other holsters and left in a warehouse for about 60 years.

And yes, TR, my WG came from a gun shop in NC, as listed on a gun auction website (no, not THAT one). And I managed to get a bit knocked off the price, too . I figured that, unless absolute dumb luck strikes me in the future, this may have been my only real chance to own a WG. At least, that's how I rationalized this purchase to myself (and the wife).

RZ

[RaiderZee]

Before I regained my sanity, I had actually talked myself (and my Fiance') into buying the $6500.00 WG from Collector's Firearms!

Impressive . . . Most impressive.

Maybe you can talk to MY wife. Daniel Webster himself couldn't talk her into a $6500 WG!

RZ