[C.O.M.]

Well I am looking to get a kydex holster with leather lining and am in the process of making a order for one. I am also planning to get a Kydex in the meantime to maybe go to a shoot or two while I am waiting.

If you use the kydex only how well has the finish held up? I know they have a very tough finish and I know guns are tools and it may give the gun character with a few marks, I know all this is true. But it is new to me and it was pretty expensive and I hate to baby it too much but I just want it to look as good next year as it does now.

With my glock I don't even think about it, maybe it was the price, and maybe it is because I simply see it as a tool and for sure it is not as nice a looking gun as my new HK.
My glock does show very minor wear and it does give it a little character. This may seem like no big deal and it probably isn't but I just want it to look this good at least until I pick up my next 2 or 3 new HK's.

 

[Apollo11]

Kydex generally will wear and then stop. Leather continues to polish the gun, and the wear is a lot "softer" looking for lack of a better term. My IPSC gun, in a kydex holster, looks like the sides of the slide were polished with some fine grit sand paper, because of holstering and drawing while there was a bunch of sand/grit in there from the wind. It's all good, just there.

There is no free lunch when it comes to holstering a gun, and wearing the finish. They all wear with presentations. You're gonna hear this a bunch, but the best protection is the safe. If you carry it, or holster it; there will be a change in the finish.

I have also found that the leather lined holsters don't protect the finish any more than the non lined. They slow the wear down, but as soon as there is grit in there, they scratch every time the gun goes in or out. My buddy has one, and after taking it on a hunting trip, he was no further ahead than anyone else.

If you are going to holster it, I think quality kydex unlined is the best long term option for minimizing wear. Just have to keep it clean. However, you have to come to terms that it will wear. Just remember, that once the finish wears off, the gun is still protected.

 

[hkmanlp1]

^this +1

 

[mew]

all holsters will wear on your pistol period. your HK is a tool also but just more expensive. think of it like SnapOn vs Craftsman.
both work, but one just feels better in your hand.........

 

[svtpwnz]

If you carry it, it is going to get holster wear and there is no way around it. I certainly know how you feel and have carried several high end pistols. It's like having a new BMW or Benz. When you drive it for the first couple months, you are paranoid about it getting dinged or scratched. After 2-3 years of driving it and several scratches/dings later, you just don't worry so much any more.

 

[Blazer-6]

I have a Garrett silent thunder. I like it. it hasn't worn anything but my front sight for a year now. Im an active IPSC shooter and draw by the hundreds everyday. i know it will still wear the gun, but ive seen hideous wear patterns created by kydex that i havent seen w/ leather. Ron & Sheryl Garrett are real heaven sent. they are very kind and their product is superb.

 

[skullbox]

Does anyone know how the holster wear shows on Nickel Boron? I'm thinking of sending out my USP-SD to get a NiB coat and I have a kydex holster for it as well.

 

[gtbigup]

I have a Garrett silent thunder. I like it. it hasn't worn anything but my front sight for a year now. Im an active IPSC shooter and draw by the hundreds everyday. i know it will still wear the gun, but ive seen hideous wear patterns created by kydex that i havent seen w/ leather. Ron & Sheryl Garrett are real heaven sent. they are very kind and their product is superb.

+3, I own three of their Silent thunder holsters. All my guns stay in holsterd in a pelican case. I really need to invest in a safe

 

[The Sarge]

I have had very minimal holster wear with Com-tac products and recommend them highly. Keep the inside of the holster clean and all will be well. Bill

 

[Blazer-6]

All my guns stay in holsterd in a pelican case.

i thought i was the only one who does this...

 

[gtmtnbiker98]

All of my holsters are fitted with a silk lining and I wear white gloves when handling in a dust free, climate controlled environment. All of my holsters and firearms are NIB because I can't bear the thought of the both touching one another.

/sarcasm

 

[TGS]

i thought i was the only one who does this...

I actually had an experience that changed my view on the awesomeness of pelican cases.

I was conducting an inventory at one of the largest armories in the USMC, where there were a few hundred M9's stored in pelican cases. We opened them up, and all the M9's were covered in mold/fungus/something-not-of-this-earth. Pelican cases will hold moisture. Even the smallest amount of dampness can cause trouble, especially when it's held in foam that touches the weapon....there doesn't need to be sitting water for it to be a problem.

Thus, all of my guns sit in open air. However, they do get oiled with the finest silk cloths from across the globe, and are transported in Egyptian cotton lined holsters. :wink:

 

[Brownie]

Holster = Wear
No holster = No wear.

If I bought a hammer that I was afraid to hit nails with I'd have to seriously re-evaluate my need for said hammer. I'm not saying that things shouldn't be kept as nice as possible but there is a certain acceptance that has to come when you decide to carry the pistol. I wouldn't get a holster that's sandpaper lined but when selecting a holster, wear is so far down my list of requirements that it is hardly a consideration.

 

[Brownie]

I actually had an experience that changed my view on the awesomeness of pelican cases.

I was conducting an inventory at one of the largest armories in the USMC, where there were a few hundred M9's stored in pelican cases. We opened them up, and all the M9's were covered in mold/fungus/something-not-of-this-earth. Pelican cases will hold moisture. Even the smallest amount of dampness can cause trouble, especially when it's held in foam that touches the weapon....there doesn't need to be sitting water for it to be a problem.

Exactly.
Pelican cases are great for transport because that's what they are designed for. As TGS said, O-ring seals and moisture trapping foam are not conducive with storage.

Thus, all of my guns sit in open air. However, they do get oiled with the finest silk cloths from across the globe, and are transported in Egyptian cotton lined holsters. :wink:

Nice.

 

[HKHardtime]

i thought i was the only one who does this...

Don't feel bad, untill this week all mine were on the floor under piles of laundry. Just got a safe finally.

 

[Mattducati]

I like to take care of my weapons, but they are "tools" that I use to protect myself and my family.
Holster wear tends to happen to any handgun that is taken in and out of a holster.

But to me this adds character to my guns. It also makes them unique.
I could recognize the markings and holster wear if they were stolen or taken from my possession.

I look at my handguns more as work boots instead of an expensive Rolex.

 

[Spyder]

The finish you are talking about it wearing is only the bluing that was done to it. If you think that it is too ugly after a while, just have it reblued. The actual protective coating done to it (nitro-gas carburizing) doesn't wear off from holster wear. The Hk finish is pretty much like the glock finish, only glocks are done in a hot bath, and Hk's are done in a gas furnace.

 

[TGS]

The finish you are talking about it wearing is only the bluing that was done to it. If you think that it is too ugly after a while, just have it reblued. The actual protective coating done to it (nitro-gas carburizing) doesn't wear off from holster wear. The Hk finish is pretty much like the glock finish, only glocks are done in a hot bath, and Hk's are done in a gas furnace.

GrayGuns does this for $80. Anyone who's interested, see at the bottom of this page: Heckler & Koch Pistols : Grayguns by Bruce Gray

 

[C.O.M.]

I have a Garrett silent thunder. I like it. it hasn't worn anything but my front sight for a year now. Im an active IPSC shooter and draw by the hundreds everyday. i know it will still wear the gun, but ive seen hideous wear patterns created by kydex that i havent seen w/ leather. Ron & Sheryl Garrett are real heaven sent. they are very kind and their product is superb.

This is the holster I am going to order. I got the suggestion from another member here when I first bought the gun a couple weeks ago. I had the Ca 10 day wait and I am now ready to order. I may just wait on the holster to come in or find a nice less expensive leather holster to hold me over. Thanks!

 

[C.O.M.]

All of my holsters are fitted with a silk lining and I wear white gloves when handling in a dust free, climate controlled environment. All of my holsters and firearms are NIB because I can't bear the thought of the both touching one another.

/sarcasm

Nice! I like that answer. That sounds like my old Marine buddies. I know, I know but it is my new baby. Maybe a month from now the new will wear off and I will just run it hard and fast.