PROUDLY MADE IN THE USA!
Please visit our online store to place your order.
Q: What is a Pancake Holster?
A: Two pieces of leather stacked on top of each other, usually round or ovate, this allows for a very flat profile holster that when worn applies tension to the gun. The concept was developed by Roy Baker, of Magnolia Arkansas, around 1958.
Q: What color does the leather come in?
A: All of our products are dyed Oxblood (reddish/brown, dark, almost black in some light). This color is a good all around color that looks good with every other color.
Q: Are the inside the waistband straps removable, so you could wear it outside if you wanted to, or permanently mounted to the holster?
A: The inside outs bolt on and you can remove or add them easily.
|
|
 |
|
•
|
Most pancake holsters come with 3 belt slots standard. This allows for multiple angles of carry.
|
|
•
|
All Holsters, belts and pouches are oxblood color, except for the Pocket Protectors that are in natural tan.
|
|
•
|
Unless you tell us otherwise, the holsters will be built right handed.
|
|
•
|
The slots are 1.75 and will accommodate a 1.5 inch belt without moving around.
|
|
•
|
If you have triple layered laminated belt let me know before we build your order.
|
|
•
|
Yes, the Pancake will hold your pistol securely without a retention strap. It is designed to hold the gun this way when worn on the belt.
|
|
•
|
Turn around time is 4 to 6 weeks if we do not have it in stock.
|
|
•
|
We need to know the Model, caliber and barrel length.
|
|
•
|
If you give me a Gun Company’s catalog number and I have to search for it, it will slow your order down.
IE; a 4” 45 Colt Redhawk is far more descriptive than KRH-45-4.
|
|
•
|
Payment in full is expected before we begin your order.
|
|
•
|
If you are not satisfied we will refund you in full, upon return of the items in question.
|
|
•
|
We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for anything at any time.
|
|
•
|
If you are a deploying GI, please call or e-mail us before you order.
|
Click here for our gun/holster fit chart
Basket Weave - $25.00 to add to a holster, $5.00 for ammo pouches. We offer border stamping for belts (not full coverage).
Inside out straps. They are removable, quick & easy way to put on a gun.
|
Hammer Strap secures the gun, can be tucked behind or completely removed. Made long for a positive sweep off with the hand.
|
Border stamped Long Hunter 6.5.
|
Floral carved holsters and accessories.
|
Basket weave tooling.
|
Shark scale tooling.
|
Cuda with inside out straps inside the waist band.
|
Cuda in service 29 Palms.
|
|
I do not encourage the Hammer Strap for general carry. If you sky dive, fly high G acrobatics or ride motorcycles inside a metal cage,THEN you might need a hammer strap. My holsters are designed and built to retain your pistol when worn on a proper belt without a mechanical latch or strap.
"I carry my Smith 28 (A 2.5 pound .357) in it under a untucked shirt in a store a few weeks back. 3 Law Enforcement Officers didn't know I had a gun until I showed it to them. I was at a warehouse store 2 weekends ago and forgot I had it on until I got to playing on a "inversion machine". I was hanging up side down I felt the whole rig move a bit but the gun stayed in place. Just before Christmas I was confronted by a barking charging dog, it was cold so I had on a t-shirt, flannel shirt and a coat. The gun came up and was on the head of the dog without even thinking about it. The owner called the dog and I didn't have to shoot but the important part to me was how the gun was just there when I needed it to be."
- Tony B.
I have carried my heavy 44's and 45s in the mountains of North Idaho, deserts of Arizona and the sea and tundra (including the hellish alder thickets that snatched my pocket knife and mosquito net from my pockets) and my holster have always retained my pistol. Even while falling out of a boat and going for a swim (In the interests of science, of course).
I do not offer the hammer strap straps on hammerless guns like the Ruger LCR, Taurus Public Defender, S&W M-37 M-40 (And the other hammerless guns).
Rob Leahy
The Sourdough is a pancake design; it uses two pieces of leather with offset belt loops to apply tension to the gun, providing good protection and retention to the pistol. With most guns, a retention strap is not really necessary.
I build these primarily for wearing on a heavy trouser belt, either 1-1/2” (the most common belt width) or 1-3/4” (the widest that will fit through jeans, BDUs or Carhart belt loops. This helps one to carry a heavy gun comfortably all day. One can use various ammo pouches with this type of rig. I like to carry a single speed loader and six cartridges in a slide for spare ammo. This is how I carry my guns in the field.
Around town, I most often just throw on my Sourdough with the inside out loops and carry a Most Versatile pouch with a speed strip or a second six loader.
Some folks prefer or need to wear their pistol on a separate, usually heavier 2-1/2” belt, sometimes with cartridges sewn on, or a cartridge slide, so one belt can serve for a verity of pistols.
I do not make small of back holsters and whole heartedly recommend against them. They are in a terrible position for quick, smooth draw, almost impossible to defend from a snatch, not well hidden unless one is standing straight or sitting. When seated, they are very slow to draw from, and if you end up getting knocked down, imagine landing on a little hunk of metal on your back.
I also make the Chesty Puller Conversion system that allows you to carry your pistol up out of the way for wading and fishing. This will allow you to convert just about any brand of pancake holster to a shoulder or chest carry. We are now making an added adaptor that conventional holsters can be used on the Chest Harness.
This is quickly becoming my favorite way to carry a heavy pistol while back packing or carrying a heavy meat pack.
Lining for holsters:
I no longer offer lining as I have come to the conclusion that it is a waste of my time & your money. I have yet to find a lining (No mater the holster maker) that does prevent wear to the finish, and in fact some of the softer linings actually accelerate wear by retaining grit. Skeeter Skelton wrote about this 40 years ago and nothing that I see has changed.
The other part of this is that the silicone treated vegetable tanned flesh side of leather is pretty easy on the gun's finish as it is.
A properly fitted holster will go farther towards preventing excessive finish wear than any lining.
Back packing with a pistol:
Leather holsters: my personal favorite for carrying a gun while back packing is a Sourdough with the Chesty Puller Conversion System. One can wear the holster on the chest and have it easily accessible even with a heavy pack on and you have the option of placing the holster on your belt when the pack is off. I find it so comfortable that I generally just keep the pistol on the chest straps.
Thigh Holsters:
Q:Do you make any Thigh Holsters?
A: No, and I whole-heartily recommend against using them. They impede one's movement unnecessarily. No one that has carried a gun on their thigh does it because it is the best place, but rather because of body armor or other gear forces one to place a secondary firearm there.
The Original Comes Home
by Rob Leahy
Holsters: I purchased a Roy's Original Hidden Thunder holster for my 4" 1955 Target and 29-2 in 1982. This was the first holster that I owned that allowed me to conceal an N frame in the Arizona heat easily and comfortably.
Several years later, I was temporarily without a 4" N frame and loaned my Roy Baker holster to a good friend, Elliott.
He mistakenly believed that it was a permanent loan and a few months later he sold it to one of his brother in laws. I had in the meantime discovered another 29-2 4" and wanted my excellent concealment and field holster back. Elliot was somewhat taken aback, felt terrible, and soon discovered that his scoundrel of a BIL refused to let loose of his new found FAVORITE holster. (I shouldn't be TOO hard on him: he recognized a good deal when he saw it)
In the intervening years, Mr. Baker passed on to his great reward and being pre web days, there was no other pancake rigs available to me. Having no recourse, I designed and built my own. Knowing I didn't have the skill to fashion a thumbreak and not really liking them, I covered the hammer to project my side. Having read enough Cooper and Bianchi by then and having used several other types of holsters, I decided that a covered trigger guard was a superior idea. This was around 1991, I have built several other designs, but always end up “coming home” to this simple pancake. I soon found myself building these for my friends and shooting buddies. I was working in several different retail sporting goods shops and often found myself building Pancake holsters and Pocket Holsters for my customers when nothing off the shelf or in the current catalog would suffice.
I have been blessed and encouraged by several good people that not only prompted me to start building full time, but me but placed orders and kept me going. They often asked me to stretch my meager skills to fulfill their desires, along the way I have had some good tips and lessons from other leather artisans. It has grown from a hobby gone wild, to a one man shop, to the current shop of several artisans working with me to meet the demand for our simple, rugged holsters.
THANK YOU FOLKS!
Thanks, Rob
Please call or e-mail if you have any questions or concerns about what we can build for you.
|
