About three months ago the owner of Vandal Custom Leather asked if I would be interested in reviewing one of his custom holsters. Of course, my answer was yes. However, I candidly warned him, as I do with every single person who reaches out looking for a review, that my reviews are honest. Meaning that I will mention the good, the bad, and the ugly about the products that I review. At his own peril, he agreed to the terms and set out to build a custom holster for the Smith & Wesson Model 66 Combat Magnum at no charge to me.
About three weeks later a box from Vandal Custom Leather arrived. Much to my surprise it contained not one, but two stunningly beautiful custom leather holsters.
It’s disclosure time. Vandal Custom Leather provided these two holsters at no charge to me. There are no other arrangements in place, financial or otherwise.
Fit and Finish
There is an old adage that says, “you get what you pay for”. This saying more often than not holds true when it comes to custom holsters and even more so when dealing with custom leather holsters. Now I had no idea which holster I was going to receive. After all, I requested to be sent what they wanted to be showcased. While I was waiting for the holster to be made and shipped, I took the liberty of perusing Vandal Custom Leather’s website to see what they offered. The pictures of the products on the online catalog appeared to be decent quality. The prices were lower than the prices of the largest custom leather holster makers. Not by a lot, but low enough to be notable. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Given the lower prices and decent pictures, I figured the holster could be as good as those from the largest makers or not quite as good, but still decent.
As I said, I found two stunningly beautiful holsters in the box when they arrived. I was shocked by what I saw and touched. Maybe even flabbergasted. In a ridiculously good way.
The first thing that hit me when I opened the box was the smell of genuine leather. Those of you who have walked into a boot store or a horse and tackle shop know the smell I’m talking about. It’s a rich and unmistakable smell.
Picking the first holster up, I immediately noticed two things. The first thing was how incredibly rigid the holster was. The next was how thick the leather was. Rigidity is a critical characteristic for a holster as a good holster must retain its form with or without a handgun in it. Thick leather suggests that the maker goes to great lengths in selecting only quality leather to work with. Furthermore, the combined thickness and rigidity means the holster will last a long time before it becomes malleable enough to lose its retention.
The stitching on the wet formed Wickett & Craig leather holsters is flawless. Furthermore the finished holsters are coated with an acrylic finish inside and out which protects the leather from moisture and keeps it from drying out without having to worry about leather maintenance.
The initial fit is incredibly snug and will require a lot of drawing and holstering the pistol for a proper break in.
In my opinion, these holsters are priced too low and the online catalog could benefit from some higher quality images with better lighting because they are functional pieces of fine masterful craftsmanship.
The Agent Holster
The Agent is a classic scabbard style holster. The core is constructed from a single piece of leather that is folded around the handgun. You can think of it like a taco where the leather is tortilla and the handgun is the filling. The outside edges of the folded leather are cut and stitched together for a visible belt loop near where the trigger guard rests in the holster. An additional piece of leather is stitched around the fold which provides additional rigidity and includes the second belt loop which is found in the back of the holster located right around where the top of the cylinder rests in the holster.
One of the characteristics of the scabbard style holster is that, when formed properly, it offers more retention than holsters that are formed with two pieces of leather. This is because the fold is formed tightly around the sides and the top of the frame and barrel shroud. The tighter fit results in more friction which yields more retention. More retention is good because it keeps the gun in place better than a holster with less retention. However, the additional force required to draw the pistol may mean a slower draw and can cause more fatigue when training.
Another neat side effect from the single piece construction is that the holster takes up less space than holsters that have the second belt loop located above the frame. This can be beneficial to folks with smaller waist sizes or folks that like to load up their belts with more stuff.
The side of this particular holster that rests closest to the body has been cut to shape that includes a sweat guard and hammer shield. That is there is enough leather to prevent any part of the frame and hammer from coming into contact with the body or clothing that rests between the body and the holster. It’s a nice feature that isn’t included in all holsters and sometimes is offered as an add-on for an additional fee.
The Constable Holster
The Constable is based on another classic holster design called a pancake holster. The core is constructed from two pieces of leather that are stitched together around the handgun. I like to think about this style like a sandwich where the two leather pieces are the bread and gun is the all of the good stuff between them. The outer edges of the holster that are stitched together are cut to form two belt loops. One is located below the trigger guard and the cylinder crane while the other is located north of the top of the frame. This design also includes a third piece of leather that is stitched to the front of the holster to provide additional rigidity. There is a fourth piece of leather stitched to the outside of the rear of the holster around which provides even more rigidity and form.
In contrast with the scabbard design, this holster offers sufficient retention, but is not quite as snug. This is because regardless of how close the stitching is done above the frame and the barrel shroud, there will always be a little space that won’t come in contact with the gun. That little extra space limits the friction of the holster to be less than the friction potential of the scabbard design. The upside of a little less retention is a potentially faster and smoother draw stroke and slower fatigue build up in extended training sessions.
I find that this design tends to sit a little tighter and closer to the body which can aid in concealment using an outerwear garment. This is because there isn’t an additional piece of leather between the belt and the pants behind the holster. The downside of this design is the wider footprint along the beltline which can be problematic for smaller framed folks with smaller waist lines when it comes to the holster conforming to the shape of the body. This is particularly evident when the holster is worn at the three or six o’clock position and can make concealing the holster more challenging or create discomfort.
Just like the other holster that was provided, this holster also features a sweat guard and hammer shield. I also found the texture to be a nice detail that gives this holster an extra touch of class making it a very tempting choice for more formal occasions. I don’t see a texture option on the order form on the Vandal Custom Leather website. This leads me to believe that additional customizations are available upon request, but will require an old fashioned phone call.
Between the two holsters sent, the Constable was my favorite. I like the additional conceal-ability of the pancake design and it forms well to my frame. I also like the way the Model 66 draws from the holster better. Last but not least, I find the textured leather to be more visually appealing.
Closing Thoughts
These holsters exceeded my expectations. The quality and craftsmanship is superb. Furthermore, both designs meet the criteria of a quality holster suitable for defensive carry.
As much as I like the holster, I do have two tiny issues that I think folks should be weary of.
The first issue is that this holster is going to take some to break in. This won’t be a problem for folks who practice and train regularly. However, those who don’t might find the break in process tedious and may even give up on it. I don’t fault the holster maker for this. In fact, I applaud him for it. A leather holster that doesn’t require break in will likely not have sufficient retention to be suitable for defensive carry or it will have a very short usable life span before it’s not suitable for defensive carry. Nevertheless, it is something a buyer should be aware of.
The second issue is in regards to the holster styles and my personal preferences. I’m not a fan of open carry. Since I reside in an area where it is simply too dang hot most of the year for outerwear, I don’t get a lot of use out of outside-the-waistband (OWB) holsters. Those who also prefer concealed carry over open carry who live in similar environments should keep that in mind when considering one of these two holsters.
These issues are general issues that I have for all high quality custom leather OWB holsters. The fact that these are the only two negative, if I can even call them negative, things I have to say about these holsters is really a form of praise. These are magnificent holsters that have been finely crafted with great care and excellent materials that I have been putting to work with the Model 66 and I’m not the slightest bit disappointed.
I have no doubt that I will continue to put these two holsters to good use and will be recommending Vandal Custom Leather to folks who are in the market for customer leather OWB holsters with passive retention. Like I’ve already said, these holsters are functional pieces of masterful craftsmanship.
