Ghetto Grips; Not Pretty, but Comfortable

Having mentioned these grips in my previous post I thought I a least owed you a couple pictures of my experimental "Ghetto Grips" for my Dan Wesson .357mag. Well, here you go.
I took the factory rubber finger groove grips from my Charter Arms Undercover .38spl and mated them to the grip of the Dan Wesson using Kneadatite Epoxy Modeling Putty (Green Stuff) as the filler. I modeled the backstrap similar to how Trausch grips are for the Ruger SP101.They have held up and feel really good in the hand. I was always bothered with how cheesy they looked though so that is why they were replaced with the very pretty custom shaped wood grips.

Getting a Grip! Reshaping Revolver Grips

I don't profess to be a revolver guy. I like them for all the obvious reasons; reliable, powerful, simple to use and reload, and yes - cowboys used them. The very first handgun I ever touched was a very beautiful and manly stainless steel S&W Model 19 Combat Magnum. That began a very healthy respect for revolvers, but for some reason they've never really "fit" the same way many semi-autos sat in my hand. Most of the reason for this problem is that it seems that many revolvers sport very unergonomic grips. Traditionally they come with oversized "target" grips that are skinnier at the top (where your fingers are longest) and WIDE at the bottom (where your little pinky finger is). For me, not only are these kind of grips hard to get a hold of they are also very hard to conceal. Last year I bought a Dan Wesson Model 14 that I wrote about before. It came with large rubber Pachmayr Presentation grips that did a good job of reducing recoil, but still weren't the easiest to hold on to not to mention they'd seen years of hard use and showed it. Granted the gun itself shows a lot of the same use, but even old men need new shoes from time to time. I first tried an experiment with a spare set of rubber finger groove grips from my wife's Charter Arms .38 special. I liked the shape of those grips and wondered if I could get them to fit. Dan Wesson revolvers use a different method to attach grips than most other revolvers such as S&W, Taurus & Charter Arms. Instead of separate grip panels the grip is a single piece that slides on and is secured with a single screw from the bottom. To try to attach the two separate grip panels from the CA revolver I trimmed off a bit of the side grips and used a two part epoxy putty to fill in the gap. For the bottom screw I affixed a metal washer inside. Because I could get creative with the putty I added a bit to the top of the back and a bit between the trigger guard and the grip to better fit my hand. The experiment worked in giving me a better functional grip, but it looked pretty ghetto. The putty is green and the grip is black and though the putty could be sanded flush and then maybe painted all one color, I gave up on trying to make it pretty because lets face it rubber grips just aren't supposed to be pretty.

On to my next grip project. I wanted pretty grips that also felt good when held. I had picked up one of those oversized target grips I mentioned earlier (like the wood ones pictured above) and thought I might be able to reshape them into a more hand-friendly shape. I don't really have much woodworking experience outside of whittling sticks as a boy scout in my youth, but I was up to the challenge. I've seen a lot of custom grips out there with finger grooves and though I'm not totally against them, I do see the arguement that they may not fit everyone. I wanted to make grips that my wife would be able to comfortably use as well as me so I nixed designs with full finger grooves. Instead I came up with a design similar to these Pachmayr compact grips that add a pinky groove, but in a pretty walnut.Here's the final product after hours of sanding & shaping with a bunch of Dremel sanding drums, a lot of hand sanding and a bit of Tung Oil (great stuff).






Now I'm not into OC (open carry), but I would be happy to OC with these pretty grips showing. They are compact enough to where I might work on an IWB holster and try carrying this .357 mag concealed. I'm really happy with how they turned out and I won't have any problem reshaping my grips in the future. I hope my experience inspires some of you to do the same to renew your old revolvers.

Spare Mag & Knife Back Pocket Carrier

I'm probably like a lot of you and take advantage of whatever pockets I've got on my pants. A number of years ago I stopped carrying my wallet in my back pocket. My problem was the same one that George Costanza had in Seinfield. My wallet always got about two inches thick which is not conducive to sitting on so to avoid the sore butt I switched to front pocket carry or cargo pocket carry if my pants had one. From then on I've been happily sitting on empty back pockets...until now.

Since it's the summer I've been shying away from my typical two gun carry (Sig P239 IWB & Kahr PM9 in the pocket) and just wearing one (typically the PM9) along with a spare mag. A while back I had made a horizonal mag carrier that was tuckable and while it works it's not the easiest to put on so I've found myself dropping the spare in a pocket. We all know that's not the best way to do it. If I dropped it in my back pocket it would fall any which way and wasn't comfortable to sit on. In any other pocket I never knew which way it would be when I yanked it out. So I need a solution.

For my birthday this year I got treated to a new EDC knife - a SOG FlashII (thank you nutnfancy for his review on the blade). While it has a wonderfully low carry pocket clip I prefer to keep it as out of the way as possible. I've had the unfortunate car scratch from a similar clip. So my solution for my mag can also be a solution for my knife.

Here it is.
You'll notice I used a single rivet on the mag side. The reason for this is that there is no retention on the mag except for the little bit of friction of the kydex so I wanted to keep that tight. The knife has all kinds of little protrusions so it needs a bit of looseness so that it'll draw cleanly. I kept the clip on the knife so that I have the option to use it if I ever need to. You can see I angled them slightly away from each other so that there won't be any interference. You may also notice that it's been a while since I've molded kydex and I scorched a little bit on the mag side. That heat gun gets HOT! The whole thing measures 4 1/4 inches wide, under 5 inches high and less than 3/4 inch in thickness. I wear it in my weak side back pocket with the flat side out so it just looks like a wallet. The knife and mag stay where they are until I reach in and pull them. I can even "reholster" them without having to take the carrier out of my pocket. Sitting down I can tell it's there, but since it's pretty thin as long as I'm on some kind of cushion I'm comfortable.

All in all a success.

Modification to the AIWB for the Sig P239

I knew that my original design had a weak spot in the rear clip and the other day the inevitable happened and part of it snapped off while putting it on. At first I just cut off the rear clip and tried wearing it with the single j-clip. While it didn't fall through my pants it would rotate and hang by the grip making drawing difficult. Two clips are a must! I had a couple spare kydex clips left over from other holsters that I own and decided to re-form them into a usable substitute that would be attached to the ring rivet via a screw.

Here are the two different clips I came up with. One's a j-clip and the other is a velcro clip that attaches to the loop velcro sewn into my belt.
By making the rear clip pretty flat with no curve to it the holster now tucks the grip in towards my body nicely making it very concealable. It's comfortable to wear and is quick to access. This will be my go to holster when wearing untucked. I have the option to wear it with the velcro rear clip or the rear j-clip, but since really the only belt I ever use already has velcro sewn in I'll probably just leave the velcro clip attached.

The belt is made my Crossbreed (http://crossbreedholsters.com/) and I totally recommend it. If carrying a gun everyday is something you want to do then a study gun belt is a must. My CB belt is dual thickness with loop velcro sewn in. It is a thick belt, but very supportive. The buckle can be switched out if you want to use something a bit fancier than silver or brass.

Here's a video I made demonstrating this holster.

Grip Clip Holster for a Kahr PM9

Ok, I was in a rush with that last holster attempt and didn't fully commit to the process. I tried to wear it for an hour yesterday and it was pretty terrible. So I went ahead and started a holster from scratch.

Here's what I came up with. It's a scabbard design held together using one larger rivet and using two grip clips as attachment points onto the waistband. It's molded so that the gun is locked in if tried to draw straight up. To draw smoothly the gun must be pulled out to an angle instead of straight up. Here it is.


Just for fun I wore it for over 3 hours to dinner along with my S&W 469 both up front at centerline carry. I was surprised it was pretty comfortable even though I'm not used to carrying at the 11:00-11:30 position.

I know it looks funny, but it worked with a sweater over it. During most of the year I don't usually go about without a belt on so I don't intend on using this holster all that often. It is the best option I have for my Kahr when belt-less so I'm glad I have it in my holster stable.

Here's a picture with it worn without a belt as it's intended.

Here's a short video showing the holster in action:

New Clipping option - The Grip Clip!

I came across an ingenious idea last month while reading one of the many gun forums I'm a member of (in this case it was DefensiveCarry.com). One of the members (muddy, gotta give him credit!) came up with the idea to use plastic suspender clips (called Grip Clips) from a pair of suspenders he had on one of his kydex holsters since he rarely uses a belt. It allows him to use the holster in whatever pants/shorts he's wearing regardless if he wears a belt. Here's a link to his post - Kydex Creations using the Grip Clip.

Now, I typically always wear a belt especially in the winter months and during the work week. There are occasions during the summer or weekend where I can see the option of going beltless preferable. In the past, I've used my Stuff & Go methods when beltless. The holster I've used for the Kahr PM9 left a lot to be desired. It didn't quite cover enough of the trigger guard and worst of all the way it clipped to the waistband could cause the holster to be pulled out along with the gun on the draw. Using something like a Grip Clip seemed like the perfect solution. It would be easy on & off, yet when clipped would be secure and not slide off.

Normally, I would make this as a scabbard instead of a pancake (I've found scabbard designs to be cleaner and a little less bulky), but going through my misc. box of holsters & stuff I came across an early attempt at a pancake kydex holster for the PM9. I hadn't used it in a while since I pretty much always pocket carry the PM9. I decided to use this old shell instead of cutting up fresh kydex. In the process of reforming the kydex you'll notice there are a number of blemishes. They in no way affect how the holster actually works. I formed the kydex so the gun will not pull straight out. It is effectively locked in when a straight upwards draw is tried. To draw so that the gun pulls out smoothly it must be pulled back and up at the same time. It snicks out very smoothly when drawn correctly and it's a natural motion for my strong side hand.
I went simple and just used one clip. This is because it will be carried at the appendix location and a little bit of rotational movement helps with comfort. Also one clip is all I need to keep it from sliding down the pants or yanking out on the draw. I've angled the clip so that the gun has a little backwards cant where the grip limits how much it can rotate backwards.

To protect the gun from inadvertantly hitting the nut & screw on the inside of the holster I covered them with a little piece of electrical tape.
I plan on testing this one out after work and this weekend while wearing shorts or sweatpants. If I get a chance I'll make a video demonstrating:
- How well it conceals with a t-shirt
- How easy it is to put on and take off
- How secure the clip is
- How to draw from it correctly

In the future, I plan on designing a two clip version for more stability. Oh, and if you're interested in adapting these clips to a holster you have, they are available seperately from Seattle Fabrics. It's where I found mine.

AIWB Holster for the Smith & Wesson 469

Here's my latest holster. It's for my winter carry Smith & Wesson 469. I followed the same pattern as my AIWB I did for my Sig P239 with a couple improvements.

I thickened the rear section that supports the grip end and widened both J-hooks to improve on durability. I maintained the curve to the clips I used on the Sig holster which helps with allowing the holster to bend with my waistline. The holster is easy on/off and is surprisingly comfortable. It holds the gun securely until I need to draw it which it does quickly.

The Smith & Wesson 469 is a double stack so it's not a thin gun. With a t-shirt draped over it's still noticeable that there's a lump, but it could easily pass for a cell phone and in no way looks like a gun. Here's a short little video I made that shows how easily it comes on and off and how it conceals.