Defensive Carry banner

Creaking Leather

4K views 31 replies 24 participants last post by  PapaCap 
#1 ·
I dearly love my Crossbreed holsters, but one of them is driving me nuts. Every move I make sounds like a creaking old ship in a 1940's pirate movie. I know there is a break in period, but this is ridiculous. A month now and no reduction in frequency or volume.

Kydex riveted on tanned horsehide. Rough side to the body, smooth facing the pistol.

Any thoughts on a leather treatment that will soften this up without harming the pistol?
 
#6 ·
I used Kiwi Leather Lotion on the horsehide (smooth side only). After a couple applications, silence!
 
#9 ·
See those crosses on the clips? It's Divine Retribution... anything under your belt that might have committed sins lately?


:image035:
 
#11 ·
I use Brommeland Max-Con V iwb leather holsters, a modified iwb Shark-tac kydex, and an X-Concealment kydex iwb, and none of them have ever creaked at all.
 
#15 ·
Kholster creaks too.
So does Harwell.

Maybe it's the climate he/we live in that effects it? I'm in SW Florida (hot and humid all year)... so maybe that has something to do with it...

Or maybe they're just crappy holsters... but even so I'd rather put some baby powder on it for free than spend $100 on another holster that does exactly the same thing without the powder.

PS... I re-read my post above and didn't mean to come off like such a butthead. My apologies.
 
#17 ·
I have an older MTAC (tan cowhide) that has never made a sound. Maybe you guys are on to something with the climate idea.
 
#18 ·
Horsehide has a tendency to creak. For all the plusses, that is the minus. My CBST creaks. Built on myself, creaks. Built a mag holder, creaks. Built one with leather, not a sound. I'll occasionally get a creak out of my OWB snap on leather holster on my leather belt. But nothing like the horsehide. I've talked to several folks with various versions of IWB holsters from horsehide and most of the creak. Before I made my own I went as far as to put felt spacers between the clip and horsehide. That helped more than anything else. And I don't tuck mine so it wasn't a problem for me.
 
#27 ·
Bought a jar on ebay based on your post, put it on today and it works great so far.
Have you ever had to re-apply it?
Silence is golden, the creak was driving me nuts.
I'm thinking Sno Seal may not be a bad thing to put on guns in storage to prevent rust.
 
#23 ·
I've tried talc, though I've always seemed to have better luck with cleaning and treating the leather like leather, same as with a horse saddle, baseball glove, leather jacket, car seats. Of course, the line between well-treated leather and a weakened holster can be a fine one, with the wrong product and/or poor application.
 
#24 ·
I found mine to be creaking at the rubber washers where they attach to the leather. I loosened the screws and put a little baby powder between the leather, rubber, and the metal clips, then tightened everything down. That totally eliminated the noise issue, but make sure you check the fasteners every once in a while. Make sure that they haven't loosened up any.
Well, actually I still have a little noise, but it seems to be coming from my hip.
 
#26 ·
I had a problem of the metal clips squeaking on the leather when I sit down and stand up. I just cut off two 1" long pieces of velcro tape (the soft side) and stuck it between the clips and the leather. I know it doesn't look stellar but it put a hush on it pretty quick.
 
#29 ·
This is a cut-and-paste of an email I received from Crossbreed:

The best way to condition the holster is through wear. If you want to put conditioner on it, the only thing we recommend is Kiwi Leather Lotion on the front of the holster, and less is more. For the squeaking issue you can try putting baby powder behind the clips or attaching felt tabs to the back of the clips. As the holster gets broke in, the squeaking will diminish.
A little spraying of "Camp Dry" on the back can also help to repel moisture.
If it's horsehide, use some Neetsfoot oil on the inside of the rig, rub it in well.
If it's cowhide, use some Kiwi Leather Lotion, available in most shoe sections of department stores
 
#31 ·
Living in the heat of south Texas I went with the horse hide. I noticed the creak and tried felt behind the clips, oiling the leather, and other idea. Nothing helped. I had the holster for 4 months before I got an MTAC. The MTAC hasn't squeaked since the day I first put it on.
 
#32 ·
For what its worth, I spoke to the folks at Brommeland Leather yesterday and asked about leather holsters that creak. They told me that for leather holsters that are made by sewing two pieces of leather together, such as most pancake style holsters, the creaking comes from not glueing the two pieces together prior to sewing.

Minor thread jacking about to happen...I have heard great things about their quality and a few bad things about their service. Most of the bad is due to some orders in the past being delayed without communication. The folks with the delayed orders stated they were told that the delay was due to poor quality leather and having to be returned. Since every post I've read brags on the quality of the product I have made an assumption (right or wrong) that the maker is very particular and only wants to provide top notch quality. I ordered an IWB holster from them for my Sig P239 with a 4-6 week lead time. Let's see what happens. Thread jacking ceased. Carry on :smile:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top