Right handed Kramer horsehide pocket holsters for the Kel-tec P-3AT on the left and the Kahr PM9 on the right.

Sometimes the little things in life can brighten your day. It could be the Dunkin Donuts counter clerk’s pleasant smile at 5:30 AM, or a helpful and polite customer service representative at your wireless phone carrier. On the objects’ side of things,

I really appreciate well made clothing, tools, and equipment. This particularly extends to my emergency rescue tools and accessories—my guns and holsters. I take good care of my handguns and holsters, but sometimes I am hard on them.

Therefore, I like to wear my carry guns in good quality holsters.

Holster making is an art. Fine leather holsters are made from quality leather and are hand molded and stitched together by master craftsmen.

The most common type of leather used in holster making is cowhide which typically works just fine. Horsehide, which is more expensive, is a step up, but it increases a holster’s durability and is also more water resistant than cowhide.

One holster manufacturer that specializes in horsehide, which is harder to work with than cowhide, is Kramer Handgun Leather (www.KramerLeather.com).

Greg Kramer started Kramer Gun Leather in 1978, and he has been making fine custom holsters for military, law enforcement, and civilians ever since. In the spec ops community, Kramer Leather is a go-to brand. Their belt scabbard holsters, inside the waist band holsters, shoulder rigs and pocket gun holsters are built to last a lifetime.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to own and wear a variety of Kramer horsehide holsters built for a variety of carry guns. Believe me when I say that many of them have been through torture tests! Some have been submerged in water, others have been employed for many thousands of gun presentations and re-holsterings with sharp front sight blades, and many of them have logged thousands of hours in damp pockets and on sweaty waists. As of today, they remain as good as new. In this article, my focus is on Kramer’s pocket holsters.

Kramer pocket gun holsters are unique in the nature and quality of their construction. Kramer produces a truly different type of pocket holster.

The Kramer Pocket Holster does all the things that a good pocket holster needs to do. It ensures that the gun will stay in the same place upright inside your pocket, it ensures that the holster will remain inside your pocket as you draw your gun, just the gun and not the holster with it,  when it is time to do so, it protects the front sight of the gun, it protects your roscoe from lint and pocket debris, and it disguises the shape of the gun as seen through the pocket. It also feels comfortable riding inside of your pocket.

If you are carrying a pocket gun, you don’t want to have to think about it if you must draw you gun from your holster in a social emergency. You want to be able to get a good full grip on the handle of your pocket gun and be able to remove it from said pocket smoothly without any snags.

Thus, the gun to holster fit in a pocket holster should be on the loose side. However, you still want a holster that is precisely molded to your gun to eliminate gun rattle and excessive play in the holster.
Kramer makes precisely molded pocket holsters for a wide range of pocketable carry guns.

In order to enhance concealment, the outside body of every Kramer pocket holster is covered with a piece of plastic laminate that breaks up the outline of the gun, so the telling bulge inside your pocket looks like a wallet and not a GUN.

Conversely, the opposite inside of the holster that presses against your body is smooth, comfortable, and precisely molded to your gun in water resistant horsehide.

These Kramer pocket gun holsters are built like trucks, but they are pretty. They can be ordered in black, mahogany brown or tan. They are made for a variety of popular and new, as well as older and rarer handguns.

These include among others; small frame snub nosed revolvers (e.g., Smith and Wesson J-frames, Taurus, Colt Detective Special, Ruger LCR), and a wide range of semi-automatic pistols, such as the Beretta .32 Tomcat and .22 LR Bobcat, Bersa Thunder .380, Colt Mustang .380 and Pocket 9, Diamondback .380 and DB9 9mm, Glock 26/27/32, Kahr P9, PM9, P40, PM40, MK9, MK40, and CW9, Kel-tec P-3AT, P-32, PF-9, and P-11, Kimber Solo 9mm, Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm and .40 compacts, Walther PPK, PPK/S and PPS, North American Arms Guardians and Mini-revolvers, Ruger LCP, LC9, SR9 and LCR, Sig Sauer P-238, P-230, P-232, and P-290, Springfield XD subcompacts, and the Taurus 738 and 709 series. 

Right handed Kramer horsehide pocket holsters for the Glock 26 on the left and the Smith and Wesson J-frame on the right.

In summary, a good pocket holster is comfortable, durable, maintains its shape, stays upright in your pocket, and protects your gun. It is also nice if it is pretty. There are many functional pocket holsters on the market these days. Some inexpensive pocket holsters made out of nylon or other synthetic materials work just fine.

However, I enjoy carrying in leather. A well worn in leather pocket holster is like well…a well worn in pair of blue jeans. There is a lot to be said for that. Kramer Handgun Leather makes pocket holsters with all of these attributes. That is why they are among my favorite pocket holsters.

Sources:
Defensive Handguns Forum. www.DefensiveHandguns.com
Kramer Handgun Leather. 888-Kramer1. www.KramerLeather.com