bluing friendly holster

I've read that suede is supposed to be easier on finishes but keep in mind that the act of putting a gun in a holster will cause friction which will wear on the finish eventually.
 
I would have to agree with Keltyke and Kreyzhorse on suede being friendly.

Certainly stay away from Fobus if you want a bluing friendly holster!
 
Back in the day, many Safariland holsters were suede lined...
I have a nylon rig that has a silicon cloth lining I store my blued 29 in as its probably the least harmful rig for a blued gun.
 
Its been my experience that leather will wear the guns finish overall more than Kydex. Kydex wears it at specific contact or pressure points.

Leather is OK for some uses, but if you wear your gun everyday, year round, and are not in a controlled environment, then Kydex is what you want, especially if you sweat. I always had "rusty" guns when I wore leather holsters, I've yet to have one with a Kydex holster.

Kydex is also easily cleaned, where leather isnt, and leather can and will over time, allow dirt and abrasives to be embedded into it, which will accelerate the wear on your guns finish. Kydex usually wont. All you need do to clean the Kydex holster is run it under the tap in in kitchen sink and wipe it dry with a paper towel.

If your worried about your guns finish, then dont carry it. Its going to get beat up and show wear. Theres no way around that.
 
If your worried about your guns finish, then dont carry it. Its going to get beat up and show wear. Theres no way around that.
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The man has a good point. There's no need to abuse a gun, but it's going to get some normal wear and tear while being carried. If the grips are wood, they may get nicked bumping into things. Most finishes will show "holster wear" no matter what you put the gun in. It's gonna get knocked around a little. Just keep it clean and it won't let you down.

Stainless would be about the most "holster wear-resistant", I guess.
 
Stainless would be about the most "holster wear-resistant", I guess.
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I'd say hard chrome or one of the Tennifer type finishes.

Stainless is soft, and shows scratches easy, especially the bright polished stainless. It will also rust/pit if you dont stay on top of it.

Hard chrome holds up very well, but it too will show rust if not properly maintained. Not rust like you'd encounter with blued or SS, but a rust of sorts. It too will wear, but it doesnt show scratches like SS does.

Glocks Tennifer finish is probably the best for nasty environments. I tried to get them to do a couple of my guns in it, but they wouldnt. To bad I dont get along with their pistols. :) The short while I carried one, it worked great in that respect, and that was in a leather holster too.

Heres what you can expect from 10+ years of hard daily use in a kydex holster. The gun was originally blued and lasted about a year in a couple of Galco Royal Guard holsters before rust set in heavy and I had it hard chromed. 99% of the next 10 years it was in a Blade Tech IWB kydex holster. The "black" streaks are actually mirror bright polished chrome, from wear points in the holster.

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Caution about suede: when new, it's soft and you'd think it would be wonderful for the gun. But if you carry it for any amount of time, grit will (not may, but will) get down inside the fibers and be impossible to remove. It thus becomes much harder on your finish than smooth leather or kydex.

pax
 
Suede will also hold moisture better, and when you sweat on a hot day, that moisture is a salty brine that will promote rust way faster than bluing will wear off.

My 02. answer to the OP question is: "None".
All holsters will wear away a blued finish, it's just that some will do it sooner than later.

I partied big time during the years that the manufactures began producing stainless pistols. In one simple move, the problem of rust (for the most part) and finish wearing became a non-issue for carry weapons.

Nowadays, all of the pistols that I carry the most often are nothing other than stainless.
Because of that, I never have to ask questions like: "What holster is kinder to blueing on a gun". :D

Don't get me wrong; I do have blued pistols that I carry occasionally, but... wait a minute: Nope. Now that I think of it, I no longer carry any blued pistols. ;)
 
I prefer leather holsters, personally, . . . (may have something to do with the fact that I make and sell em :D ), . . . and the reason I do is simple physics.

Once a holster has been "molded" to a particular firearm or firearm style, . . . it should allow that firearm to make contact with the holster in a much greater surface area than kydex or other plastics, . . . and of course still allow the speedy extraction that cannot be done with any of the Uncle Mike's or clones.

That greater surface area does two things, . . . it makes for a securely retained weapon holder, . . . and spreads out the "contact damage" or rubbing that is found in many cheap or poorly formed holsters.

May God bless,
Dwight
 
That greater surface area does two things, . . . it makes for a securely retained weapon holder, . . . and spreads out the "contact damage" or rubbing that is found in many cheap or poorly formed holsters.
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Its the "spreading out" that I was referring to when it came to leather holsters and "overall" finish wear. That same custom fit and hydraulic feel is constantly wearing more of your guns finish than the couple of contact points a Kydex holster does.

With kydex, you have a couple of contact point wear marks, and the rest of the guns finish is not touched and baring handling marks or wear points, looks about new. The finish on the guns that ride in leather usually starts to look thin, or almost grayish, and washed out, and fairly quickly.

If you look on the second pic I posted, you can see where the wear marks at the front of the slide are "curved". Thats not due to the camera, that was the biggest area of rust and pitting that was removed and the resulting metal removed while doing so. Contact with the leather had worn and removed a good bit of the original finish in that area, that, and the holster (actually, two holsters in rotation) being constantly wet over most of the summer, led to the rust.

While the damage caused by the Kydex looks worse, its really not, justmore localized. Most of the guns original finish remains, and you dont have the wet leather issue on the points that might be worn, and rust is less, if not a non issue. The damage you see on my hard chromed Commander was over ten years worth. Its original finish, which was actually a very nice Colt blue, and held up better than I expected, didnt last one year in leather holsters.

As far as speed goes, there is nothing faster to draw from than a kydex holster.
 
It does come down to the type of finish wear you prefer. I much prefer the "all over" wear of leather to the small, bare dots and streaks that result from even limited kydex use. I use kydex only with guns that have some sort of hard coating, and put blued guns only in leather. Even the rough side of horsehide can be very smooth, and easier to keep clean (that is, less likely to retain dirt and junk) than cowhide.
 
It does come down to the type of finish wear you prefer.
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I think we'd all prefer to have none, but that isnt realistic. :)

Then again, we all have preferences as to what we like, for what ever the reason, and we all live our lives differently, and that too will drive our choices. Pick what works best for you and live with the results. Either way, if its getting used, there will be results.

A lot of all of this is going to depend too on how often you carry and practice, and what conditions you do it in.

If you only use your gun in a holster on occasion, its really not going to make a lot of difference either way. If your wearing your gun daily, and practicing with it from its holster on a regular basis, your going to have much different results.

If you live and work somewhere, where the environment is controlled, like your house or in an office, or where you go from the house to the car to the office, etc, your results will be different than if your outside all day, everyday, and are in a humid, sweat, dust and dirt filled environment.

Again, if your going to wear your gun, at least in the real world, its going to get beat up and show it. Its unavoidable. Just look at everything else you wear everyday. Its often a reciprocal thing too. My clothes get worn from my guns and vice versa, same goes for the guns and holsters. Some hold up better than others too, guns and holsters.

I still have the same kydex holster that Commander rode in every day for 10+ years, and its still as functional and usable as the day I bought it. Paid about $45 for it new. I used to rotate through around two good leather holsters (at about $50-75 a pop) a year before that, due to the environment I live in, the way I sweat, and the use both the gun and holster got. That works out to either $45 or around $600 for the same time period. (not to mention the cost of dealing with rust on some guns too)

For me, I'll deal with a few drag marks and little or no rust. The slick draw and positive retention just sweeten the pot.


Oh yea one other thing, skip the "rough out" IWB type holsters. They suck up sweat like a sponge. They also dont stay "rough" for long either.
 
I've seen Kydex wear a nice groove in a Browning Hi-Power! I'd much rather take the kind of wear you'd get from a suede lined holster. Or get a Glock and don't worry about it.
 
I'd say hard chrome or one of the Tennifer type finishes.
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I have an early Glock 23 that has severe holster wear. It was carried primarily in a Galco holster. I too was under the impression that Tennifer was indestructible.
 
Is it just that ugly worn look?

That how mine ended up. It soon lost that grainy, almost "park" look, and took on a more polished, worn look. It never did rust though (well, all but the slide stop, that did rust), and I treated it the worst of any gun I've carried as far as wiping it down and all.
 
It may just me but I believe that a pistol or revolver that is bought to be carried in a holster is nothing more than a well made tool. I take great care of all of my guns but I don't believe in "safe queen" guns. The normal wearing of the finish just reminds me that it's mine, that I rely on it, that I use it, that its part of me. To me the patina that a gun gets from use makes it special.

I just spent $650.00 for a new Walther PPS 9mm that will be my primary carry gun and I'm not worried one bit about a little wear and tear to the finish. It's my carry gun!

Be proud of the wear your pistol gets from your holster, it shows that you use it for exactly what it was meant for.
 
I have an early Glock 23 that has severe holster wear. It was carried primarily in a Galco holster. I too was under the impression that Tennifer was indestructible.
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The black coating on the metal parts of a Glock is primarily cosmetic and is applied over the Tenifer. Glock will re-apply it for around $25 if you want your pistol spiffed up a bit.

Tenifer actually alters the metal to a depth determined by several factors including the duration of the treatment and the specific steel alloy. The resulting surface is a dull grey metallic color and is extremely hard. The Tenifer on your Glock is very likely in perfect condition, but it sounds like the black overcoating has worn badly.
 
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