Leather Designs By Jason Winnie

CARRRY-2

There was a time when cops referred to their duty belts as “leather gear,” but as plastics and other high-tech materials have evolved; much of the “leather” gear is slowly disappearing. It seems a little weird to call it leather gear anymore. Plastic holsters and leather-like belts are great, but they’re … utilitarian. After a day of the toughness, durability and almost indestructibility of high-tech gear, perhaps you want something a little more classic.

The moment I get home from work I want my urban warrior-wear off. My tac pants, my suit, all of it — off! I don’t know if it’s the work-to-celebration or the girl-loves-fashion mindset, but I want change. I want to be more comfortable and can usually achieve this by throwing on a pair of jeans and leather boots. I also change guns, which means switching to a nice leather holster.

Notice the nice clean lines, finished edges
and the straight stitching lines on this J111.

My S&W Airweight J-Frame looks pretty damn good
in this J121 from Leather Designs by Jason Winnie.

Box Of Beauties

I want to go inside the waistband but outside the norm, and I want quality that can withstand $300 boots. I’ve found this in holsters from Leather Designs by Jason Winnie. It was suggested I look at Jason’s work because of his beautiful craftsmanship and very affordable prices. I reached out to him and soon found myself staring at a box with four beautiful leather holsters in it.

I could tell right away these beauties were works of art; each one was amazingly handcrafted and very similar, but different. The holsters looked so sturdy I had to take a second look for injection molding. Nope, no plastics here — just layers upon layers of leather. This is what workmanship should look like!

For days when I’m carrying my S&W Shield 9mm, there are the J201 and the J201T to choose from; they look and feel amazing. These are IWB with steel belt clips and are open-top allowing them to sit lower. Both of these holsters came out of the box and right onto my body and just like a pair of boots, required no break in period. The first place I found myself wearing the J201 was the couch. Don’t laugh; cops often have assignments requiring them to sit a lot, so it’s important to do the sit test. I pretty much wore the holster virtually nonstop throughout my weekend — during holiday shopping season — and it didn’t require any of the surreptitious adjusting and “wrist tapping” you might find yourself doing with a lesser quality holster.

The J201T, as in tuckable, has the exact same elegance and workmanship, but features a space between the back of the clip and the holster so you can tuck in your shirt. It’s perfect for work or court, or any other time you’re dressed to impress; and in this day and age of clip-on smart phone holsters, your IWB holster’s sure to go unnoticed.

Clip placement on this J201 allows it to sit low
inside your waistband, leaving little to be seen.

Affordable Quality

For traditionalists, there’s the J111, an open-top pancake holster with a side-guard (Jason calls it a body shield) that fits up to a 1.75″ wide belt. The holster is contoured to fit your body, which gives it the feel of a well-worn, already broken in holster. If you’re like me, an “old gun soul” with a love of revolvers, then you should look into the J121, an IWB with locking snap loops, which, like the J111, will also fit belts up to 1.75″. The snaps are directional to ensure they don’t accidentally come unsnapped, and the open top is reinforced to keep it open once you’ve drawn your gun and need to reholster.
All the holsters from Leather Designs by Jason Winnie are genuine leather tanned in the US and handcrafted by Jason. Quality and craftsmanship is evident when you look closely at the clean lines, finished edges and straight stitching lines. Each model is available for a variety of gun makes and models, in left- or right-hand and in black or dark brown. And they’re very affordable; try $35 to $90, with most around the $65 mark.

It can be a battle to always carry. Shouldn’t you have confidence in what you
carry and love what your carrying it in? That choice is easy with Jason Winnie.
By Aimee Grant