Reinforcing arrangement for improving the strength and durability of a firearm holster

This invention relates to a reinforcing arrangement for strengthening the back seam and outer face of a holster for guns or like items. The reinforcing arrangement of the present invention is comprised of a reinforcing piece which is attached to the inner surface of the holster's outer wall. The reinforcing piece includes a protruding arm which extends outward from the back seam. The protruding arm is folded around the back edge of the holster's outer wall so that a portion of the arm overlaps the outer surface of the outer wall. A rivet is then used to further secure the inner and outer walls of the holster to each other. The rivet passes through a channel which is formed by a hole in the portion of the arm which overlaps the outer surface of the outer wall, a hole in the outer wall of the holster, a hole in the portion of the arm which passes between the back edges of the holster's outer and inner walls, and a hole in the holster's inner wall.

This invention relates in general to holsters for firearms and, in 
particular, to a unique arrangement for improving the strength and 
durability of such holsters. 
Holsters for removably holding guns and like items are well-known in the 
art. These holsters are normally comprised of an elongated tubular 
structure having an open uppermost end for receiving a gun or like item. 
The tubular structure is typically constructed of a single piece of 
flexible material such as leather or plastic. This piece of material is 
usually folded along a vertical edge to position the opposite edges of the 
pieces adjacent to each other. The edges of the piece are then secured to 
each other by stitching to form a back seam. 
Holsters constructed in this manner have a common defect. In particular, 
stress applied on the back seam of the holster by pulling the gun 
backward, downward or outward often causes the leather or stitching of the 
holster to tear away along the back seam. This problem is aggravated 
through normal use of the holster. Constant insertion and withdrawal of 
the gun from the holster causes the leather and stitching along the back 
seam to wear thereby significantly reducing the strength of the holster at 
this point. As a result, less force is needed to tear out a used holster 
than a new one. 
The above-mentioned tearing problem is highly undesirable because it 
shortens the useful life of a holster and presents a serious safety 
hazard. Normal use of a holster causes considerable wear on the back seam. 
This wear weakens the back seam causing it to tear out while the rest of 
the holster is still in good condition. Once the back seam of a holster 
tears out, the holster must be replaced or repaired at a considerable 
cost. 
The tendency of conventional holsters to tear out along the back seam also 
presents a serious safety hazard. Each year a large number of police 
officers, security guards and other people are shot with their own guns. 
To prevent this scenario, most holsters are equipped with a safety strap 
which passes over the top of the holster and contacts the gun positioned 
in the holster to inhibit removal thereof. While this strap serves to 
deter the unauthorized removal of the gun from the holster, it is still 
possible for an unauthorized person to remove the gun from the holster 
without detaching the safety strap by simply pulling on the gun with 
enough force to tear out the back seam or outer face of the holster. Once 
a back seam or outer face has been torn out, the unauthorized person can 
easily remove the gun from the holster with minimal effort. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a reinforcing 
arrangement which may be incorporated into conventional gun holsters to 
significantly improve the strength and durability thereof. 
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a reinforcing 
arrangement which may be incorporated into conventional gun holsters to 
strengthen the back seam of these holsters to thereby improve the security 
thereof. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a reinforcing 
arrangement which may be incorporated into conventional gun holsters for 
significantly improving the strength of the holsters outer wall to thereby 
improve the strength and security thereof. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a reinforcing 
arrangement which may be incorporated into conventional gun holsters to 
strengthen the back seam of these holsters to thereby extend the useful 
life thereof. 
It is an additional object of the present invention to provie a reinforcing 
arrangement of the character described which is simple and economical to 
produce and may be quickly and easily installed on conventional holsters. 
Other and further objects of the invention, together with the features of 
novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear in the course of the following 
description.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 1 and 2 wherein a conventional holster 10 is 
shown. The holster is comprised of a tubular structure 12 which is open at 
its uppermost end to receive a gun or like object. Tubular structure 12 is 
typically constructed of a single piece of pliable material such as 
leather or the like. This piece of material is folded along a forward edge 
14 such that the lateral edges 16 and 18 of the piece are positioned 
adjacent to each other. In this type of construction, the portions of the 
tubular structure lying on opposite sides of the edge fold provide an 
outer wall 20 and an inner wall 22. 
The lateral edge 16 of the outer wall 20 and the lateral edge 18 of the 
inner wall 22 are in turn secured to each other by means of stitching 26 
to provide a back seam 24. In addition, an intervening welt 28 is quite 
often interposed between the stitched edges of the holster. This welt is 
secured in place by the stitching 26 which is arranged to pass through the 
welt and the inner and outer walls of the holster. The welt shown herein 
is constructed to have a size and shape which conform to the outer contour 
of edges 16 and 18 and is thicker at its uppermost portion than at its 
lower most portion to shape the holster so that it more nearly conforms to 
the piston to be used therewith. 
The inner wall normally has a belt attaching piece 30 integrally formed 
with it. The belt attaching piece is comprised of a piece of pliable 
material such as leather or the like which is folded along an upper edge 
32. One side of this piece is attached to the inner surface of the inner 
wall while the other side of the piece is attached to the outer surface of 
the inner wall. In addition, a stiffener member is often incorporated into 
the inner wall of the holster. This member serves a number of functions 
including that of stiffening the upper portion of the tubular structure in 
a selected position and form. 
A safety strap 34 is normally provided to prevent unauthorized removal of 
the pistol from the holster. One end of the strap is permanently secured 
to the inner wall of the holster by means of a rivet which is not shown 
herein. A releasable fastening means is provided to releasably secure the 
other ends of the safety strap to the outer surface of the outer wall. 
This fastening means is comprised of a pair of snap fasteners 36 and 38 
which are mounted on the outer wall of the holster and the safety strap, 
respectfully. 
It should be noted at this time that the particular construction of the 
holster does not form an integral part of this invention. In fact, the 
reinforcing arrangement of the present invention is suitable to use in 
combination with any holster which is constructed to have a back seam. 
Reference is now made to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 for a more detailed description 
of the reinforcing arrangement of the present invention. As shown in these 
figures, the reinforcing arrangement is basically comprised of a 
reinforcing piece 50 and a rivet 52. Reinforcing piece 50 consists of a 
piece of pliable material which is formed to have an enlarged body portion 
54 and a protruding arm portion 56. The rivet 52, on the other hand, is 
comprised of a mounting washer 58 and a mounting pin 60 consisting of a 
shaft 62 and an enlarged head 64. 
As shown in FIG. 3, the upper edge 66 of the body portion of the 
reinforcing piece is shaped to follow the outer contour of the upper edge 
of the holster's outer wall. While the exact size of the reinforcing piece 
is not a critical aspect of this invention, it is preferable to make the 
body portion of the piece large enough to cover the chamber of the gun to 
be used with the holster. In addition, a hole 68 is provided in the body 
portion of the reinforcing piece. 
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the body portion of the reinforcing piece is 
glued or otherwise attached to the inner surface of the outer wall before 
the lateral edges of the outer walls are attached to each other. In the 
preferred embodiment of the invention, the snap fastener passes through 
hole 68 in the body portion of the reinforcing piece and is mounted to 
both the outer wall of the holster and the reinforcing piece to thereby 
provide a stronger connection between the reinforcing piece and the 
holster's outer wall. The reinforcing piece is attached to the outer wall 
such that the upper edge of this piece coincides with the upper edge of 
the outer wall and the protruding arm of this piece passes between the 
lateral edges of the inner and outer walls and extends outward from the 
back seam. Once the reinforcing piece has been attached to the inner 
surface of the outer wall in this manner, the lateral edges of the 
holster's inner and outer walls are then stitched to each other so that 
the stitches pass through the portion of the protruding arm which passes 
between the edges. 
The protruding arm is then folded around the back face 70 of lateral edge 
16 so that at least a portion of the arm overlaps a portion of the outer 
surface of the outer wall. The free end of the protruding arm may be 
folded under the portion of the arm which overlaps the outer surface of 
the wall as shown in FIG. 3. 
Once the reinforcing piece has been attached to the inner wall as described 
above, the shaft of the rivet is passed through a channel formed by a hole 
72 in the portion of the protruding arm which overlaps the outer surface 
of the outer wall, a hole in the outer wall of the holster, a hole in the 
portion of the protruding arm which sits between the lateral edges of the 
inner and outer walls, a hole in the intervening welt, and a hole in the 
holster's inner wall. The mounting washer is then placed over the portion 
of the shaft which extends outward from the outer surface of the inner 
wall. The extending portion of the shaft is then hammered down to provide 
a second head which secures the rivet in place within the channel and 
firmly attaches the holster's inner and outer wall to each other. 
In use, the reinforcing arrangement of the present invention is installed 
on a conventional holster as described above. When properly installed, the 
reinforcing piece and rivet cooperate to significantly strengthen the back 
seam and outer face of the holster allowing it to withstand greater 
stress. The reinforcing piece serves to distribute the stress over a 
larger surface area to thereby relieve most of the pressure placed on the 
stitching during insertion and removal of the gun from the holster. As a 
result, the reinforcing arrangement of the present invention is capable of 
effectively reinforcing a holster's back seam and outer face to thereby 
improve the strength and durability thereof. 
Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, a modified reinforcing arrangement is 
shown. The holster depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5 is substantially identical to 
that described previously, and the same reference numerals used in FIGS. 
1-3 are used in FIGS. 4 and 5 to identify like components. 
The embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 differs from the first embodiment only in 
that a modified reinforcing strip 80 is used in place of the strip 50 
described previously. Reinforcing strip 80 is a flat flexible strip which 
is preferably constructed of belting material having an inner leather 
layer 80a bonded flatly to an outer layer 80b which is formed of nylon or 
a similar plastic material. The nylon layer 80b provides strength and 
resistance to tearing, while the leather layer 80a contacts the handgun to 
prevent any possibility of snagging on the gun or otherwise interfering 
with removal of the gun from the holster. 
Strip 80 is generally rectangular but has chamfered corners 82 at its front 
end. The front end portion of strip 80 is provided with a circular hole 84 
which is large enough to receive the shank of a conventional "pop" rivet 
86 used to fasten the reinforcing strip to the holster. The back end 
portion of strip 80 has a circular hole 88 which is sized to receive a 
rivet 90 identical to the rivet 52 previously described. A washer 92 
identical to washer 58 is used with rivet 90. 
The fastening arrangement shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is used if reinforcing 
strip 80 is to be added to an existing holster. The existing stitching 26 
is cut a short distance below the upper edge of the front wall 12 of the 
holster to accommodate the back end portion of the reinforcing strip 80 in 
the seam. The front end portion of strip 80 is pressed flatly against the 
inside surface of the outer wall 20 of the holster with hole 84 aligned 
with the hole provided in the snap fastener 36 which is mounted on the 
holster wall. The pop rivet 86 is then used to fasten the front edge of 
strip 80 to wall 20. When applied, rivet 86 extends through hole 84 and 
through the corresponding hole in fastener 36, and in this fashion, the 
existing snap fastener 36 is utilized to assist in attaching the 
reinforcing strip to the holster. 
The back end of strip 80 is inserted between the back edges of the inner 
and outer walls of the holster and positioned such that opening 88 is in 
alignment with an opening 94 formed in outer wall 20 and also in alignment 
with additional holes in the inner holster wall and the intervening welt 
or similar structure located between the back edges of the inner and outer 
walls. The stitching 26 (see FIG. 4) is then applied to the area 
previously cut to secure the back edge of strip 80, it being noted that 
the stitching passes through the inner and outer holster walls, the 
reinforcing strip 80 and the intermediate welt to form the back seam of 
the holster. Rivet 90 is then passed through opening 94, opening 88, and 
the aligned openings of the welt and inner wall and is secured in place to 
assist in attaching the reinforcing strip in place. In this manner, strip 
80 is secured in flush extension along the inner surface of wall 20 with 
leather layer 80a facing to the inside for contact with the gun. The 
position of the strip on the holster is shown in broken lines in FIG. 4, 
and it is noted that the top edge of the strip extends along the top edge 
of wall 20 in the area of the back seam. The strip 80 strengthens and 
reinforces the back seam and outer wall of the holster in essentially the 
same manner as described previously in connection with FIGS. 1-3. 
The fastening arrangement shown in FIG. 6 is used when the reinforcing 
strip 80 is provided on an original holster. In this case, the front edge 
of the strip is preferably secured to the holster by a fastening element 
96 which serves to mount the snap fastener 36 on wall 20 of the holster. 
Fastening element 96 is in the form of a rivet having a hollow tubular 
shank 96a and an enlarged flange 96b on the head of the shank. Wall 20 of 
the holster has a hole 98 which is large enough to receive the shank 96a 
of the rivet. 
Attachment of strip 80 is carried out by passing the shank 96a of fastener 
96 through holes 84 and 98 from the inside and also through a central hole 
in snap fastener 36. The end of shank 96a is then enlarged to secure 
fastener 36 to the outside surface of wall 20. Flange 96b serves to hold 
the front end of strip 80 against the inside surface of wall 20. The back 
end of the reinforcing strip is attached by stitching 26 and rivet 90 in 
the same manner indicated previously in connection with FIG. 5. 
It should be noted that the reinforcing strip can be attached to the outer 
surface of wall 20 and still provide the required reinforcement in most 
cases. Accordingly, the invention contemplates attachment of the strip to 
the outer surface of the holster. 
From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted 
to attain all the ends and objects herein above set forth together with 
other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the 
structure. 
It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of 
utility and may be employed without reference to other features and 
subcombinations. 
As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing 
from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set 
forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as 
illustrative and not in a limiting sense.