Hammer thong

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alaskamace

Bearcat
Joined
Dec 9, 2009
Messages
91
Location
Alaska
Does anyone have a picture of the back of a holster with a hammer thong attached? I was thinking of adding one to a couple of my holsters, just wondering where the best place to attach it was. Thanks.
 

dougader

Hunter
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Messages
3,108
Location
OryGun
check out a good holster makers website, like El Paso Saddlery, etc, to see how different people attach theirs.
 

Marcruger

Bearcat
Joined
Oct 12, 2006
Messages
20
Ultra simple. Just get a nice, thick grade of leather thong. Punch a hole on the holster near the gun's rear sight maybe 1/4" down from the top edge of the holster. Some folks put this right above the top strap of the gun, so put the hole around the backside of the holster to hide it more. The hole should be a tight fit for one thickness of thong. Taper the ends of the thong, and push the ends through from the inside to the outside. Tie a tight knot on the outside. Place your revolver into the holster, loop the thong over the hammer, and tug downward on the knot. Voila.....a functioning thong. The tight friction fit of the thong through the hole keeps things snug. To release, just tug upwards on the thong, and pull it off of the hammer. It is much simpler than it is to describe. The one thing you do NOT want to do is make the hole in the leather too big. You can always go bigger, but you cannot put leather back. Also, use a leather punch or you will ruin a good holster. I hope this helps. God Bless, Marc
 

Rainman

Blackhawk
Joined
Mar 13, 2009
Messages
505
Location
Land of the Cherokee , Georgia
I want to second what Marcruger said. Use a smaller leather punch than you would expect. Also make two holes, one on top of the other about 3/8" apart. And pull the strap through both. If you made the holes small enough you can adjust the strap tighnesss by simply pulling it through and won't have to tie any knots. I make my own holsters and it's a trick I learned from an old expert. The thong will not move under normal conditions.

Dan
 

SargeMO

Single-Sixer
Joined
Aug 28, 2003
Messages
162
Location
MO
I am hard on equipment. Barbed wire & thorns are hell on fine leather, so I wear an Okie slim jim for rough use. All it needed was a rawhide thong to make it perfectly serviceable, something I should have done before I ever wore it out the door. I got reminded of this awhile back I was clearing fencerows, hooked my plowhandle with a sapling I was piling behind me and flipped the Old Vaquero out nose-first into the mud. You'd always rather not do that but I had to laugh a little as I stopped, poured some motor oil on an old napkin and poked it through the bore from the throat with a green sprig.

I have yet to see a field holster retention device that I like better than the rawhide hammer loop on the Rick Gittelin holster, pictured at top in the photo. It is perfect in every respect and the finest execution of a hammer loop I have ever used. A tug on the bottom adjusts it, the gun is held securely, and yet it is easily and silently brushed off by the thumb when drawing. This is all I ever wanted from a retention device for a general-use holster.

The slim jim now has the same hammer loop as the Gittelin; I copied it shamelessly on the OK Leather holster, pictured at bottom.

HammerLoops.jpg
 

certified angus

Bearcat
Joined
Oct 6, 2009
Messages
62
jpb in me":1voywemd said:
I'm feeling kinda stupid asking but when you draw your gun does the thong just come completely out?

You need to watch some Gunsmoke or Bonanza re-runs. While your at also some Clint Eastwood westerns. You will notice when they get ready for the 'ol gunfight that they slip the thong off of the hammer while they are in "stare down" mode. Then the shootin' starts.

And don't feel stupid. That's my job. :D
 

jpb in me

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 18, 2009
Messages
212
Location
Maine woods
so you pull it slightly back and off the hammer? I would think that would be kinda slow....but hey if lil joe and hoss can do it, I'm game :D HEE HAW
 

jpb in me

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 18, 2009
Messages
212
Location
Maine woods
seriously though, it sounds like its a neat rig. Bought a nylon holster today for my single six, won't mention the name (someones uncle) thing is unbelievable noisy. Unbuckling it sounds like a 55 gallon drum expanding and sliding it out of the holster is like a 400 lb woman in nylons jogging.
 

SimplyRugged

Bearcat
Joined
May 4, 2005
Messages
34
Location
Prescott, AZ USA
"...when you draw your gun does the thong just come completely out?"

Only if your in a REAL BIG hurry:)

Hammer thongs are a fairly recent device from the 1950s when the low cut Hollywood fast draw rigs.
Most of the better designed holsters Don't require them. NOT to gainsay anybody's holster designing skills. Rick Gittlein for instance, is a master craftsman and all around good guy.
Rob
 

jpb in me

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 18, 2009
Messages
212
Location
Maine woods
I have a pancake style leather holster made by a local man here in maine. Can't tell you how much I like it in everyway.
 

JWhitmore44

Blackhawk
Joined
Oct 23, 2008
Messages
987
Location
NW Kansas
This one has a hammer thong but the gun sets low enough it it that I don't use it most of the time. If i was riding horse back I would :)

holster02.jpg


This one has a strap that snaps that works well
holster01_gun.jpg


For quickness I like a thumb snap the best but i don;t want the snap scraping against the gun on the way out. i don't have a picture of my thumb snap one.
 

SargeMO

Single-Sixer
Joined
Aug 28, 2003
Messages
162
Location
MO
jpb in me":2wfzd447 said:
so you pull it slightly back and off the hammer? I would think that would be kinda slow....but hey if lil joe and hoss can do it, I'm game :D HEE HAW

I set mine up so that when I grab the gun I can just slip my thumb along the outside of the hammer & flick the loop off of it. With practice it is nearly as fast as a snap-style thumb break, and the loop is a whole lot quieter.

Rick Gittelin is a fine holster maker, as is our resident leather-pounder, Rob Leahy of Simply Rugged. Rob made the excellent flap-top cartridge carrier that appears in the photo; it was a lot purtier before I barked it all up clearing fencerows. I should have credited Rob in my post since he connived Gittelin into making the aforementioned crossdraw to my specs. You will be well satisfied with the wares either of these gentlemen offer.

Rob likes to jerk my chain occasionally for wearing ghetto-rigs in the brush & thorns, when he knows I have better holsters;) Now he has started on my $5 Bob Allen cartridge belt.
 

Shoot44

Single-Sixer
Joined
Oct 11, 2008
Messages
150
Location
The Ozarks
I really like that 'double hole' loop set-up. Have to try it next time. I particularly like the fact that you can tighten it up, and it seems that it would hold that position. Super.

I also don't want to have any metal around the gun, so I came up with the rig shown in this pic. You just take a short strap of leather, cut a slot in one end, and make a little 'spear head' on the other. Then I use some thin "CYA", (it's a sort of 'super glue' we use to make balsa models with, and dries VERY fast.) I soak the little spear head with it, which makes it quite solid, but still not abrasive. To fasten, just put it around the stock, rotate the spear 90 degrees and push through the slot, and then let it rotate back. It is then positioned so that the 'barbs' on the head are ACROSS the slot, and will not pull out. The biggest disadvantage to it is that you must measure pretty well before you cut. That's why that double hole rig now appeals to me. It avoids this.

Of course if you are in a hurry to get to your gun, this doesn't work very well. So far, I've not needed to get to it that fast.....
rig3close.jpg


P.S. Here is another pic; shows the construction of the strap a bit more clearly. The 'spear head' end has a narrow section, as you can see, that allows it to rotate back so both ends are in the same plane when you are set up. Holds the revolver very well.

These pix were taken while I was still working on the holster/belt. It is now stained, and the belt has cartridge loops on the back part. The gun is my old, (stolen, now replaced by a new one) Ruger SS in 22 LR. Grips are my own custom-made of walnut
holstr1.jpg
 

Rodfac

Blackhawk
Joined
Mar 11, 2009
Messages
691
Location
Kentucky
Shoot44...Nice work on that rig...good stitching and a very workable retention method...can't say as I've ever seen one like it. I've never done .22 LR loops but can only imagine they'd be a PITA....44's are bad enough.

Plus one on SargMo's method. I've used the same double hole method on the holsters I've built that needed a retention thong. For the most part, like in 90+% of the time, I build them tight enough that it's not necessary. I've only wished for one once...and that was on a horse that went all a kilter over a skunk. The "rodeo" that ensued was worth the price of admission, and I wondered at the 5th or 6th buck, if my piece was gonna come unglued and ding up its shiny blue frame. Rodfac
 
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