Mernickle holsters?

[VW.45]

Anyone here have any experience with them? Mine isn't great so far. Was originally told 4-5 weeks, and just passed 8 weeks. Been calling once a week since 4 weeks in, and keep getting told another week :mad: starting to get old. I have over 225+ shipping just sitting there, and no rig. I'm not a patient guy to begin with, and don't appreciate getting the run around. This is why I hate buying anything custom, everytime it takes longer than stated! This time it is over twice as long! Rant over, gonna go get a therapy dog now :p

[Pistolero]

Been a few years ago but positive experience with great gear, double gun rig for twin Ruger Vaquero and cowboy action.

Gear is great when you get it.

[Lost River]

I had him build me a holster for a single action revolver about 10 years back. His prices were almost that of Milt Sparks. The quality received was nowhere near M.S. For starters, the rig was slightly too short, and ended up leaving about 1/8th of an inch of the barrel and front sight exposed. The stitching was uneven, and when compared to a 200AW, it looked like it was done by an amateur. Finally the quality of the leather was not what I expected. It was nowhere near as stiff as M.S. rigs that I compared it against.

It is an OK holster, from a purely utilitarian aspect, but for what it cost, it should have been much better. I had some El Paso Saddlery rigs that cost less than the Mernickle, that were much higher quality. I see people praising his stuff, but I get the impression that those people have never had a high quality rig to compare against. Compared to a 200AW from the Sparks shop, it was pretty sad.

The bottom line is that when I want a leather holster, especially for a revolver, the first place I look is Sparks. Experience has proven that quality holsters are a "lifetime" purchase, and getting exactly what I want is worth a few extra bucks, and the wait.

[fatdog]

All in the context of cowboy action gear, the product has been great. I think they miss set your expectations, everything I have ever purchased took 60-90 days.

[JRCHolsters]

Cant speak to the quality of their holsters, but that is a pretty fast delivery quote. I really would suggest not buying custom if you are impatient as stated. Things go wrong with production times, things go wrong with individual items and need to be scrapped and started over, people call continuously causing you to spend time on the phone and not in the shop, etc, etc. As a custom maker, I always try to be right on time, but it isn't always easy and I try to give myself a wide berth. Most customers are great, but I do have some that call literally 1 week in, bugging me for ship dates, even if they were quoted 12 weeks. When I first started out, I would rush those people to get them out of my hair. Now They get to wait till the last minute. Even if it takes another 4-8 weeks, you are doing pretty good if you get a good product. If it is substandard, not so much. YMMV.

[VW.45]

All in the context of cowboy action gear, the product has been great. I think they miss set your expectations, everything I have ever purchased took 60-90 days.

My expectations are no greater than what I was told when I called, and was informed of the wait time. Pretty sure I have the right to be a little pissed, when I am now at double the stated time, and still have no rig.

[VW.45]

Cant speak to the quality of their holsters, but that is a pretty fast delivery quote. I really would suggest not buying custom if you are impatient as stated. Things go wrong with production times, things go wrong with individual items and need to be scrapped and started over, people call continuously causing you to spend time on the phone and not in the shop, etc, etc. As a custom maker, I always try to be right on time, but it isn't always easy and I try to give myself a wide berth. Most customers are great, but I do have some that call literally 1 week in, bugging me for ship dates, even if they were quoted 12 weeks. When I first started out, I would rush those people to get them out of my hair. Now They get to wait till the last minute. Even if it takes another 4-8 weeks, you are doing pretty good if you get a good product. If it is substandard, not so much. YMMV.

I understand a couple of days, or even a week over, but 4 weeks? I didn't start calling till the expected time, and kept getting the one more week answer. They have people to answer the phones, I know better than to bug a "one man show", can't work if you're on the phone. Considering I'm at over 8 weeks already, I hope the quality is top notch or I'll really be pissed. I shopped around and their prices were similar as well as the wait times. I understand quality takes time, but things like this make me shy away from the smaller guys. Some, not all, give unrealistic times due to their manpower and backlog. I could have bought from another guy and had my rig by now, for around the same price. I hardly think I'm being impatient, when I'm at double the time, and it still isn't finished or shipped.

[JRCHolsters]

I understand a couple of days, or even a week over, but 4 weeks? I didn't start calling till the expected time, and kept getting the one more week answer. They have people to answer the phones, I know better than to bug a "one man show", can't work if you're on the phone. Considering I'm at over 8 weeks already, I hope the quality is top notch or I'll really be pissed. I shopped around and their prices were similar as well as the wait times. I understand quality takes time, but things like this make me shy away from the smaller guys. Some, not all, give unrealistic times due to their manpower and backlog. I could have bought from another guy and had my rig by now, for around the same price. I hardly think I'm being impatient, when I'm at double the time, and it still isn't finished or shipped.I do understand the frustration. I really am surprised they gave you such a short lead time. I haven't had 6 week leads in over 5 years. It's kind of a bitch when you are calling operations that have people to answer the phone, as they really don't know what is going on. Of course, the one man shop takes time away from the bench, but they can look at your work bin and tell you where things are at, if being honest. I guess my advice for anything custom is, if it's cheap, then it's cheap, or in your case, if the lead times seem great, the quality won't be there or the times won't be accurate. A relationship with a custom holster maker can be great once you and the maker are on the same page. It's like using a personal tailor. Good luck on this and I hope it works out for you.

[SLG]

I have a holster on order from a guy who said he would get it to me in 3 months - in time for hunting season. That was 15 months ago.

[VW.45]

I have a holster on order from a guy who said he would get it to me in 3 months - in time for hunting season. That was 15 months ago.

Ouch! You got me beat :eek:

[Maple Syrup Actual]

I have a holster on order from a guy who said he would get it to me in 3 months - in time for hunting season. That was 15 months ago.
At that point I'd be angry.

An extra month on a custom holster I don't think I'd even realize it. Generally with leather I'm putting money on something and figuring on next quarter.


Although I'm often so busy that I can barely keep track of what month it is anyway. If I wasn't, I might feel differently. I remember when 6-8 week lead times used to bug me. But I had a lot less on my plate back then.

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

[Rex G]

One-man leather shops do tend to get behind, as they become popular, and the volume of orders increases. Mernickle holsters are really quite nice, but, as indicated in an earlier reply, not at Milt Sparks level.

I got my Mernickle holsters pre-owned, so have yet to deal directly with him.