Our Leather & Materials - JM4 Tactical Holsters

Why Do we Use Hermann Oak Leather?

Hermann Oak is a U.S. based leather tanning company founded in St. Louis, Missouri in 1881. The leather produced by Hermann Oak is vegetable tanned full grain U.S. Grade A steer hide. Simply put Hermann Oak Leather is the best leather you can buy.

Why Vegetable Tanned Leather?

We use vegetable tanning because there are no chemicals used that could be harmful to your gun, the tanning process uses extract from tree bark. Some Tanning processes use what’s called chrome salt which could be harmful to the finish of your gun.

Why Full Grain Leather?

We use full grain leather because it is the highest quality leather that money can buy and is made from the whole hide of the animal. The hide of the animal is strongest and most durable just below the hair. Once the hair is removed, the natural grain pattern is visible. The leather made with this part of the hide is called full grain leather. Since the grain is tighter on this layer, it resist moisture from prolonged contact. Full grain leather incorporates the entire grain of the hide with all the imperfections, and inherent toughness of the material. Full grain leather is best used for making holsters.

The imperfections that you see on our Holsters, like stretch marks or scars where a cow could’ve rubbed against a bobwire fence or a tree. These marks are part of the character of the animal itself, and should be looked at as unique. There is not another holster out there that will have the same exact markings. As full grain leather ages, rather than wearing out, it burnishes and beautifies, developing a much sought-after patina and unique character that cannot be easily duplicated. Truly, the more you use it the better it looks and feels..

Full grain leather is a thicker, higher quality material that is ideal to make holsters with. Full grain is also more expensive then top grain leather.

Why Not Top Grain Leather?

Top grain leather is the second highest grade of leather. Top grain leather has the outer most layer removed by sanding it down. The sanding removes any imperfections like scars and stretch marks. This difference makes the leather thinner. After sanding away the natural grain, the top grain leather is imprinted with an imitation grain to give it more of a uniform look, but the hide loses some of the strongest fibers as a result.

What is Genuine Leather?

Genuine leather is not fake leather; you’re just not getting the top. This means that it’s not top grain or full grain, in many cases, genuine leather is actually split leather. In many cases, genuine leather is actually split leather. That means that the lower (inner) layers of the hide are stripped off. The outer, higher-quality parts are “top grain”. The ability to take multiple layers from one hide depends on the thickness of the skin. Some skins, like cow, are often able to be split into various levels. Genuine leather can come from the intermediate layers – between top grain and suede. That’s in term of position in the hide – not in terms of quality. At times, genuine leather may also be mixed with leather scraps and artificial materials and bonding agents. So don’t be fooled by the word, genuine leather.