Page 1 of 1
Leather or Kydex: which wears a finish faster?
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 4:59 am
by newmenu2
Ive been looking at IWB Holsters and have narrowed my selection down to 3 makers. One is an all leather holster, one is a mix flat leather and kydex, and the other who has a nice all leather and a nice lether and kydex piece.
I was wondering if Kydex will mark up or wear on a Blued or Stainless Steel slide more or less than leather. Whats the difference in the marking and wearing between Leather and Kydex on Stainless finishes and Blued or Blackened finishes?
Ill be switching between carrying my P239 with the blackened SS finish and my USPc with the SS finish.
Re: Leather or Kydex: which wears a finish faster?
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 5:38 am
by killerfly128
Im gonna tag this topic .... but to be honest i dont know ... My USPc looks like garbage lol
Re: Leather or Kydex: which wears a finish faster?
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:12 am
by longtooth
Kydex is definately faster on the draw & faster on wear also. THis wear should be at retention points only & constitute what I call "Character Marks instead of scratches.
Both my 1911s have a lot of character.

Re: Leather or Kydex: which wears a finish faster?
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:35 am
by jbirds1210
If you practice, the gun is going to get some wear. Kydex is not nearly as rough as people claim if you clean it occasionally. For daily carry I prefer leather due to the comfort factor (trust me....it isn't that slow)
My old game gun is a Glock 34....the combination of Kydex and gritty sand grips made it appear as if someone had sandblasted my slide in about two weeks.
Jason
Re: Leather or Kydex: which wears a finish faster?
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:43 am
by longtooth
Agree that leather is not "THAT SLOW" as some claim, & I wear leather vast majority of the time.
Re: Leather or Kydex: which wears a finish faster?
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 8:24 am
by stash
I carry a Glock in a Kydex holster and to date (about a year now) no wear that I can see. I do keep the inside of the holster clean and I have got to tell you for me it is a lot easier to clean the inside of Kydex compared to leather. This may have something to do with it but I don't holster/reholster a lot.
Re: Leather or Kydex: which wears a finish faster?
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 8:37 am
by TDDude
If you are going to carry every day then the all leather will probably work very well because it will probably be more comfortable. If you are going to shoot a lot such as IDPA, then the kydex is the way to go.
I have an all leather Tucker Heritage Special which is very comfortable but impossible to reholster one handed. If I ever get into IDPA type shooting, then I'll have to get a kydex model.
I would think that the wear would be the same except that the wear points would be in different places. Of course, keeping things clean is a must.
Re: Leather or Kydex: which wears a finish faster?
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 4:39 pm
by newmenu2
how does leather and kydex effect stainless finishes? if at all