Mad Hat Leather

Madhat's Guarantee

2010-10-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

My promise to you:

Paying close attention to every detail, I build each holster as if it were for my own use. In order to help ensure you are making a wise investment, I have a 30 day return policy on all of my holsters.

If for any reason you are not satisfied with the quality of my work during the first 30 days, you may send it back for a full refund.

Not every cow is created equally and I am only human so, if there is ever a problem with the materials..snaps, rivets, stitching or leather, I would like the opportunity to make it right by repairing or replacing your holster within the first 30 days after you receive it. I am always happy to repair old and heavily worn Mad Hat holsters free of charge (the cost of shipping is the customer's responsibility on older pieces).

You work hard for your money and I want you to feel I;m giving you a product that is worth every penny you spend on it. I stand behind my work 100 percent, both before and after the sale..I will spend as much time as needed to help you with your questions or concerns. I am always happy to give advice or suggestions whenever they are needed. That is my promise to you.

Jason Smith, Mad Hat Leather

Caring For Your Madhat Holster

2010-08-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

There are two things you should do with your new Madhat leather holster to ensure a long useful life. When you first get the holster, you'll want to perform a proper break-in. After the break-in period, proper care should help it last as long as you'll need it.

Break-In

Never use leather conditioners, cleaners or oils to soften or clean molded leather; it will ruin the finish and the molding. Break-in is best accomplished using a Ziploc bag. Place your safety-checked gun in the bag and holster it (still in the bag). Gently massage,pinch and twist the leather around the gun for a minute or two and, with the gun still in the bag, holster and draw the gun 10 times. Remove the gun from the Ziploc and check the fit. The holster will loosen up a bit with use, but if it's still a bit tighter then you would like, repeat the ten-draw process using two Ziploc bags wrapped around the gun.

I recommend the 100-draw technique. This is accomplished by placing your holster on your body where you intend to carry it. Once you've found your carry location, simply practice your draw 100 times. Start off drawing and holstering your gun slowly (MAKE SURE YOUR GUN IS UNLOADED). This will aid in muscle memory, familiarize yourself with how your gun is situated and also teach the proper method to draw from your particular holster (examples: pushing off with your thumb, reaching across your body with your off hand to add resistance against your pocket/holster to draw against, "digging in" to your pocket with the hooks on the holster, etc). As you practice your draw, you'll speed up naturally, break in your holster and become more familiar with your gun... it really is a winning combination!

Caring for Your Holster

Caring for your holster is simple and low maintenance. As long as the holster stays dry, it shouldn't need any special care. During summer pocket carry, there may be a fair amount of moisture in contact with the leather. Avoid prolonged exposure to moisture. If your holster gets wet or is in contact with moister for an extended period, once you are ready to put your gun away, simply inspect your holster to make sure it is in the proper shape. If it is a bit distorted from being in contact with moisture, simply pinch the leather back into the proper shape using your fingertips and remove your gun (clean and dry your gun if need be). Place the holster on its rim upside down in a cool, shaded area. Don't put it in direct sunlight or near a heater or fan; this will cause the leather to shrink. When leather drys too fast or under heat, it will shrink.

From time to time (I recommend once monthly), it's a good practice to hold the holster upside down and give it a good tap. This will knock some of the lint and fuzz out. You don't need to clean your holster regularly, but if it does get excessively dirty, it's ok to take a lightly moistened rag and wipe the exterior of the holster off. Keep it at a fast wipe down. Don't do this on a regular basis, but only when the holster gets excessively dirty

--Mr. Madhat

When I first received my holster from Jason, the fit was so perfect, I didn't need to do the Ziploc break-in. The holster is so high quality, you'll find yourself fondling it in your pocket. -Reggie

NAA President Sandy Chisholm Likes His Madhat

2010-08-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

North American Arms President Sandy Chisholm is not an easy man to please... Just look at the quality of the guns his company produces to get an idea of what he expects out of accessories made for them. He recently had this to say about the two Madhat holsters he has:

"Madhat Leather makes holsters with the same quality and attention to detail as we make our guns. Add me to the legions of others of Jason's satisfied customers. You won't find a better example of value and craftsmanship anywhere and we endorse his products enthusiastically." --Sandy Chisholm, President NAA

Madhat Makes Guardian Holsters Too!

2010-08-24T10:58:00.001-07:00

If you're looking for a high quality pocket carry holster for your North American Arms Guardian pistol, Mr. Madhat makes holsters for them too.

Forty five dollars will get you a hand boned and stitched holster of the highest quality. Check out other options on the market, and then buy a Madhat Leather holster for your gun.

Satisfied Customer | NAA Pug Holsters

2010-07-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

"Just received two Mrmadhat holsters for my Pug today.They are absolutely beautiful. Mrmadhat is a fine craftsman. My only problem is wanting to show them off when I need to keep my Pug concealed. Mrmadhat also gave me a few hints on breaking them in. I will definitely do more business with him." -- NAA Forum user Reddog

Video | Madhat Micro Pocket II Holster

2010-07-19T00:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick video tour of the Madhat Micro Pocket II Holster:

Photo Tour | Madhat Micro Pocket II

2010-07-18T21:47:00.001-07:00

The Holster as an Essential Element of Safe Carry

2010-07-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

Holsters don't just protect guns from damage; they also enhance the safety of carrying a gun.

Revolvers need three things for safe carry; a protected trigger; a protected hammer; a way to immobilize the cylinder. A good holster will accomplish all three tasks.

I've read a couple of posts on the NAA forums regarding safe pocket carry of revolvers. The debate is weather the gun should be carried on an empty chamber, or with the hammer in a safety notch. A couple of posters discussed how they reached into their pocket to find a partial or fully-cocked hammer. Because the cylinder would rotate to a live round in such a case, it wouldn't matter wether the gun was carried in either configuration.

In the photos below, Jason demonstrates how the cylinder stays put even when the hammer is pulled off of the safety notch in the cylinder. This is due to the fact that he molds or 'bones' the leather while the hammer is in a safety notch.

There are a lot of leather and synthetic pouch-type holsters on the market, but the above photos are a good incentive to buy a custom leather holster for your mini revolver.

No holster is perfect, but Madhat holsters are superior to other choices on the market.

Tools of the Trade

2010-07-13T21:37:00.001-07:00

Madhat holsters are made with tools that might seem familiar to anyone who has a junk drawer in the house; scissors, gloves, exacto knife and Sharpie markers. The leather takes shape at the skilled hands of Mr. Madhat using techniques learned on the job.

"I use a variety of tools, but these are my must have tools," Jason says. "Some of them are modified to do what I need them to do; I have to make or modify my awls and punches a number of times to give me a smooth, small hole when stitching."

He says Sharpie markers are a necessity when working with leather. They're used for marking as well as moulding or 'boning' the leather.

"You need a picking tool for marking things you don't want seen later on," he says. "A mallet for punching holes or tooling leather; a huge selection of needles because they have a tendency to break."

An Exacto knife and scissors are used for cutting; sinew and and a stitch spacer help finish the job.

"You don't really need it," Jason says with a chuckle, "but a glove really saves your fingers from a lot of torture when stitching."

Some of the items used to bring new holsters to life might surprise you. Pocket change and dissected ballpoint pens are two of them. The toughest part of the job, according to Mr. Madhat, is designing the holster while thinking in three dimensions.

"It's not the most interesting of things to watch," he says. "It's mostly just time consuming, but it's fun and a labor of love for me."

Madhat Holsters | How They're Made

2010-06-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

Jason Smith, a.k.a. Mr. Madhat, creates every one of his leather holsters using hand tools and his bare hands almost exclusively.

"All of my holsters are 100 percent hand-stitched," he says. "The only machine that touches any of them is a Dremel to clean the edges up with."

Using a 6-7 ounce heavy leather to ensure long life, Mr. Madhat stitches his holsters with a saddle stitch using simulated sinew for added strength.

"All holsters are individually hand-boned and shaped," he continues. "I have designed each of my holsters to be as unique as I can get them and still be as functional as possible."

As an example, the Earl holster is done in tan with boarder tooling. All of his cowboy western holsters are suede lined to protect your gun and give a higher quality look and feel.

Satisfied Customer

2010-06-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

EMPJohn, from the Ohioans for Concealed Carry Discussion Forums has this to say about his Madhat Holster for his NAA Black Widow:"I've been looking for quite a while for something suitable for my NAA Black Widow, and have not been real happy with the offerings from NAA. Now don't knock me for having a mouse gun. It's not my primary carry piece, but it does have its place. Anyhow, I have one OWB holster from NAA, but I haven't been happy with its somewhat flimsy construction that lets the firearm flop around, and the retention is not good. I'm not knocking NAA; I think their little guns are great, I'm just not happy with their current holster offerings.

Anyway, I found Jason at Mad Hat Leather while doing a Google search. He sells via eBay, so I contacted him. I was looking for an IWB holster for the Black Widow which I didn't see in his eBay offerings, so I asked if he could make one. He said no problem, so I ordered one. I am happy to say the holster is really nice. It is strongly constructed, has good retention, and was not expensive. I will say that for this gun, which I have owned for a long time and have been searching for an appropriate holster that whole time, it was worth every penny. And just to be clear, I haven't drank any Kool-Aid. I never met Jason before and have no stake in his company. I just wanted to let you know it's out there if your'e looking. I paid via Pay-Pal and had the holster in less than a week.

To summarize: not expensive, solid construction, sturdy, and with good retention. Here are some pics. I put a quarter (with a REAL president on it ) for scale:"

Click the photo for more images.

Who is Mr. Madhat?

2010-06-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

You may be interested to know the humble start to who has become one of the finest crafters of handmade leather goods for North American Arms products.

Jason Smith, a.k.a Mr. Madhat, is a self-professed family guy and father of three boys. He blames his involvement in North American Arms on Lisa, his wife of 10 years.

"She is responsible for getting me into NAA altogether," he says. "She decided that her first handgun was going to be an NAA/Talo Buntline in .22 Magnum. She had the choice between the Buntline and a Black Widow, and chose the Buntline."

Upon seeing the gun for the first time, Jason couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

"I have to admit that my first impression of the gun ended with a giggle and an, 'Ahhh how cute," He says. "But after shooting it the first time, I was hooked."

After spending some time looking for a holster for her new gun, Lisa came up short. Because it was a limited edition, and NAA doesn't have a large number of manufacturers making holsters specific to their firearms, Jason decided he'd give it a go himself.

"I had done some leather work in the past," says Jason. "Mostly just belts and little crafty projects when I was a kid. I made a few holsters and Lisa told me to list a couple on eBay."

Jason found the NAA message board and performed some show and tell, which gave him a decent start at selling them. As sales picked up, he tried crafting a few moulded holsters.

"I loved the results," he says. "So I started doing more of them, and began buying more NAA's to expand my gun library in addition to having my own carry pieces."

With seven guns in his possession, he still wants more. "Damn you, NAA," he says with a laugh.

What began as a hobby and something to pass time has turned into a full-time venture.

"The further into the holsters and NAA's I get, the more I love them," he says.