(c)1996, All Rights Reserved
When I attended LFI in New Hampshire, I was pleased that Mitch Rosen, whose workshop was just up the road a few miles, stopped by to introduce himself and his products to our class. Most of us are relegated to buying holsters directly from a catalog, without the possibility of trying them on for size before we buy. And most of us who have purchased a holster directly from a catalog have holsters collecting dust as a result: even though they might be a quality product, they didn't fit as well as we had hoped.
Not that Mitch Rosen's glossy, quality catalog isn't helpful. Expertly photographed and described, it is well worth ordering ($5). Through the catalog, I thought the IWB (in the waistband) holster that he's so well known for, the Ayoob Rear Guard (ARG), would be just what I was looking for. My husband liked the idea of the Workman, which allows one's shirt to be tucked in a loop over the exposed grip for enhanced concealment. We might have ordered from the catalog, but knowing that we were heading up to New Hampshire, we decided to wait, knowing that we'd have a chance to meet Mr. Rosen and see his products personally.
Boy, am I glad I waited. The Workman was totally impractical for my husband. The added fraction of an inch needed to create the loop, which is behind the ingenious workings of the Workman, made my already wide-hipped husband look positively lopsided. This holster is better on a long, lean and slender type of body build.
As far as the ARG for myself, it didn't work either. Again, I attribute this to my feminine anatomy; my hips are big and my waist-hip ratio is such that the holster just didn't conceal well. It looked like I had a big lump sticking out from under my skirt. (In slimmer, leaner women, and for most men, this holster conceals nicely, however . . . who said life was fair?)
Mitch Rosen is sensitive to the differences of a woman's anatomy vis a vis holster needs. Using his wife, Nancy, as a model, he invented the Nancy Special. The tilt, or rake of this holster is slightly muzzle-forward. Worn outside the belt, I was concerned it wouldn't be highly concealable. Was I wrong! Due to the positioning of its belt slots, as well as the rake, this holster fit against my body's curves like a glove. Somehow, Mr. Rosen has managed to create a holster that sits close to the body, yet doesn't dig in, either at the hips nor at the ribs. I ordered two Nancy Special holsters (for a S&W 3913, and for an HKP7M8) in mahogany (cordovan), as well as a belt. Knowing that Mr. Rosen was inundated with orders, I knew I'd have a four-month wait. So I waited. And waited. And waited.
Mr. Rosen's products aren't cheap. His Nancy Special holsters sell for $105 apiece. His excellent gun belts go for $95. But like the old adage, "you get what you pay for;" I rationalized the cost because I wanted quality and fit. I also purchased a small bottle of "Leather Lightening," a liquid that is applied sparingly to the inside of the holster, to help break in the tight-fitting holster faster. This is worthwhile, in my opinion.
Now comes the nasty part. I have a real problem with Mr. Rosen's policy of charging the full cost of the order up front. It's one thing to let go of your money when you can expect delivery within a reasonable amount of time. However, parting with several hundred dollars, and not seeing the results of one's order for nearly half a year (the time it took to fill my order) is not, in my book, reasonable. I feel that a "fifty percent down" policy would be much more fair. When I asked the office about this, they said that when they had tried this, they had gotten "burned" with cancelled orders and were left with too much stock on hand. This is frankly ridiculous. Mr. Rosen has such a backlog, that the unclaimed orders could be transferred to others waiting to receive their orders. And since he would keep that half of the deposit, he wouldn't be losing a cent.
Well, four months came and went. I called the office to check up on my order. I was told that due to the volume of orders, Mr. Rosen had moved his workshop from his basement to a small factory in town, and the move was increasing the lead time by ten days. But not to worry, because at the new location, the customer would actually benefit by increased output and decreased lead time to process the incoming orders.
A month later, and still no holster. I placed a call on a Thursday, explaining that I was going to be going up to New Hampshire in three days, and I needed my order for my class at LFI-II, which involved extensive drawing from a holster. I was impressed when my two holsters and gun belt arrived the next day, overnight express.
Impressed, that is, until I realized that the order was not of the quality I had expected. The belt had a deep gouge/scratch on the very front near the belt holes. Very fixable, but not what one expects from a fresh-from-the-factory, $95 belt. I called immediately, and Mr. Rosen assured me it would be fixed; he would take it back for repair when I got to New Hampshire. He, too, was disturbed that the belt had somehow escaped final inspection before leaving the factory. About my other complaint, however, he was more reticent, and told me he'd have to look at it before offering a solution.
The problem was this: on the Nancy Special holster that was made for the HKP7M8, whoever had cut the leather from the pattern, cut a bit too much. My trigger was slightly exposed. It wouldn't have mattered for someone with large hands, but with my slender fingers, I was actually able to cock the HK and squeeze the trigger, while it was still holstered!!! While I personally practice safe unholstering techniques, and wasn't particularly worried that I'd have an accidental discharge while unholstering, I was concerned that if I ever got into a situation that an assailant grabbed for my gun while it was still holstered, all hell would break loose due to the exposed trigger, and the gun would go off prematurely. This holster was not just a "mistake," it was dangerously defective.
This is where it got tricky. Mr. Rosen takes extreme pride in his work, and was reluctant to admit that this holster should never have left the factory. His initial response was, "I'll have to think on this." When I stated my complete dissatisfaction with his answer, he got rather huffy. Because his fingers were meatier, he couldn't reach the thin slice of trigger that was left exposed by the overcut holster, so he didn't have the problem that I did. I felt a demonstration was in order at that point. Having checked and rechecked my firearm to see that it was unloaded, I holstered the gun and pulled the trigger. This didn't make an impression on Mr. Rosen, since one really has to squeeze-cock the HKP7M8 before the trigger will "fire." So, with some regret, I did just that: I showed Mr. Rosen how, while holstered, it was possible to cock the (unloaded) HK and squeeze the trigger.
Mr. Rosen's face blanched noticeably. He then accused me of unsafe gun handling, and told me that he would replace the holster for me free of charge, but only for another model gun, since he wasn't willing to be liable for my inability to handle an HKP7M8 in a responsible manner!!
I certainly didn't understand nor appreciate his attitude. First, I didn't want a holster for another gun. I didn't want a refund, either. I felt he had a good product; the Nancy Special was unique in its construction, and I needed a holster that really fit for my HKP7M8. I thought it was simply a case of a factory worker making a mistake, and called for a simple rectifying of the problem (and a good chewing out of the worker responsible). Mr. Rosen did not see it this way. After much communication back and forth, and the intervention and mediation of a certain someone who shall go unnamed, but is rather influential in the gun world, Mr. Rosen finally agreed to replace my HKP7M8 holster with another one.
I asked him about how long it would take to repair the belt and get a new holster. I certainly wasn't interested in waiting another five months. His answer was less than satisfying: "I can't give you a time." When I told him that I would not hold him to a specific time frame, but would like a general idea - - a week? A month? Six months? - - he again stated that he didn't know how long it would be until I got the holster and belt back.
I assured him I was still an admirer of his holster work and especially the design of the Nancy Special. I just don't understand why he makes "customer service" an oxymoron.
Well, surprise! Within two weeks of leaving my belt and holster with Mr. Rosen in New Hampshire, I received a brand new Nancy Special holster for my HKP7M8, and my refinished belt. I noticed that the quality of the fit and finish was much improved over the previous holster. I also noticed that it was missing some code marks engraved in the holster. I suspected that my new holster was crafted by Mr. Rosen personally, rather than handed over to a factory worker to finish. When I asked if this was indeed the case, my query went unanswered - - I guess they were just happy to be done with me. (It was now seven months from the time I had placed my original order!)
Now, several months later, I have put quite a bit of wear on the two holsters. And this is where it gets real interesting. Both look very nice. But the fit of the HK holster that I suspect Mr. Rosen personally crafted, has maintained its quality throughout. The finish is fantastic, a real beauty. On the holster for the 3913, which shares the same engraved code numbers as my original HK holster did (same worker??), the holster has not fared as well. It has stretched to the point of not retaining the gun in an optimal manner, nor does it fit as well on the belt, since the belt holes are cut fractionally larger and with less precision than the HK holster. The finish, while very nice, does not have the same finesse.
The belt hasn't lost much of its stiffness. I would highly recommend this belt to men, who are used to wearing a belt on a daily basis, but I think women might find the stiffness uncomfortable after a full day of wear (the belts made by Ted Blocker, for instance, are about half the price and are much more supple and comfortable, though I suspect they aren't nearly as durable as the Rosen belt). The belt still looks like new, even after much wear, and I suspect it will give many, many years of fine service.
So, do I recommend Mitch Rosen holsters? Well, that depends. I think Mr. Rosen has some great design innovations, and his products are good ones. He is, however, a victim of his own success. This is a labor-intensive product which demands attention to detail (which, until recently, Mr. Rosen amply provided), not a factory filled with careless workers. Mr. Rosen needs to provide better quality control, and much better customer service. But until other holster makers can better address the needs of women, whose anatomy and type of clothing worn influence the way we carry a firearm, Mr. Rosen's Nancy Special, at least for me personally, has a captive audience. What a shame that this triumph is bittersweet.
Mitch Rosen Gunleather, 300 Bedford St., Manchester, NH