Polite Society Holsters: Humble Beginings!

[Livnoutdoorsxd9]

Hey guys-
I wanted to share with my friends here on THR my recent endeavor. I decided to take a small plunge and am working to start up my holster company. I'm not here to try to advertise, I'm just excited about this and want to share it with some folks with similar interests! I've been making holsters off and on for almost a year now for friends and acquaintances, but now I’ve decided to expand and try to grow my brand.

The name of the business is: Polite Society Holsters. I’m sure all of you will be able to figure out where that came from haha! My current specialty is my kydex/ leather hybrid IWB holsters and magazine holders, but I’ve been working with all-kydex “pancake” and minimalist style holsters as well. Right now I am somewhat limited to local sales. I need to be able to have the actual firearm present to properly form the holster. I can facilitate some non local sales for more common firearms thanks to people that are willing to let me work with their pistols. As the business grows, I will be able to purchase accurate replicas and hopefully go nationwide. At that time, I’ll be able to do something that I’ve always wanted to; Become a commercial seller on here!

I’m very excited for the next big step I have planned. In October I’ll have a table at the local gun show where I will be advertising, as well as making holsters right at the show! I’m hoping that people being able to see the whole process will create some buzz. If it’s a flop..Hey! At least I got to go to the gun show for 3 days and chat wit some like minded individuals!

Last gun show, I talked with a local firearms training facility about a possible partnership between us. He gave me some specifics on what he is looking for in holsters for his class, and once I have a prototype, we will have a meeting. Additionally, I briefly chatted with Bob Mayne from the Handgun World Podcast (great show!) I will be sending him a sample of a couple of holsters that he will discuss on his show.

I would like to invite all of you to take a look at my work. I made a page on facebook for the business. If you search for “Polite Society Holsters” it will come up, even if you don’t have a facebook account. Feel free to like, comment, or share it if you do have an account, and if you have any questions feel free to shoot me a message!

Thanks for taking a look!

 

[Jim Watson]

As I recall, The Man From The Twentieth Century was advised not to get in a duel, slower reflexes than modern men with the benefit of generations of selective reproduction.
"Your gun won't burn until the referee gives the signal."

 

[GBExpat]

http://www.politesociety.com/ this you?

I have 2 of these Polite Society "Silent Partner" ankle holsters and have used them off & on since 2008. They do a good job with my P3-AT.

 

[Livnoutdoorsxd9]

No that's not me, I'm in Wisconsin. Right now it's just the Facebook page.

Jim- I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Jim Watson]

You have read the book, haven't you?

 

[Livnoutdoorsxd9]

Negative, don't know which book you're referring to.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Negative, don't know which book you're referring to.

I'm pretty sure he is refering to the Robert A Heinlein's Beyond This Horizon (1942) from which that phrase became popular in the shooting community

...unless you meant it's other common usage as a euphemism for the "upper class" or "elitist"

The name of the business is: Polite Society Holsters. I’m sure all of you will be able to figure out where that came from haha!

The other common shooting reference would have been Tom Given's shooting/competition/training association

...So maybe, what seems obvious to you, isn't as obvious as folks who have been exposed to other parts of the shooting community. The Heinlein book was what came to mind first for me

 

[Livnoutdoorsxd9]

I was just referring to the Heinlein quote.

 

[Jim Watson]

But you need to know the book and the context of the (fictional) society it comes from.
That one line is too often blindly quoted.

 

[9mmepiphany]

That's true.

Without the first part of the quote, it does give the name a haughty air (1% territory)...unless that is what you are trying to convey; which wouldn't seen to be the image you are trying for with the use of polymer.

 

[Lost Sheep]

But you need to know the book and the context of the (fictional) society it comes from.
That one line is too often blindly quoted.

Besides, Robert Heinlein's books are darned good reading and often provide a lot deeper food for thought that one expects from popular writers.

Also from Beyond This Horizon "The police of a state should never be stronger or better armed than the citizenry. An armed citizenry, willing to fight, is the foundation of civil freedom. That's a personal evaluation, of course."

This review gives faint praise to a good yarn and social commentary which was insufficiently deep for the review, but plenty thought-provoking for me when I read it decades ago.

http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-This-Horizon-Robert-Heinlein/product-reviews/1469281155?pageNumber=4

Everybody carries guns and kill each other in response to insults. Meet utopia...

You owe it to yourself and to your customers to verse yourself in the source material for your company name. (That's a personal evaluation, of course)

Amazon.com has used paperback copies for as little as $1.30 here:
http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-This-Horizon-Robert-Heinlein/dp/1469281155/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top


If you like the concept, check out The Seventh Victim by Robert Sheckley.

In a war-weary world people have devised a way to end all war: Reinstate the gladiatorial games of the past and turn man's innate violent tendencies into a voluntary, legal, murderous cat-and-mouse game. The Seventh Victim doesn't focus on the gladiatorial games but on the murderous cat-and-mouse game. Rechanneling Man's violence has successfully averted war, and we get a glimpse into a strange world where violence is "contained".


... To stop the race from destroying itself ... rechannel Man’s violence.

Hundreds of individual (state-sanctioned and carefully controlled) "murders" to prevent much more violent activities.

Lost Sheep

 

[Livnoutdoorsxd9]

And here I thought I wrote this thread about something I was excited about in my life. Silly me.

 

[Lost Sheep]

And here I thought I wrote this thread about something I was excited about in my life. Silly me.

Congratulations on starting your new business. We just got carried away about stuff over which we get excited and the thread got seriously sidetracked. Your company name just begged for fleshing out the source.

I could not find your web site, though. Is it politesociety.com? Is it getting rebuilt, by any chance (on 9/15/13)?

How do you manage sending handguns across state lines (or has that come up yet)?

Lost Sheep

 

[Livnoutdoorsxd9]

Right now it's just a Facebook page. Starting small like this, I rely on borrowing weapons from friends to mold the shells and holsters. As I grow I will build up my blue gun arsenal to facilitate a wider range of guns and farther reach of sales. At that time, I'll launch a full fledged website for multi state sales

 

[btg3]

And here I thought I wrote this thread about something I was excited about in my life. Silly me.

I... I... I... my... me. Pretty much all about YOU.

Regardless, here's a link to the facebook photos. https://www.facebook.com/search/602281929815667/photos-of

 

[Livnoutdoorsxd9]

Haha, I didn't know if there was a policy about hot linking. The full page can be found at Facebook.com/politesocietyholsters

 

[Madcap_Magician]

I wish you the best of luck with your new business!

 

[boom boom]

Few FYI facts about Heinlein

Heinlein was a committed 2nd Amendment supporter and his 1903 Springfield is held by the NRA at its museum.

Heinlein had to fight his series editor over the juvenile book, Red Planet, because it had mere students having guns at school. Part of the plot involves the school administration aiming on confiscating firearms for the public safety.

Heinlein also based several characters, at least in part, on his Marine shooting coach--Think Sam in Starman Jones, and I believe also makes an appearance in Tunnel in the Sky.

See this great exchange at THR past http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-386438.html

H. Beam Piper is even more of a Gun Guy--he also had an extensive collection of firearms and was an historian of firearm development. See Amazon and/or project Guttenberg for Murder in the Gunroom as an example.

 

[Livnoutdoorsxd9]

Thank you very much madcap1

 

[Vonderek]

I checked out your Facebook page. Looks like you make good quality products. You're in a crowded field...word-of-mouth and customer service reign supreme. Good luck and I hope you are a huge success.
PS I doubt any customers are going to engage you in an esoteric discussion about Heinlein...especially if you are strictly an online/mail order store. Cool name for a company.

 

[r1derbike]

Product looks good! Good luck!

 

[JTQ]

Vonderek wrote,
PS I doubt any customers are going to engage you in an esoteric discussion about Heinlein...especially if you are strictly an online/mail order store.

I would think you'd have lots of Heinlein posts on a Facebook page.

Lost Sheep wrote,
You owe it to yourself and to your customers to verse yourself in the source material for your company name. (That's a personal evaluation, of course)

I think this is good advice. The OP even has the Heinlein quote in his forum signature line. As a few have previously commented, knowing the source material for the quote would be a good idea.

Good luck with your business.

 

[Livnoutdoorsxd9]

I will verse myself in Heinlein's books. Looking into them, they look like something I'd be interested in. You are correct, and if a customer would like to know the origin of the name, I would like to have a well informed response. However, I would be willing to bet that there are more than a handful of gun owners that know the particular quote, and not it's source. I respectfully ask that we do not continue the discussion of this facet of my business and discuss literature, as this is not Robert Heinlein's Holsters, nor the main purpose of the thread.

I sincerely thank those of you that wish me well. I know there's already many holster makers out there, and I'm not attempting to topple the big name brands, but if I can save a fellow shooter some money while providing them a quality product...what more could I ask for?

 

[Tophernj]

Nice looking holsters. Good luck with your endeavours!!

C

 

[Livnoutdoorsxd9]

I've been keeping busy lately with new projects, here's some pics of my latest: