Desantis Thumb Break Scabbard: Kickin It Old School

I’ve been dipping my toe into the world of revolvers lately. I was never a wheel gun fan, but some exciting developments have occurred in the wheel gun industry. Guns like the 856 Defender TORO, the S&W 432 UC, and the Heritage Manufacturing Roscoe have captured my attention. I’ve gotten so into wheel guns that I decided, let’s carry one! Revolvers are deliciously old-school, and with that in mind, I wanted an old-school holster option. I settled on the Desantis Gunhide Thumb Break Scabbard.

Digging Into the Thumb Break Scabbard

It doesn’t get much more classic than this. The Thumb Break Scabbard is a saddle leather holster, precision molded to J-frame style revolvers. Desantis imbues the Thumbreak Scabbard with reinforced stitching to provide an extremely tight and rigid fit. The double stitching also ensures the holster is rugged and reliable for long-term use.

Specifically, the belt loops are sewn in. Remember that the belt loops keep the gun hooked to the belt, and if the stitching isn’t doubled up, the holster’s lifespan gets really short. The Desantis Thumb Break Scabbard has three belt loops, and the two forwardmost loops allow you to set a certain degree of cant, similar to the classic FBI cant design.

Classic designs come with classic features, and one of those classic features is a built-in thumb break with the stereotypical snap-style button. It’s not a fancy lever or button, but it’s a functional and proven system.

While Smith & Wesson remains the sole manufacturer of J Frames, it’s worth noting that companies like Taurus have ingeniously utilized the same frame design to create the Model 85. This means that the Desantis Gunhide Thumb Break Scabbard can accommodate all S&W J-frames and most Model 85s as well.

Breaking In the Thumb Break Scabbard

Good gosh, this holster is super tight. There is a retention screw to loosen things up, but it doesn’t loosen up much. I haven’t used leather holsters a ton, but even I know molded leather holsters are tight and fresh out of the box. The good news is that tight typically means good quality. The tight and rigid construction means that the holster is less likely to become loose and is more resistant to breaking down over time.

Holsters are like boots. The best ones need to be broken in. I started looking into the various processes required to break in holsters. I conferred with both the writers of yore and the experts of today. It turns out that the experts of yesteryear’s methods of soaking the holster in water and their gun in oil were a poor idea.

Mike at RevolverGuy.Com lists some great methods. I mixed two of his methods to loosen the holster up a fair bit. One method involves tightly wrapping the gun in Saran wrap, inserting it into the holster, and letting it sit, occasionally adding Saran wrap when necessary to make the gun a little bigger and to stretch the holster a little more. The other is the elbow grease method of repeatedly pulling the gun in and out of the holster.

I would use the elbow grease method in 10-minute interludes and the Saran wrap method overnight. It didn’t take long before the holster loosened up a bit and didn’t cling to my gun tighter than I cling to Reese’s cups.

Working the Draw

I’m used to Kydex holsters that allow for a smooth and consistent draw without defeating any form of thumb break. Transitioning to the Thumb Break Scabbard was a real challenge. I watched a lot of TV and just drew the gun repeatedly while enjoying this show called Evil, which I just discovered. I practiced breaking the thumb break and drawing. Breaking it down step by step over time allowed for a quick inward movement of my thumb to become a natural extension of my draw.

This thumb movement hits the snap and frees the gun for a fast and intuitive draw. My holster still clings to the gun, but I’m not getting a shoulder workout every time I draw it. Building in the natural thumb motion was the key to a good draw. I broke my draw down to several steps.

It went like this: grab the grip, push the thumb against the break, pull the gun upward, and get the gun on target. With enough practice under my belt, I went to the range and worked some live fire drills. I went slow at first but quickly built speed. Before I knew it, I was able to land a shot on an A-Zone target at seven yards in less than 1.5 seconds.

Color me surprised. I’m used to this idea that Kydex and appendix are the only way to go. The Desantis Gunhide Thumb Break Scabbard still proved to be practical and efficient. Sure, it’s not a sub-second draw, but 1.25 to 1.47 isn’t a bad spread from concealment. From an OWB rig with a retention device, it’s not a bad time by any means.

Carrying the Thumb Break Scabbard

The Thumb Break Scabbard rides nice and high. It can be concealed under a T-shirt without any problem. Under a normal T-shirt, the holster and gun don’t print. Throw on a schmedium shirt to show off those gym gains, and there might be a printing problem. That would be true with any holster, to be fair.

A tight riding holster that sits high is easy to conceal but can be tough to draw. This is where we come to the benefits of a concealed-carry revolver. The cylinder sits tight to the body, but it also pushes the grip outward a fair bit. This makes it easy to get a grip on the gun and get it into action.

For daily carry, the Thumb Break Scabbard delivers a very comfortable experience. It doesn’t rub, doesn’t poke, and doesn’t beat you up throughout your carry experience. The holster works well inside vehicles, in seated positions, and everywhere else. I even practiced a few dry draws from a seated position and found it way easier to draw from a sitting position with the Thumb Break Scabbard than any appendix rig I have. I didn’t have to move my body to access my gun, and it was quick and easy to get it into play. Admittedly, it was absolutely obvious that I was going for the gun, but hey, that’s the name of the game.

Overall, I found the Desantis Thumb Break Scabbard holster to be extremely comfortable to carry and super easy to conceal. Not only that, but drawing isn’t an issue, and a fast and intuitive draw is completely possible.

Old School Leather

It’s easy to get full of ourselves with our fancy Kydex holsters, appendix carry positions, and semi-auto handguns. It’s only when you experience a bit of old-school tech that you realize it’s also a completely useable and capable option in the modern world. Kydex offers lots of advantages, but that doesn’t mean a good leather holster isn’t a capable option, especially for an old-school revolver. Sometimes, old school is the coolest school.