Tag: Tenicor

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1911 iron sights RIA Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra Tac Ultra

RIA Rock Ultra MS – Front Sight Fell Off

I’m not sure why I haven’t posted about this yet, but a few months ago (Jan/Feb timeframe) I was cleaning my RIA Rock Ultra MS and noticed that the front sight was very loose. I’m not sure what occurred to loosen it, but I’d been carrying that particular gun for a while and hadn’t noticed that issue until it happened.

I was carrying that handgun in a Tenicor kydex holster, but the kydex doesn’t touch the front sight. I do remember dropping the gun once, on a carpeted floor. I’m thinking that might have been enough to dislodge the front sight. I can’t remember how the gun landed, but if it landed on the front sight, that would explain why the sight was loose.

The front sight was loose enough to where it slid all the way out of the dovetail with very little effort. Not only that, but the dovetail edge was surgically sharp and sliced my finger badly (had an issue stopping the bleeding).

When I cleaned the slide of blood, I saw that it looked as if the only thing that kept the sight in place was red threadlocker. I could see old threadlocker on the bottom of the sight and in the dovetail. I’m almost certain RIA didn’t fit this sight to the dovetail, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to slide it back on and off the slide.

I’ve ordered another sight (from Armscor) but do not have the tools needed to perform an installation (I’ve no vise, I’ve no files, I’ve no sight pusher).

I can either order the needed tools or give the slide and sight to a local gunsmith so that they can install it.

After I had the issue, I couldn’t carry the gun, but I ended up installing the 9mm barrel to my 22TCM RIA Tac Ultra so that I could carry that gun instead. That gun also fit in the Tenicor Certum holster.

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1911 AIWB appendix holster

The Tenicor Certum 3 has arrived!

I may need to fine-tune the position placement, but the Certum 3 appears to wear better than the Velo 4. I’m not sure if that’s a fair thing to say, because the Certum does offer a lot more adjustment than the Velo. I have it canted maybe 10-15 degrees to the left, and have it at the 1 o’clock position on the right side, carrying appendix of course. I’m not able to cant the Velo 4 in that fashion (it may be possibe if one clip is removed).

I also installed the largest camming bar, which helps a ton. Tenicor should rework the Velo 4 to have the same camming bar (and not the integrated camming bar).

There’s still a hot spot with this holster, though. The muzzle of the shell is pressing down into my pelvis badly. I’ll be cutting another yoga wedge (a small one, just to negate the pressure of the shell’s muzzle).

I’m already quite happy with this holster. It appears to be more stealthy, as I’m just casually wearing while at home and it’s not as noticeable as when I’m wearing the 1911 in the Velo 4.

I’ll maybe capture some video footage to show how well both work with my 1911 and body type.

Categories
appendix holster

I’ve Bought A Tenicor Certum Kydex Holster ! It’s OTW !

Yeah, I’ve a Tenicor Certum v3 on the way.

The Velo v4 isn’t agreeing with me. I’ve messed with it maybe 3 weeks, moving it around each time and waiting a few days to acclimatize to it. I’ve even tried adding additional wedging to it (for me, I need a bit more wedging but not necessarily as much peakiness – the integrated wedge feels too “sharp”. I used a piece of sculpted yoga bar as a wedge. It’s

I’m a bit greedy and don’t want to return the Velo just yet, but still want to experiment with the Certum, so I ordered it. I can always resell the Velo later on, if needed.

I’m certain I’ll have to add a wedge to the Certum as well, but at least it will be easier to add a wedge than with the Velo. And, if need be, I can always use the Certum as a base for the Phlster Enigma, if/when I decide to go that route.

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1911 appendix holster

Daughter Bought Me A Tenicor Velo 4 Holster !

So, my wish was granted. My daughter bought me a Tenicor Velo 4 for Christmas and presented it to me maybe 4-5 days before Christmas!

I tried carrying with with it.

It will NOT carry center-appendix, as it appears to be built more with 1-2 o’clock in mind (I’ve the right-side holster). The wedge is oddly placed for my body type (I’m 5’7″, 185 lb, medium build with 29-30″ in-step, a tad thick in the waist @ 32 inches). Keep in mind that I’m trying to carry the RIA MS 1911, which is 4.25″ in barrel length and has a full-sized grip.

The wedge is problematic, as it doesn’t sit well in the leg/pelvic crease and is peaky, so creates a hot spot for me. I need a bit more wedge but need it wider and not peaky.

The holster also has minimal ride adjustability and no cant adjustability.

At this point, the Crossbreed The Reckoning holster I bought carries a LOT better (I’ve customized it a bit).

I almost told my daughter to return it and to get the Certum instead, but wanted to give the Velo 4 a fair chance first.

I decided to try carrying it a bit more, moving it around to try to find a sweet spot (which I did for the Crossbreed as well – I carry that centerline appendix).

After a few days of trying, I still couldn’t carry it well.

I decided to try a custom wedge via the yoga block method. I bought a yoga foam block and cut out a decent sized rectangle. I then began whittling the rectangle into a wedge, hollowing out a pit for the holster’s integrated wedge to sit. The most difficult part of this process was hollowing out an area to fit the integrate wedge, as I had to ensure it was smoothed out in that area so that the velcro (loop side) would stick in that area. Another difficult part was sticking velcro to the holster itself.

It ended up being a large foam block of wedge to velcro to the holster. Initially, after test-carrying, it was too big, so I removed it from the holster and whittled it down to a smaller shape.

I carried it today during a 5 hour drive.

It wore well the whole drive. There were several instances of me getting in/out of the car, walking around, visiting the men’s room, and pumping gas.

It wears a LOT better than without the foam.

I will probably still try the Certum as another great appendix option (that one should carry just as well and also offer far more adjustability in ride height and cant, while also giving the option of strong side carry.

Pics are here.

Oh, and my wife bought me 200 rounds of 9mm Inceptor ARX self defense ammo – my mother bought me 50 rounds of the same ammo, too!

Note: I don’t entertain the notion that Inceptor ARX is gimmick ammo. I’m aware that some folks think that this ammo performs poorly in gel tests, but I’ve also seen great gel test results. There’s also this.

I’d been looking for 9mm Inceptor ARX for a while but could never find it in stock. I found a stash at Midway, and it was on sale too – I added it to my Elfster Christmas wishlist. Between my wife and my mother, they must’ve bought the whole supply I found, because Midway is now out of stock.

Categories
1911 Commander holster

New Holster On The Way!

I ordered a kydex holster with a leather backer today, as I wanted to take advantage of Black Friday sales. I didn’t want one of those small kydex-only holsters (I have one for my Grand Power and it’s uncomfortable to use).

I’m specifically looking for an IWB holster that’ll fit Commander-sized 1911s. As well, I’m looking at appendix holsters (AIWB).

Personally, I want a Tenicor Velo4 but Tenicor is not participating in Black Friday sales, although they do have sales of blemished holsters, but do not currently have any for Commander-sized 1911s. I’ve also added the Tenicor Velo4 to my Elfster wish list (that’s how my family and extended family tracks gift purchases), so there’s a chance that someone will buy it for me for Christmas.

I’m also interested in Tenicor’s Certum holster (the Velo and Certum are not the same holster – the Certum has better adjustability and can be used as both IWB and AIWB, but the Velo is dedicated to appendix carry).

I’d also been looking at the Vedder LightTuck, but their sales folks aren’t helpful enough to help me commit to the purchase – I needed to know if the holster fits the Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra MS, and they said it wouldn’t but when I researched with Google, I found that there are a decent amount of folks using the LightTuck with RIA 1911s. Also, the LightTuck is maybe $5 less than but also less refined than Tenicor holsters. Due to those details and the fact that the Vedder sales folks were unhelpful, I decided to give my hard-earned money to a business other than Vedder.

While I wait to see if someone buys me the Tenicor for Christmas, I decided to buy Crossbreed’s The Reckoning holster and opted for the claw. I didn’t want to wait another 30 days, especially since I’m not sure if anyone is going to buy me the Tenicor.

I almost bought the The Reckoning holster system (which includes a mag holster side car), but was trying to keep costs down – I can always buy the side car separately. This specific holster can also be converted for strong side carry (in case I don’t like AIWB).

The holster was 25% off for Black Friday sales (was a bit over $50, excluding tax and shipping).

This will be my first time using an AIWB holster. I may find that I don’t like the holster, but it’s reported to be very comfortable. If I find that I don’t like it, I’ve the option of returning it. We’ll see.