Which side of the leather goes on the outside?

Almost all leather holsters, belts, and pouches from the Western era. Along with United States and Europe armies have the grain (smooth) side out. You will see very few original holsters with the flesh (ruff) side out. I make my holsters with the grain side out unless I have a reason not to.

A smaller but very vocal group of people mostly into Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS) believe the grain side should be on the inside. The most common excuse is that it protects the finish on the metal from the flesh side of the leather. a less common excuse used is that the grain side is smooth so, it is faster to draw. . . of course, we also wear belts backward, use holsters with belt loops five times the size they should be, and wear a second full-size shell belt ( also backward) just to hold four shotgun shells. . . so keep that in mind.

An interesting side note: Famous Western actor John Wayne used a holster with the ruff side out in most of his latter westerns.

A third option is to line the holster. by using two pieces of leather sewn back to back you will end up with a holster with the grain side of the leather on the inside and the outside. this style is common among current retail western holsters today.

A. Grain side out: the most common style of original leather western and military holsters.

B. Grain side in: also called a "ruff out" may help protect your gun's finish. also may provide a slight smother draw.

C. Lined holster: has the best of both A and B, very common with mass-produced retail holsters .