What’s a good way to set your new holster line apart from the competition?

Call it the “Prohibition Series” and give each holster a name like “Capone” or “Baby Face.” Style counts too, so make everything in black leather with either red or blue stitching.

That’s exactly what Flashbang Holsters (makers of the famous Flashbang bra holster) has done. They’ve had holsters named after pinup models for years – I’ve carried a J Frame or LCR in a “Betty” holster for quite some time. But the “Pinup Collection,” as it was called, was intended for use by women, while the Prohibition Series is intended for men.

The most popular model seems to be the Capone, a hybrid suede-backed leather/kydex inside-the-waistband holster. But there are open top and thumb break leather outside the waistband holsters, too, as well as a kydex-reinforced pocket holster. The OWB versions are fairly basic, if stylish, and there’s a matching kydex-reinforced belt too, if you so desire. As with other leather products from Flashbang, the quality of the workmanship is very high – at least judging by my past experiences with leatherworking, which basically just involved earning the Leatherwork merit badge as a Boy Scout.

I actually kinda like the way the belts look.

Why name the holsters the “Prohibition Series?” The owners of Flashbang Holster see current efforts to restrict firearm ownership in the United States as akin to the ban on alcohol consumption and production in the ’20s and ’30s, and the gangsters, however flawed they may have been, as fighting against unjust restrictions.

Given that a (very) distant relative of mine, Roger Touhy, was one of Al Capone’s main rivals, I really can’t bring myself to use a “Capone” holster. But if the pretty brisk sales on the NRA show floor are any indication, my one-man stand isn’t going to make much of a difference to their bottom line.