1917 – Sept. 9, 1995
- 1968 Started making holsters as Milt Sparks Leather
- 1983 Tony Kanaley joined the operation
- 1990 incorporated as Milt Sparks Holsters, Inc.
- 1990 Kanaley took over the business
About Milt Sparks
Milt Sparks Holsters is one of the most respected names in American concealed carry leather. Milton H. Sparks, a Navy pilot, took up leatherwork after World War II, first making flight bags for fellow pilots, and by the late 1960s he had turned the hobby into a holster business. The shop began in Star, Idaho, later moved to Idaho City, and his designs were used by competitors in the early days of practical pistol (IPSC) shooting. Tony Kanaley joined in the 1980s, became shop manager and bought the business in 1990; nearly every design in the modern catalog is credited to him.
Milt Sparks died in 1995, but the company carries his name more than five decades after it started. Kanaley later retired, and in 2017 the business was purchased by co-owners Nick Harvey and Leslie Frederiksen with partners Jim Wall and Scott Kubik. The shop now works out of Garden City in the Boise area, where each holster is still molded and built start to finish by a single craftsman who stamps it with his or her initials. As of 2026, custom orders carried a backlog of about ten months, a sign of how highly carriers still value traditional leather.
Key Facts
- 1917: Milton H. Sparks born
- Late 1960s: Leatherwork hobby becomes a holster business in Idaho
- 1990: Tony Kanaley takes over the business
- 1995: Milt Sparks dies
- 2017: Company sold to Nick Harvey, Leslie Frederiksen, Jim Wall and Scott Kubik
- 2026: Custom-order backlog of about ten months reported
Across the Gun Websites Network
- Milt Sparks on After Action.net After Action.net