Care and feeding for old holsters
 

I recently purchased a 1915 holster from Ron. Should I put anything on the holster to help preserve it?
Bill

hi,

There's a writeup on this site about holster care at:

http://lugerforum.com/holstercare.html

I followed the advice, and have been using Lexol to maintain my vintage holsters. So far, I'm very happy with the results.

You can get Lexol liquid at auto parts stores. I got mine at Advance Auto in North Carolina.

Marc

Lexol is ok, but this posting is many years old, he talks about using PECARDS. DON'T.....

EVER...

Pecards is easy to put on thickly and some folks like it, I don't.

Use the search function here, this subject has been brought up many times.

Personally, I use Connoly's, as it treats the leather but does not break it down. Many "conditioners" break the leather down and make it supple, exactly what you want for boots, but NOT holsters or belts.

Ed

The best treatment is leaving a holster alone.

That said, when I get a particularly dry of slightly flaking example, I find that using a very small amount of Kiwi shoepolish (we are talking 'very small amounts' here, and only Kiwi) on the exposed parts, together with a good old dry brush helps to revive the leather without doing too much harm to it. It helps to camoflage part where the original dye has faded with little or no long term effects.

The stuff comes in black and brown, and the brown will conform itself to the original holster color.

I usually clean out the inside with an alcohol patch. When a holster is really messed up (like many former Norwegian ones are), I use an alcohol moistened piece of soft cloth to remove the many years of Norwegian army shoepolish that usually covers the holster. Followed by the treatment described above.

When it comes to treating leather, less is more and subtleness is the key.

The 1916 holster shown was a complete shoepolish encrusted Norwegian wreck when I got it.

The 1918 holster was starting to flake, with some scattered parts of exposed leather where the top layer had disappeared.

These holsters are dry, not mushy in any way and even retain their old smell, which returns after a couple of days afte treatment.

I have played around with the black shoe polish a couple of times on holsters that had faded original dye. Was waiting to see what the long term effects were - long term from my aspect.

(If the holster was to be ruined, not much would have been lost.)

Had not thought aboout do it where there was light flaking, but I do have a few I can practice on.

Instead of the flaking problem, what can be done to mitigate the cracking problem ?

Charlie,

I certainly know what you mean, the Norwegian holsters saw service for another 40 years above their original service life (The 1916 pictured above was in service from 1916 until well into the 1980s). The army grade shoe polish seems to have acted as a relatively good protection agent. It hasn't penetrated the leather but formed a sticky layer on the outside, which was removed with alcohol. If this army grade stuff (you know, dry as a whistle, heat it first so it becomes useable again :) ) protects this good, I have little fear of small amounts of Kiwi used.

Since leather is a natural product, it will dry out and decompose eventually. I guess the best thing to preserve it is taking away the source: oxygen. But storing everything in vacuum sealed bag is not really fun either :)

I'm afraid there are no easy fixes for cracking leather, except for the somewhat more intrusive methods (sanding and redying). A good leather restorer can work miracles, but the cost involved will probably not make it a financially interesting choice.

Had some experience with classic leather car upholsteries, which helped (slightly). But these are usually just 20 - 30 years old.

About the Kiwi stuff: The small glass jars (50ml) of Kiwi Shoe Cream are still some 80% full after more than 10 years of use, this includes regular shoe polishing as well. It shows how very little one needs to apply. The price tag on the jars is stil in Guilders, we switched to the Euro in 2002 :)

I start with a good saddle soaping. I use a shaving brush, and a soft cloth, like an old T shirt. Lather the holster up, wait 5 mins. then gently wipe it down. Do this again, but this time let the lather dry, usually overnight. Take the residue off with a soft shoe brush, and/or wipe down with the cloth.

Then I use Fiebings 'Care-4". Now, they call this '4-Way'. It's a combination of saddle soap, lanolin,
bees wax, and lexol. I spray this on inside and out, wait 10 min. then do a gently wipe down. Let dry, repeat. Then repeat the 'Care-4' again yearly, depending on your storage climate.

Never use a silicone based product on hard shell luger holsters

FN

Here is a 'before / after shot' of the 1918 one.

Vlim,
I like the before version better. Nice color!
Cheers,
Jason L

yes, this is an issue with all of the "conditioners" and other products, they darken the leather.


Ed

Guys, the color difference is the result of lighting.... The leather has not darkened one bit....
The holster on the right has returned to it's semi gloss finish, which helps to reflect the light a bit more as well. The left side photo was probably taken outside, compeletely different light source...

Leather conditioners like Connolly's Hide Food will darken a holster. A tiny amount of Kiwi won't. :)

But then again, if you like you holsters partially rotten and looking like the cat chewed on them, be my guest :D

I know a lot of collectors who are cringing at the thought of you using kiwi (colored, not neutral)

I have mixed feelings, when the holster is yucked up, it needs help?

Vlim, I have found that almost anything darkens the leather unless it is some kind of just cleaner?

And your pictures do look very different, so don't yell at poor Jason, his heart won't take it ;)

I am very sensitive :crying:

lol

No, it really isn't so bad. I have a very light Swiss holster here that had a couple of light scuffs. It's still as light as the day I got it, even after minor touch-ups.

Lighting differs quite a lot during photography. Using studio lights and a light box can create completely different lighting than direct sunlight for example. For the book I photographed the Chinese P08. The auction photos show it as a very light blue gray pistol, when in fact it was partially black-blue with a very discolored plum/golden toggle.

You may note (and that is why I posted the before/after) that the holster had a couple of areas where the top layer was scuffed away, exposing the light lower layer. With some minor cosmetic touch-ups these are now less visible (almost gone). And no, this holster will not turn into a pile of dust or evolve into a self-conscious living entity because of it :D

The best thing to use to rejuvenate old leather is "Connolly Hide Food". It doesn't gum up the leather like Pecards, which is for treating new leather. "Connolly's" is highly recommended by Jerry Burney, and is about the only thing he does recommend.

Bill, Since you are into cars, it is available from several auto supply houses. It was developed for high end auto leather.

Ron

Connolly's will darken brown holsters. Other than that, it's good stuff.

"Connolly's will darken brown holsters."

Gerben,

I've used it quite a bit, and haven't noticed any appreciable darkening of the leather. I use it very sparingly and buff with a soft cloth within a few minutes after the application.

Ron

Ron,

I guess that it means that many treatments are possible with little ill-effects, as long as the product is used wisely and sparingly. But I think we will see conflicting reports on the use of leather preservatives for many years to come :)

I like this quote from the Kiwi website:

Gerben,

What I should have said is that I use it once or twice on a newly aquired holster. From then on I only buff them with a soft cloth, and use a soft brush on the stitching.

I would imagine that prolonged and repeated use could build up.

Ron

Ron, same here. Only touching up if needed when a holster comes in, after that it's only an annual cleaning with a soft cloth and/or a brush, if needed at all.

Although some are beyond help :)