Help with C96 Harness
 

Hi,
I'm far for being an expert on leather gear, so I would like to hear your opinions about this C96 harness. Unfortunately these are the only pictures I have so far.

Thanks in advance for you assistance.

Douglas

Douglas, looks good to me..

I agree with Jerry. It looks correct and complete.

Good news indeed. Thanks again!
Another question: what is the meaning of the stamp "BAXII16" ??
Is it a depot code?

Yes , XXII Office Clothing code , and 16 for the year I think
Many repros for this item , but this one is legit for me too

I have never seen before a C96 leather made in Saxon.
Thanks for sharing.

Pick up a spare magazine spring for the front pouch. This will help keep its shape.

...Or at least a piece of wood (or something)...

Jerry will happily disagree, but I would rub some NeatsFoot Oil into that pouch and let it absorb for a couple days before putting a spring/block in it...To avoid cracking...

I give up. I officially surrender, yes! Neatsfoot OIL! That's the magic elixr. The stuff designed to BREAK DOWN leather fibers and make stiff leather shoe soles soft as rubber. Floppy as a cooked noodle. Good for what ails ya. Get yer bottle here! One thin dime! Well..it might work as well as anything. What do I know? Pour it full, jump & shout! Pour it full, rub it all about, pour it full..pour it out..
Neatsfoot OIL, that's what it's all about!! Sometimes I think pounding my head against a wall is affecting my sanity.

Sometimes I use Vaseline... :thumbup:

OMG! I'm falling over the edge...

You've taken up a new hobby!!! Splendid!!! :cheers:

Do you have any pictures??? :thumbup:

Sheepherder, I thought you would have favoured Lanolin .

OMG!!! That is so completely true!!! :thumbup::roflmao::p

I couldn't remember what Jerry recommended, so I took a WAG...Sorry Douglas! ;)

I found this reference, should allow one to get into plenty of trouble if you don't know what you're doing but still interesting to be aware of.
http://nautarch.tamu.edu/CRL/conserv...nual/File7.htm

Thank you folks once more for all the feedback and tips.
And how to make Jerry go nuts!

I would have sworn that Jerry recommended Neatsfoot Oil...I even bought a bottle of 'Lincoln Prime Neatsfoot Oil Compound'; it's sitting on a shelf behind me, unused. I'm not into holsters; I think I got it for my baseball glove, and I thought Jerry had said that was the ticket. I was wrong. :surr:

Maybe Jerry could point us to his preferred leather preservative??? :confused:

(When I was a kid, we really did rub Vasoline in our baseball gloves...) :rolleyes:

The best leather preservative is no preservative.

That said: Connolly's Hide Food is good.
Renaissance wax is a museum quality preservative.

This is something you hear a lot, and I don't doubt that many "preservatives" or "reconditioners" can damage the leather. I guess no one can predict the long term effects of all the modern ointments, but what do one do when a holster is so stiff and cracked that it threatens to fall apart if you don't do anything?

It seems to me that the safest bet would be to use whatever they used back in the days, these holsters are around 100 years old so the long term effects are obviously not detrimental. Does anybody know?

Many of those old holsters did not survive in good condition. I think the best survivors are those that were stored in a normal environment and were untouched for many years.