[lugerholsterrepair]

Mike, This sort of damage is hard to restore back to original, nay, impossible.

There is a way to make the holes somewhat smaller and not so noticable. Put a mandrel behinb the hole you wish to work on and beat the hole gently with a plastic hammer. This will flatten the high ridges around the hole and push these edges into it making the hole smaller. Be careful not to mar or dent the surface of the top lid. Tap gently and work to feather it in. These holes were probably poked through and not drilled so most of the original leather is still there, just pushed aside.

Another repair which will not be any more satisfactory than the one I just mentioned is to take a hole punch and cut out a round hole in the leather, then replace it with another just like it out of another piece of period leather. This always leaves an obvious ring line around the hole no matter how skillfully it is done. The hole will never completely disapear.

The third alternative is to change out tops with another holster that has a damaged body. This is the best alternative for completely restoring a holster back to what would have been original configuration. Only a couple of challenges here. The top you may be looking for would ideally come from the same year and manufacturer to fit properly. Other tops can be made to fit but not as easily. Tops are also hard to find in good condition. They were one of the first parts on a holster to be damaged or messed with. Changing a top out is an expensive proposition and only recommended for rare holsters.

I have thought of grinding or sanding up old leather and mixing it with some sort of adhesive to use to plug small holes or cracks. Sort of like carpenters do with wood putty. I have been to busy to investigate the proper adhesive for something like this but will hopefully experiment with it in the near future.

Nothing I have ever found will bring the texture and luster of nice surface leather back to what it once was when new. What is gone is gone, the damage can only be minimized if that is possible.

Hope this helps, Jerry Burney