1918 Holster ID Help...

lugerholsterrepair · 08-21-2003, 12:19 PM

Pete, Very nice example of top quality turn of the Century German craftsmanship.

The leather sheen seen on German holsters of this era is quite common if it has not been scuffed off. Yours has seen little use so it is still there.

It is not patent leather at all. Patent leather is a different process altogether . From what I have been able to piece together of the process, the Germans dyed and polished the hide and then cut and formed the pieces. This enabled them to machine polish the surface of the hide to a high gloss. Polishing the epidermis side of the leather to a high gloss is possible to a high degree as is evidenced by your holster. It compresses the surface holes into a solid non pourous surface that shines. If you dye the surface without polishing, it is matt, like the difference between a phosphate metal finish and a high polish blue. .Nice find! Jerry Burney

08-21-2003, 12:19 PM	#16
lugerholsterrepair Moderator Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Arizona/Colorado Posts: 7,775 Thanks: 4,995 Thanked 3,133 Times in 1,439 Posts	Pete, Very nice example of top quality turn of the Century German craftsmanship. The leather sheen seen on German holsters of this era is quite common if it has not been scuffed off. Yours has seen little use so it is still there. It is not patent leather at all. Patent leather is a different process altogether . From what I have been able to piece together of the process, the Germans dyed and polished the hide and then cut and formed the pieces. This enabled them to machine polish the surface of the hide to a high gloss. Polishing the epidermis side of the leather to a high gloss is possible to a high degree as is evidenced by your holster. It compresses the surface holes into a solid non pourous surface that shines. If you dye the surface without polishing, it is matt, like the difference between a phosphate metal finish and a high polish blue. .Nice find! Jerry Burney __________________ Jerry Burney 11491 S. Guadalupe Drive Yuma AZ 85367-6182 lugerholsterrepair@earthlink.net 928 342-7583 (CO & AZ) Year Round 719 207-3331 (cell) "For those who Fight For It, Life has a flavor the protected will never know."