Worn Holster. Leather. Rehardening?

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countryman
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Worn Holster. Leather. Rehardening?

Post by countryman » Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:55 am

So I have a leather paddle holster and its gotten a little bit soft around the trigger gaurd. So much as that when I slide my pistol into it it'll actually catch and bend the leather rather than just sliding in nice and easy. Any way of fixing this short of buying a new holster?

KMS

Re: Worn Holster. Leather. Rehardening?

Post by KMS » Mon Jul 25, 2011 10:41 am

So, you're looking for something to make your leather hard again, like Viagra... ;-)

Most people are actually looking to soften old leather with Neatsfoot oil, or similar.

I have a idea, which will probably work, but of course if it ruins your holster I'm not responsible :D

Take some Elmer's, or Titebond (much better than Elmer's), thin it with water just slightly, and work into the leather. Let dry real good, as in at least a half day in a sunny windowsill, and viola!

You could just put the glue on there full strength, take a dab of water on your fingertip (I like to do this better than pre thinning), and work it in until the leather is good and soaked with it. Wipe of the excess with a damp cloth, and as it dries, you may want to shove something in the holster (bunched up newspaper wrapped in plastic bag so the paper doesn't get stuck to wet glue), to keep the outer edge pushed out where you'd want for a perfect fit.

Or, use the pistol, wrapped in a plastic shipping bag and conform the leather as needed.

Try no to mess with it too much while it dries, you should get good results.

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bladebum
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Re: Worn Holster. Leather. Rehardening?

Post by bladebum » Mon Jul 25, 2011 1:51 pm

You might be able to take it to a leather shop, like Indiana Harness, and see if they can sew in a liner piece in that area. It would act as a doubler and make it stiff again... :)
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Re: Worn Holster. Leather. Rehardening?

Post by R.J. » Mon Jul 25, 2011 1:59 pm

I tried to find the thread about this but couldn't. A guy's carry piece has discharged when he sat down in his car, leather was caught in the guard. Luckily it just grazed his leg. Next holster I get will be a Kydex from Raven Concealment. While leather retains/conceals very well & is comfortable it's also slow to draw & is more likely to result in the above. Right now I have a Slide-Guard from High Noon which is a quality leather holster, just too dang slow to draw, even after more than a year of wearing & no tension on the screw.
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Re: Worn Holster. Leather. Rehardening?

Post by Coug91 » Mon Jul 25, 2011 2:13 pm

Wasn't there a post on here a few months back about a Glock ND, that turned out to be the guy was carrying in an old holster that had softened to the point that the flap of leather that was supposed to cover the trigger guard had worked its way into the trigger guard, and when he inserted the pistol into the holster caused the gun to fire?

Long winded way of saying buy a new holster.. Cheap insurance, cheaper than a trip to the ER (ask me how I know), and cheaper than a life of pain. Buy the best holster that you can afford, and replace the limpy-limpy one. Viagra cannot cure that case of ED. Besides, cialis lasts longer. :lol: ... errr... so I've been told by late night TV.
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Re: Worn Holster. Leather. Rehardening?

Post by svytlana » Mon Jul 25, 2011 4:11 pm

yes there are propper ways of fixing that. simplest is with boiling wax. or the adding of a layer. don't use glue, def not a water soliable one like elmers. body sweat would just soften it while you wear it. it then could reform all wrong or stick to you. hehe
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Re: Worn Holster. Leather. Rehardening?

Post by countryman » Tue Jul 26, 2011 6:14 am

I actually bought a new holster yesterday. Picked it up used for 5 bucks. figured that'll at least get me through until I can afford a nice rig for it.

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Re: Worn Holster. Leather. Rehardening?

Post by wagunguy » Mon Aug 08, 2011 9:17 pm

I'd suspect that you could have some kind of backing piece sewn on that would stiffen the bearing surface.

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