Just out of curiosity, what do some of you guys do to reduce the problems of holster wear?
What brings this up is an image of Elmer Keith's everyday carry gun, an N-frame .44 Magnum that sold for quite a bit of money at an auction a couple of years ago, IIRC. I saw that on the internet a few days ago while doing some research for an article.
The barrel wear was pretty bad, as were parts of the cylinder. A pity, indeed.
He reportedly carried this gun every day until his stroke back in '82, IIRC, in an old Milt Sparks rig.
I've been known to rub the inside of my rigs with saddle soap or a combination of that and Neats foot, or with Mitch Rosen's Leather Lightning. One might also choose a holster lined with some sort of thin sued or thin leather, such as goat skin.
It's a perplexing problem (say that real fast 20 times!)

If I want to preserve the gun in pristine condition, I buy a second for carry. That's my solution anyway.

The guns finish will wear no matter what from carry. The 2 hint I know of to reduce wear a good fitting holster so the gun doesn't move around and rub while you carry. After shooting wipe the carbon off the gun with a damp rag before reholstering so the carbon doesn't get into the leather or nylon.

Holster wear is gonna happen and I live with it. Adds to the "personality of the gun

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Support your Police, & NRA

I've heard of three approaches to minimize holster wear.

1. Choose a properly fitted/molded holster.

2. Keep the inside of the holster free from dirt and debris.

3. Apply wax to the gun's exterior.

I use 1 and 2, but I accept that no matter what I do, holster wear will occur. I accept that.

Embrace it!!!! It shows you use it. I see lotsa pictures of guns and leather , the vast majority look like they are new.

Without holster wear your gun has no character and attitude!!

Randy

For what it's worth....and probably not much...for leather holsters I do use Leather Lightning....for kydex holsters and my weapons I keep them coated with REM oil.....Not that it will eliminate wear, but from what I see it does reduce it to a degree..........comes with carrying a handgun........

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Hipcocked45

Reduce holster wear? Simple....never put a gun in a holster, lol.

If you are going to carry a gun in a holster, any holster, leather/nylon/kydex, you're better off learning to love the wear, just like Old Elmer did.

Lots of good advice in this thread for you, Dave. I was genuinely surprised to have to explain to Tony at Sparks a few years ago (so no coincidence that you've used a Sparks holster as an example) that the purpose of high definition moulding is not retention, but to minimise wear on the pistol. Especially a revolver has high spots that in a 'blocked' holster (a la the Heisers et al) will be rubbed by the leather; so wet moulding in a press as Galco, Bianchi, Sparks and the rest do, is plenty to eliminate this Following it up with 'boning' is cosmetic; or in the case of us who don't use presses, necessary to get the same fitment as the press will. I teach makers to avoid moulding leather into ports and trigger guards because, voila!, they will solve the problem they're having with smooth drawing and holstering (with leather, different with Kydex). And that moulding into ports and guards causes wear.

I suppose ideally, the question is directed to blued guns (Elmer's is). Nickel guns have a harder surface (hard chrome even better and is why early IPSC type pistols were hard chromed because it was new to compete from a holster) and, well, S/S is surely the answer to having no visible wear.

Any veg leather with a reasonably smooth flesh side and good moulding will give you excellent results in the wear department. Want to improve your odds? Use a holster with a smooth leather veg lining (some use cowhide, I use kangaroo). It is not true that sueded chrome leather linings are worse (or better) than no lining at all; veg leather is the real enemy of wet steel.

By all means coat the pistol rather than the inside of the holster, with the 'right' (I don't know what that is, either) lubricant/whatever. I sure like the wax idea in theory but no experience with it. And p.s., WD40 is not a lubricant, it's a water dispersant that the company markets as a lubricant.

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Red Nichols The Holstorian

People today want ammo that won't dirty their guns, and finishes that won't wear with normal use. I swear, Elmer has to be rolling over in his grave...

If you want to minimize finish wear -- but still use the gun -- the best thing to do is make sure you have a well-fitted holster. It's not drawing/holstering that causes most of the wear, but wallowing around in a loose holster all day. Regardless, though, if you use the gun, it will show wear, and there ain't much to do about that.

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Pisgah

I have a feeling that Elmer Keith wasn't too concerned with holster wear.
Because he USED his revolvers.
But i am also sure that he took rather good care of them otherwise.
After all, aren't they actually meant to be used?
Collecters are exempt from the above diatribe. LOL

I hate to say it but a real carry gun is a tool. Look at a good carpenter's favorite hammer and you'll understand. In the past every carry gun I saw showed varying degrees of wear. Wear is different than abuse.

A beautifully blued revolver will show wear at the muzzle, the leading edge of the cylinder and the strong side of the gun. Those marks show use, and are inevitable. Hence the difference between a shooter and a safe queen.

Even the toughest gun finishes, like that found on the GLOCK Service Pistol will show some wear. I've often said that a newly manufactured revolver with a GLOCK type finish and some VZ grips would be a tough looking ***. And would probably sell to those who understand the gun as tool philosophy.

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So what was wrong with Keith's gun? He used it and it had wear. Sounds normal.

How do I prevent my tires from wearing? Or my car paint from chips and scratches?

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My every day carry. 10 years in a kydex holster, every day at least two times holster/unholster....when I get up and when I get home. Not counting bathroom trips or if I have to go out of state for an hour or two. It's just now beginning to have a little edge and corner wear



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Looking good for sure.....my Shield 45..one year old in Foxx kydex/leather backed holster...as you say in and out about twice a day......

45paintedshield.jpg

45paintedshield2.jpg

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Hipcocked45

Very slight wear on the high edges of the scales but otherwise fine.

I haven't done anything to mine and I don't know what kind of finish they used to use but the gun was made in 03, was a poli gun prior to me purchasing it about 10 years ago

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Stainless steel!....Still shows wear and will exhibit rust on occasion...that or get a Glock which has a finish that wears well.

Back in the day you carried your service pistol until the finish was too ugly to bear anymore...then took it to the gunsmith for re-blue and started over again.

If you carry and use a blue or really any finish handgun it is going to wear the finish. I've got some handguns in my collection with extreme holster wear...sharp edges worn smooth...front sights worn lop-sided...stainless duty pistols with retaining strap wear.

Just think of your carry gun like radial tires...

My winter EDC is a Kimber Ultra Carry Series I which I have been carrying since 2000 in a Ken Campbell custom $OB holster. Some wear along high edges but nothing that significantly impedes form or function.

As I get older, I am becoming more aware of the inherent safety of IWB Carry versus $OB especially during the wintertime in case of a slip or fall. Back in March, I ordered, and am awaiting delivery of, a Milt Sparks VMII for the Kimber as I am extremely happy with the one I have for my 60-15.

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I have some Disston Hand Saws that were old when my Dad bought them 60 years ago. A used tool, just like Elmer's Revolver.
But I have to admit that I mostly only carry Stainless Revolvers.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

I also agree that holster wear is mainly a product of the gun being able to move around inside the holster. Drawing and holstering will put wear on it too, but not nearly as much or as fast as it being loose inside and constantly rubbing.

So if you carry a revolver you want to protect from wear, your best bet is to just not carry it in a holster. If you do holster it, you have to accept that wear will occur no matter what. There are things you can do to prevent or slow the process though, and a holster wet molded for your specific gun is the key. You want a perfect fit with no movement at all.

I carry my Python in a Bianchi Accumold holster now. It is pretty much form fitted specifically for that frame size and doesn't allow the gun to move around at all. I also think the fabric interior is gentler on the metal than leather would be. I carry it almost daily and haven't noticed any wear starting yet. When I shoot at the range, I make sure the gun is wiped clean externally before holstering. It's important to keep you holster clean inside too. Back when I use to use a Bianchi IWB leather for the Python, that holster allowed the gun to slide up and down in the holster when fastening and un-fastening to my pants, and after short use with it I could already notice some slight blue wear starting. Not to mention IWB carry has the gun constantly rubbing against your body, and therefore I feel that carry method would create wear more quickly than OWB.

Eventually I plan to get a Galco combat master to replace the Accumold. However, the Accumold has done very well for me and I like it. So I'm in no hurry to get new one yet.

I happen to like the look of holster wear on a blued gun. To me, its kind of like the firearm version of "graying at the temples". A little aged, but still in the game, haha!

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Matthew 5:9

I don't carry mine in a holster, I carry a Bianchi fanny pack.

I'll bet even that produces some wear

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Retired Career Security Guard

Embrace the wear marks... Kinda like a patina on the gun.

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If you're gonna carry a gun every day, it's eventually gonna look like you carried it every day . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

I guess I think I'm worth more than any depreciated value a handgun I carry every day. And the inside is in good working order.