Anybody out there who can do a competent replacement of dead elastic on old Safariland upside down shoulder holster?

I also have a Safariland shoulder holster that needs new elastic straps. Safariland does sells some replacement elastics for them. Try calling 1-800-347-1200

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USAF AMMO

If you can get the elastic, I would think a shoe repairman could put it in.

First problem will be acquiring suitable elastic. The stuff you will find in fabric stores will not do the job, and trade suppliers for the real heavy duty stuff are not likely to sell anything less than rolls of 100 feet to 100 yards.

The elastic in the Safariland upside down shoulder holsters is installed at the holster opening and serves to retain the revolver. Elastic passes through openings in the inner and outer holster panels, then between the holster panels and holster linings, and is secured at the holster assembly stitch-line. So, some serious disassembly of the holster itself would be required to install the new elastic, then the challenge will be reassembly to precisely line up the existing stitch-lines (otherwise a new set of stitch-lines will be created that potentially will weaken the holster in use).

Finally, the needles used for stitching leather have a chisel-shaped point to cut cleanly through the leather (standard sewing needles use a rounded point that parts the fibers rather than cutting them). Leather needles will sever the elastic fibers, creating weak points where joined to the leather. That can be overcome by hand-stitching using harness needles, but that is a tedious and time consuming task.

Short version: What you are proposing is probably doable, but will require some difficult to acquire elastic and several hours of very skilled work (i.e.: more labor than would be required to make several holsters from scratch). Such a one-time project is likely to be pretty expensive.

Other than these issues, it's a piece of cake!

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Endeavor to persevere. <><

I have a couple Bianchi 9Rs, but always wanted a Safariland 19. Recently, I found one on an auction site, and picked it up for a fair price. The elastic had unfortunately lost its stretch. Rather than deal with the hassle of the return, I decided I'd see if it could be repaired. After a few phone calls to various tailors and shoe places, I ended up dropping my Safariland off at a local shoe store. I called the cobbler the day before, and he seemed pretty intrigued by it (I guess working in shoes can get a little boring). They asked me to bring the holster in so they could check it out. Thanks to this forum, especially LoboGunLeather, I was able to explain how the elastic was attached, and what was required. Barring any unforeseen issues, I'm going to pick it up next weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Update: LoboGunLeather was spot on. The shoe repair place called me to tell me their elastic would not be strong enough. So I spent an hour or so calling different places, trying to find a replacement. I finally found a commercial / military vendor, but they didn't sell small amounts. The salesman asked what I was using it for, and I told him about the holster. He asked if I was policeman, and told me that although they deal with commercial size orders, he'd be happy to send me a couple different small rolls so I could choose the one that worked best. Price? "Nothing" he says. I couldn't believe it. I dropped one of our patches in the mail for him today.

OK, go ahead and ask me how I knew these things.

I picked up the holster today. The repair appears solid and well done. The elastic I supplied may be slightly wider than the original Safariland-spec stuff, but I think it is a good match. The stitching is pretty close to the factory style, and doesn't stick out as an obvious repair. Most importantly, the gun stays tight in the holster, but still draws smoothly. So far, so good.

Glad to hear you have worked it out. Sounds like a good solution.

I have this elastic in stock, for such repairs :-) This can be organised through my USA agent in PA. PM me if necessary.

Red, is this offer from 4 yrs. ago still good? I could use some of this elastic.
Thanks.

This is precisely why I stuck with Berns- Martin and later, the Bianchi 9R.
It is great that there are fixes available these days 'cause there are a lot of the Safariland holsters still out there.
BTW: Red Nichols can always depended upon to be helpful. Nick