Just purchased an original old stock S&W holster for my model 18. The leather is soooo dry the pistol won’t slide down in the holster. Anyone have any magic products to recondition the leather? The leather is very thick. I put some mink oil on it but I think it’s gonna take a lot of applications and time for that to work since the leather is a full 3/16” thick.

I got some very stiff LaCross boots and softened them up with OBENAUF'S Heavy Duty LP (leather preservative). Beeswax/Propolis.

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"Don't Give Up the Ship"

I have had very good results with a product named "Blackrock".
Pecards also makes some good products.....

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NRA Endowment Member

Here’s the result of about 10 applications of Neetsfoot

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Read this before using BlackRock on your holster.

An Average Day at Black Rock

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

As always, Red’s take is exhaustive and highly detailed. I maintain a large collection of 20th Century gun leather and have found that my holsters look better after I apply Blackrock with my fingers and wipe it off after a minute or two and then brush with a good quality shoe brush. Red designed and manufactured high end working gun leather, I just collect. Not disagreeing with anything he wrote about Blackrock but it works for me on my old gun leather.

Regards,

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turnerriver

All I can say is that I have used Blackrock for many years on a great many holsters and saddles and actually also used it on a leather sofa - all with good results. I too tend to apply it with my fingers, but I usually leave it alone for several hours before buffing.

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Lee Erickson

I "discovered" Black rock on this forum, have been using it on my holsters and have been satisfied with the results. I will continue to use it.

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Kevin in Oregon

Stewdo, I had a similar problem to what you are having with the dry old
holster, too tight to get the gun in. Here's what I did:
Dipped the holster in warm water with a couple drops of Dawn dish soap.
The warm water will soften it up.
Wrap your gun in visqueen or something similar, and force the gun
into the holster.
Let it all dry overnight.
In the morning, pull the gun out and remove the visqueen.
Now is the time to apply the Black Rock Leather N' Rich with your fingers.
Massage it into every nook and cranny.
Wipe off the excess with a clean cotton cloth.
Now your gun should go in and out like the holster was made for it.
PS I would never use any kind of oil on leather.

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In Omnia Paratus

I recently was practically gifted 3 holsters. Two were Lawrence model 120. One was for a 7 1/2” Blackhawk and the other for a 6 1/2” Blackhawk. The third a Bianchi flap with the Ruger logo for a 7 1/2” Blackhawk. All 3 were very dusty and extremely dry. They were virtually new. After wiping them down with a wet cloth, I applied Black Rock with my fingers and let them dry over night. The next day I buffed them with an old shoe brush and they turned out beautifully.