ANOTHER HOLSTER RESCUED

[crazyphil]

I like to find holsters that appear to be near the end of their
life, and give them a new life. One advantage is this "hobby"
doesn't cost much. For example, the subject of this post only
cost $14.68 including shipping and taxes.

Shown below, the subject holster is a Viking size 60. Thanks
to the fit chart provided here by turnerriver, I knew my Model
10 with 2" barrel would fit. Generally, I only buy holsters if I
have a gun that will fit, but I have been known to buy a holster
and then have to go shopping for a gun.

First, I spray the holster with distilled water. Distillation
removes minerals and other impurities from the water. Then
a few drops of Dawn dishwasher soap on the holster. Dawn is
what they use to clean birds rescued from oil spills. It is strong
enough to do a good job of cleaning, and I figure if it's gentle
enough to not hurt the birds skin it's not going to hurt my cow
hide holster. I scrub with a kitchen sponge and work up a good
lather.

Then I wipe it off with a microfiber cloth. The microfiber is
quite absorbant and picks up the grime without scratching the
leather.

I clean and polish the snap caps with Brasso. They were
gold (color) when I started, but silver (color) when I finished.

Then I dry the holster real good with a hair dryer set on
low and warm. When good and dry I spray the holster with
Brillo Color Spray (For Leather). It needed two coats, but it
drys quickly.

After the "paint job" dried I touched up the edges with
black KIWI wax polish. Then I gave it a wipe of Fiebing's
Tan Kote.

Photos left to right:

The necessary rescue supplies.
The holster front view before the rescue.
The holster front view after the rescue.
The finished holster with my 2" model 10, Sparks gunbelt,
Puma Prince knife, and NRA cap.

 

[Wrangler Rich]

Phil, I actually looked at that one. Had I not had a holster for my 2" 64, you may have had competition on the bidding from me. Great restoration. You are an inspiration to all of us. Thanks for all your tips and pics.

WR

 

[crazyphil]

Phil, I actually looked at that one. Had I not had a holster for my 2" 64, you may have had competition on the bidding from me. Great restoration. You are an inspiration to all of us. Thanks for all your tips and pics.

WR

Thank you Rich. BTW it is alright to have more than one
holster for each of your guns.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Some years back I found a real treasure on Gunbroker that no one else bid on. It was a very rough lefty early Ojala that cost $16. I replaced the strap,hammer thong, and tie down since the originals were all crispy. I forgot now how I cleaned up the holster itself. I then made a gun belt using my other Ojala rig as a pattern, letting lay in the sun with Neatsfoot oil until it matched the holster. Then I beat it up and rubbed oil, dirt, and b-b-q grill gunk in parts of it. I also used a flawed piece of leather for the tongue billet to look older. There was a ton of hand stitching on that belt.

 

[crazyphil]

Very nice outcome for your effort. I doubt we will find a Ojalla for $16
these days, but I would like to.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Hey Phil-
Does your technique work on hard, dry holsters.
I have some, have seen others which are hard enough to crack walnuts!

 

[crazyphil]

Hey Phil-
Does your technique work on hard, dry holsters.
I have some, have seen others which are hard enough to crack walnuts!

If I had a real hard old holster I believe I would massage as
much Blackrock Leather 'N' Rich into it as possible, wipe it off,
and let it dry naturally. Then evaluate it again.

 

[ajgunner]

You didn't mention rinsing off after scrubbing up a lather of soap. Did you miss a step or do you only wipe off the lather?

 

[crazyphil]

You didn't mention rinsing off after scrubbing up a lather of soap. Did you miss a step or do you only wipe off the lather?

Just wiped it all off with the microfiber cloth.

 

[max503]

Is there anything to use in place of the Brillo Color Spray? I've got one holster that needs treatment and I don't want to buy a whole bottle of Brillo if I can use something else. Mine's a tan colored pancake holster that's seen better days.

 

[crazyphil]

I got a small can of spray on line. Just type in your search:
Brillo Color Spray For Leather and there will probably be options.

 

[Bob L]

Thanks Phil for the information and pictures. Great Job!