H.&D. Folsom Co. Audley Holster Date Help

shown50

shown50

Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2012
Messages
375
Reaction score
490
Location
E. Tennessee
I got this holster around 2014 with a refinished 1905 3rd change 6 inch 38 special off everyone’s favorite auction site. The gun is long gone and I thought I had lost the holster but I found it inside a random parts box. I’m trying to find out some more information on it I believe it’s post 1917 since it’s stamped Folsom Audley. I’ve tried looking up some of these online and can’t find any that look like mine. What’s the best leather protector/rejuvenator to put on it? Any help would be great.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1924.jpg
    IMG_1924.jpg
    47.8 KB · Views: 58
  • IMG_1925.jpg
    IMG_1925.jpg
    124.3 KB · Views: 53
  • IMG_1926.jpg
    IMG_1926.jpg
    40.8 KB · Views: 49
Register to hide this ad
Get a jar of Black Rock Leather N Rich. Rub it into your holster with your
fingers. Wipe off the excess with a clean cotton cloth. Let it dry overnight
and then give it a buffing with your shoe brush.

BTW I asked Mr. Google about your Folsom Audley holster.
I picture came up that looks very much like yours that was
used by Alaska State Troopers in the 1920s and 1930s.
Alaska was not a state then, still just a territory.
 
shown50 said:
I got this holster around 2014 with a refinished 1905 3rd change 6 inch 38 special off everyone’s favorite auction site. The gun is long gone and I thought I had lost the holster but I found it inside a random parts box. I’m trying to find out some more information on it I believe it’s post 1917 since it’s stamped Folsom Audley. I’ve tried looking up some of these online and can’t find any that look like mine. What’s the best leather protector/rejuvenator to put on it? Any help would be great.
Click to expand...

Easily explained, because your holster has been converted from a standard belt loop to a swivel; as indicated by the 'U' of sewing holes on its backside. It once looked like this one (attached).

Folsom took over for the Audley family after Frank Audley's death, in 1920; just in time for the holster to become compulsory purchase by NYPD officers in 1922 after a gun takeaway killing.

That particular mark is first shown in a 1932 advertisement; there were many marks for Audley, before and after Folsom Arms, and they all can be dated. By this time the original Audley patents were expiring and Folsom enlisted the skills of inventor Franz to create more patented designs to replace the old.
 

Attachments

  • 1914ish (8).jpg
    1914ish (8).jpg
    66.9 KB · Views: 34
Last edited:
Thanks for the replys I’ll try that Black Rock Leather N Rich. That makes sense why I haven’t found any with the brass fitting and loop.

*edit I think it’s a model A138 now that I know it wouldnt have had the swivel belt loop.
 
Last edited:
crazyphil said:
Get a jar of Black Rock Leather N Rich. Rub it into your holster with your
fingers. Wipe off the excess with a clean cotton cloth. Let it dry overnight
and then give it a buffing with your shoe brush.

BTW I asked Mr. Google about your Folsom Audley holster.
I picture came up that looks very much like yours that was
used by Alaska State Troopers in the 1920s and 1930s.
Alaska was not a state then, still just a territory.
Click to expand...

I don't share Phil's enthusiasm for Black Rock. It's half water followed by mineral oil and liquid antifreeze, with a little wax, too. It can do no harm to a leather that has been painted at the tannery, will substantially darken an aniline finished leather such as a carved/engraved Heiser. On my blog.

Looking up ethylene glycol, the antifreeze in question, on Wiki I see no uses listed there except as an antifreeze/antiboil. That leaves us wondering why it is in Black Rock and in such a large ratio vs. the rest of the liquids.

I can't see that it w/b beneficial to leather at all. One could use clear paste wax and get all the cleaning and waterproofing that Black Rock could contribute with its mixture. The only thing worse one could apply for a 'dressing' w/b to use saddle soap!
 
Last edited:
Onomea said:
Just a curiosity question, but how did you learn about antifreeze being an ingredient?
Click to expand...

Having an inquiring mind I went looking for the product's MSDS that is required of all such products:

https://www.springfieldleather.com/sds-sheets/Blackrock Conditioner/Blackrock.pdf

The product is nearly half water, and ethylene glycol is antifreeze as in your car's radiator.

At some point the link I've posted will fail, so here's a screen shot of the relevant page of the MSDS:
 

Attachments

  • blackrock leather .jpg
    blackrock leather .jpg
    22.5 KB · Views: 18
Last edited:
Thanks, Red. That's interesting.

In addition to antifreeze, Ethylene Glycol is used in pharmaceuticals to help with drug absorption. I figure that's its application with Black Rock, enabling the wax and mineral oil, etc., to be more readily absorbed.

Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Gels and Drug Delivery | SpringerLink

And let's not forget John Hiatt's immortal rock ballad Ethylene,

Ethylene my Ethelyne
My love for you is just obscene
My deer you dress
My fish you clean
But you are nowhere to be seen
My Ethylene...

(That stuff sure gets around!)
 
Last edited:
Papa Lee said:
RED, I would be interested to see your review of Skidmore's Leather Cream. It's another product I have used on saddles and other leather items.
Click to expand...

MSDS says it's beeswax and paraffin, should give a bit of a gloss and repel water; and do no harm :-). I've tested many leather treatments in a half century but no experience with this one that I can recall.

OP, sorry about the thread hijack :-(. We all do tend to tack left and right a bit when something else triggers a thought.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top