Horsehide Gone Bad

[George B]

Hey All,

I have been doing gun leather for less than a year so my experience is very limited.

A while back I ordered a couple of horse butts to see what all the hype was about, one for a holster, another for a carry belt.

Did myself up a nice Tom Threeperson holster with both a stitched and a laced welt edge, lined with horsehide.

Took it out of the finished basket and to my surprise found it had turned almost white with what looked like baby powder. Wiped it off and replaced it back in the basket.

Took it back out again this morning and it was even worse than a couple of days ago. The dual layer belt did the same thing and is hanging on the wall of my shop.

These are the only two items that have done it, all my other leather is just fine.

Is there something I'm not doing right? Maybe in the finish work? Or, am I just cursed when it comes to horsehide?

I would love to start offering this option to my customers but I don't want this to become an issue with their finished items.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks, George

[pete]

Hey All,

I have been doing gun leather for less than a year so my experience is very limited.

A while back I ordered a couple of horse butts to see what all the hype was about, one for a holster, another for a carry belt.

Did myself up a nice Tom Threeperson holster with both a stitched and a laced welt edge, lined with horsehide.

Took it out of the finished basket and to my surprise found it had turned almost white with what looked like baby powder. Wiped it off and replaced it back in the basket.

Took it back out again this morning and it was even worse than a couple of days ago. The dual layer belt did the same thing and is hanging on the wall of my shop.

These are the only two items that have done it, all my other leather is just fine.

Is there something I'm not doing right? Maybe in the finish work? Or, am I just cursed when it comes to horsehide?

I would love to start offering this option to my customers but I don't want this to become an issue with their finished items.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks, George

sounds like really fast growing mold. Try wiping it all down with diluted lemon juice. dry it off and maybe a coat of neatlac. Should seal it. And keep it away from the other leather in your shop. Mold jumps!

[bruce johnson]

If you have it stored in a cool place it may also be spew that is a waxy kind of feel that can seep out of the leather when cold. Some of the oils and waxes in the leather can solidify and sit on the surface. A quick and easy way to tell is to hit the piece with a little heat like a hair dryer. If it melts and soaks right in, it is spew and not a concern. If it sits there, probably mold.

[George B]

Thanks for the suggestions.

The holster is stored in the same container (open basket) with other completed leather items and no other leather item has the problem. The belt is in my house with my other belts an it too has the white on it.

I tried the lemon juice a while back and it did nothing. I even sprayed a light water bleach mixture on both of them and after they dried the white came back.

I will try to use a blow dryer on them when I get a chance to see if that is it.

If so, how can I avoid it in the future? I oil with both EVOO and neetsfoot.

[catskin]

I am sure no expert but if it was me I would contact the place you got the leather . They should know what is in it. Maybe even send them a scrap of it so they can see if it is the leather or something it came in contact with.

[malabar]

Actually I saw this with couple of holsters I made with horsehide from Springfield leather. I believe that the wax I used precipitated out of the leather and caused a kind of milky, waxy coating. It didn't happen with some of the holsters, and none of the unprocessed horsehide was affected.

tk

[beng]

Hi,

You may be looking at the normal white waxy stuff that HorseHide produces over time. It is normal for horsehide including high end loafers from Alden. Just buff it out and you can relax. I'll bet Alden shoes describes it on their website.

[George B]

Thank you to everyone, turns out is just spew from oiling. Talked with Jill at SLC and she confirmed it...good old spew. Unfortunately I was so disgusted with my SAA holster I pitched it. Yes, I know, stupid move.

Have another horse butt however and plan to make my new holster with it after I get caught up with an order for a couple of saddles.

Once again, thanks to everyone with their responses.

George