Rocket6R

Here it is all finished! Sorry about the poor pics. It's about the best I can do from my phone. Paul

Will do! I should be finished within a few hours and then will posts pics either tonight or tomorrow.

I applied a second coat of USMC black dye yesterday to try and cover the brown leather spot that was showing through. I put a second coat on the entire leather holster. I let the dye dry and buffed the holster. It worked out very well. The dye is back to being uniform and has 100% complete coverage. This afternoon I'll put on Fiebing's leather sheen and top it off with Kiwi neutral shoe polish.

I let the USMC black dye dry for about three hours. I then rubbed the holster with a wool rag. The result was awesome. The dye was even and uniform throughout. I then used a dauber and applied a light coat of neatsfoot oil on it. For whatever reason the dauber pulled up a small amount of the dye in an isolated area about the size of a quarter when I applied the neatsfoot. I can see brown leather now in that spot. I'll let the neatsfoot soak in and then try to re-apply the USMC black dye to that area. I hope it works. I only applied one coat of dye since the first coat was so good.

Thanks everyone with the responses. I just applied 70% alcohol to deglaze the holster and rubbed the alcohol in with a cotton rag. While the holster was still damp I applied a heavy coat of USMC black to the holster using daubers. I'll let it sit for a few hours and then try buffing it and then apply another coat of USMC black. I do agree that there's sort of a brown hue to it. Once I'm satisfied with the black finish I'll put a light coat of neatsfoot oil on it then let it sit overnight. I'll then apply 2-3 coats of air brushed Fiebing's Leather Sheen and the final coat will be Kiwi's neutral shoe polish. Actually before I spray the finish on I'll take care of the edges. I'll keep the thread updated with how the black coats turn out. I think my next holster I'll use the Pro Finish as suggested. Thanks again, Paul

Again, I'm using Fiebing's USMC black dye.

Guys and gals, I’m trying to get the best outcome I can on my holster and will use the USMC black dye. My question is do I dye before putting neatsfoot oil on the holster or do I put the neatsfoot oil on and then the dye? Thanks, Paul

I noticed that too, the shape of the blade. I would assume that my great grandfather bought this round knife second or third hand. The knife was made about the same time period he was born.

Bruce, thanks for taking the time and posting that information. I looked all over the net and couldn't find anything about the age of my round knife. However, I think I may have found an earlier post from you that indicates Osborne moved locations in 1906 and the Newark stamping was therefor no longer used. Thanks again, Paul

My aunt had a lot of leather tools that my great grandfather had. He passed away in 1977. He did most of his leather work in the 1940's and 1950's. Anyway, she found out I was involved with leather work and gave me all of his leather tools. Pictured here is an older Osborne round knife. Any idea when this particular round knife was made? Thanks, Paul

It's finished! I redyed the holster and then put my acrylic spray on it. The blotchy spots went away. I now have a solid uniform black color on the entire holster. Actually the holster turned out pretty nice. Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions.

Well, I just put neatsfoot oil on the holster and it turned out blotchy. Some of the brown leather is now showing through the black dye. I'm getting ready to throw this holster in the trash can. Maybe there was something right about what the Tandy guy said.

OK, I'll oil the the holster tonight and see how it turns out. I'm wondering if the wet molding and the drying shrank the leather. I did not try to put the pistol in the holster after it dried. I did dry the holster in a toaster oven for one hour at 135f.

I was able to get the pistol into the holster without wetting it. However, the holster has indeed shrunk from front to back. I now have more of the trigger exposed and the safety shield molding area no longer fits the safety. It looks like the holster shrunk front to back by about 1/4". I not sure there's a way to fix it. Another question, since this holster is dyed should I now apply neatsfoot oil before using my acrilic finishing spray, or the acrylic spray first then the neatsfoot? I spoke to a local rep at Tandy and he said to use the acrylic spray first then the neatsfoot because applying the neatsfoot after the dye could cause the dye to become uneven and blotchy. Any thoughts?

I made an IWB holster and just finish applying several coats of Fiebing's Leather Dye (black-alcohol based). Anyway, after letting it dry I rubbed the dried dye off in prep to put neatsfoot oil on it. Out of curiosity I put my pistol into the holster and it will not fit all the way down into the holster. It's just a 1/4" shy of fully getting into the molded holster. Do you guys think that adding the neatsfoot oil will take care of the problem? Thanks, Paul