Harden holster?

[p95loser]

Hello, as you all know I am new to this and appreciate all of the great information I've been given. I have one more question to bug you all with. After finishing my last holster (a pancake style), I feel it is a little flimsy and was wondering how people harden their holsters. I have already put shoe polish on the outside of it, but was wondering if boiling the whole thing in parafin wax could hurt anything. Would this harden the holster? Would it mess with the finish of the gun? Any help would be appreciated!

[TwinOaks]

It would harden it, but I think it'd probably not be in a shape you intended. The way I harden the leather, which is not 'armour grade', but stiff enough to resist shape change, is to speed dry it using a combination of convection oven and hair dryer. Also, a little wax wouldn't hurt things, but personally I prefer a lighty oiled holster to a heavily waxed one. Keep in mind the thickness will also play a large role in the stiffness of the leather. Thicker is stiffer, thinner is easier to mold, but not quite as sturdy.

[Jordan]

Perhaps someone remembers the French name for the process and the web location wikpedia maybe? for the water/heat process to harden leather. I cannot remember where I read it and lost the bookmark when my computer had a major brain fart. If the leather is thin then a reinforcing piece can be sewn to the mouth of the holster.

[Shorts]

I second Mike about the oven & hairdryer to stiffen up the holster. If you use them, be sure to have your holster shaped like you need it. I use them both and they yield good results.

[Duke]

a customer was telling me a while back that you can use wd-40 ad an over to bake your leather to the hardness of steel. from what he said, it could stop a small caliber bullet, but im not gonna try it.

[Shorts]

a customer was telling me a while back that you can use wd-40 ad an over to bake your leather to the hardness of steel. from what he said, it could stop a small caliber bullet, but im not gonna try it.

Hmm, thats interesting. I have a couple pieces here I just might sacrifice for the sake of research.

On the hardness note - here's what happened with my first holster. When I dyed it, I used a vinegar based stain. After molding and drying, I used brown Kiwi shoe polish as a easy finish. Weeks later, I decided to strip the wax. I soaked the holster in acetone, then rinsed (what I thought) was thoroughly. I remolded the holster back to fit and used a hairdryer to speed to drying process. As I used the dryer and the leather heated up it basically 'burned' and had a waxy/sappy release of oil?/water? that bubbled off. It turned the leather to what I would call a sunburnt finish. This happened on the entire holster as I dried it.

Now that the holster has sat, it is truly hard as plastic. Here it is. Those plates are 7.5lbs each, and x4, that's 30lbs. That holster just started to wince under 30lbs So, obviously there were some chemical reactions that fueled these results. Now you add heat which can work all kinds of wonders in various condition, and that is one of the things you get.

Now I'll say that I'm not about to treat all my holsters the way I treated this one. Nor am I about to make the chem-lab type procedure as part of my build process. Just showing the method and results for sake of interpretation and observation.

Edited May 31, 2008 by Shorts

[RonSC]

Hmm, thats interesting. I have a couple pieces here I just might sacrifice for the sake of research.

On the hardness note - here's what happened with my first holster. When I dyed it, I used a vinegar based stain. After molding and drying, I used brown Kiwi shoe polish as a easy finish. Weeks later, I decided to strip the wax. I soaked the holster in acetone, then rinsed (what I thought) was thoroughly. I remolded the holster back to fit and used a hairdryer to speed to drying process. As I used the dryer and the leather heated up it basically 'burned' and had a waxy/sappy release of oil?/water? that bubbled off. It turned the leather to what I would call a sunburnt finish. This happened on the entire holster as I dried it.

Now that the holster has sat, it is truly hard as plastic. Here it is. Those plates are 7.5lbs each, and x4, that's 30lbs. That holster just started to wince under 30lbs So, obviously there were some chemical reactions that fueled these results. Now you add heat which can work all kinds of wonders in various condition, and that is one of the things you get.

Now I'll say that I'm not about to treat all my holsters the way I treated this one. Nor am I about to make the chem-lab type procedure as part of my build process. Just showing the method and results for sake of interpretation and observation.

Just a "WAG" here but I suspect that the 'hardening' you achieved was the result of the combination of Vinegar based dye, Acetone and heat. Vinegar is among other things an astringent as is Acetone (just getting it on your hands will leach out most of the oil in the skin resulting in crazing/cracking) same thing happens to leather. This was further accelerated by heating and your results were probably not unlike the consistency of "beef jerky" or a modern form of 'mummification'. Much the same results could be achieved by taking a well-oiled baseball glove an storing it in an attic for several years.

Even though you achieved a high degree of "hardness" I'd wager that if you attempted to flex the holster it will develop cracks and eventually fail at the stitching due to the loss of natural emollients in the leather. Again I'm no chemist so others might want to Weigh-in here..

Ron

[Shorts]

Ron, I'd wager the same.

Before anyone intends to burn me at the stake, I wasn't trying to achieve a hardened holster this way. I merely ended up there after treated it the way I did. I do not suggest anyone use the process intentionally!

[ferret]

Perhaps someone remembers the French name for the process and the web location wikpedia maybe? for the water/heat process to harden leather. I cannot remember where I read it and lost the bookmark when my computer had a major brain fart. If the leather is thin then a reinforcing piece can be sewn to the mouth of the holster.

It's called cuir boulli and there's a good article here . I've used it as armour and thicker peices are as effective as steel for impact resistance.

[$$hobby]

Just a "WAG" here but I suspect that the 'hardening' you achieved was the result of the combination of Vinegar based dye, Acetone and heat. Vinegar is among other things an astringent as is Acetone (just getting it on your hands will leach out most of the oil in the skin resulting in crazing/cracking) same thing happens to leather. This was further accelerated by heating and your results were probably not unlike the consistency of "beef jerky" or a modern form of 'mummification'. Much the same results could be achieved by taking a well-oiled baseball glove an storing it in an attic for several years.

Even though you achieved a high degree of "hardness" I'd wager that if you attempted to flex the holster it will develop cracks and eventually fail at the stitching due to the loss of natural emollients in the leather. Again I'm no chemist so others might want to Weigh-in here..

Ron

+1

when i worked at my cuz clothing store, shoes was one item we sold. Alot of people had the habit of heating their wet shoes with heaters/ovens/hair dryers and such. the end result was a vary hard shoe. eventually they cracked and wanted their $$ back.

acetone most likely stripped any oils left in the leater. btw, that german? body exibit that had the skinned bodies, immersed the bodies in acetone to remove the fluids in the body.

didnt someone post recently that if you soak your leather in hot/warm water, it will harden? if so, it would be interesting to see if the leather cracked or would hold up to bending.

[Shorts]

Oh yeah, the leather easily cracked.