Veg Tanned Versus Oil Tanned

[ksmith]

I am trying to come up with a line of holsters to sell to people here in Oregon. The key to this is simply that I live in Oregon and we get a lot of rain. For my day job I work in an industry that demands that I carry a firearm and because of the rain most people use these kydex holsters that are all fine and good but to me I really prefer the style of leather versus plastic. So with all the inventive spirit I can find I headed to Tandy and other providers trying to find the best choice for leather. There seems to be two schools of thought out there for leather. I have been told that veg tanned leather is the only choice that will not damage the finish of guns. I am wondering though if maybe I could use latigo, or oil tanned leather as well. I like the option of latigo simply because it resists the elements so well. I also like some of the oil treated leathers. The first holsters I made had a soft chrome tanned leather for a lining and it made retention extremely impressive and didn't have any chance of scratching the leather. It was then that someone told me about the chemical reaction possibility of metal and chrome tanned leather. Can someone tell me exactly what that reaction is? And can someone tell me weather oil tanned or latigo is safe for holsters? Any advice would be wonderful but if someone has pictures or some sort of way of verifying information it would be great. It's not that I don't believe members on here but like I said there seems to be two schools of thought and when I talk to my customers I'd like to know as much as possible as some of them will debate passionately about their side even if they don't have the knowledge to back it up. If I have the facts to back it up then I can enlighten them and build a long lasting customer relationship with them.

Thank you all for your help.

[Dwight]

ksmith, . . . why go to the bother of trying to re-invent the wheel?

Veg tanned leather has proven it's worth for decades as THE leather with which to create holsters that can be easily, realistically, and accurately molded to the specifics of most any hand gun.

Using modern acrylic finishes, . . . on a time proven base material, . . . will give a superior product.

I also had an email conversation with a well known national maker a couple years ago about the chrome tanned question. He told me he had wrapped a mild steel rod in a large piece of suede leather, . . . and stuck it in a safe. Months later he pulled out out to see what if any damage had occurred, . . . and if anything, . . . the suede leather kept the rod from being dinged by the other stuff that was taken in and out. Long and short: no damage, no rust, no problem.

Additionally, . . . Galco for one is a prominent maker that uses suede in many of their applications, . . . they don't have problem. And yes, . . . suede is very much a chrome tanned leather.

Personally, I would not use oil tanned leather for any holster that did not have a robust retention strap configuration on it. Remember the flap holsters the military used to hand out for their .45's, . . . many of them were oil tanned leather. You'ld get your pants literally greasy from using a new one.

Anyway, . . . just some old codger thoughts.

May God bless,

Dwight

[ksmith]

Thanks for the feedback Dwight,

reinventing the wheel is not quite what I was going for just maybe improving it a little bit for my area and possibly save some money and time as well. Most holsters I make will be out of veg tan leather without a doubt, however sometimes my local supplier has latigo at a really good price in comparison to straight up veg tan, and since I don't do much if any tooling it would save time in the finishing process if I didn't have to dye and finish the leather. I also really like the feel and fit of using a liner like deerskin, as not only does it seem to grip the gun but the softness of the deer skin really appeals to some of my customers but I have told them that until I had a definitive answer I wouldn't line any more holsters with it. The deer skin allows for a little error in fit and like I said it's very soft and supple to the touch making it feel all the more luxurious and appealing to the "gun nutt"

That said I really appreciate your input and will take what you have said into consideration.

Kevin

ksmith, . . . why go to the bother of trying to re-invent the wheel?

Veg tanned leather has proven it's worth for decades as THE leather with which to create holsters that can be easily, realistically, and accurately molded to the specifics of most any hand gun.

Using modern acrylic finishes, . . . on a time proven base material, . . . will give a superior product.

I also had an email conversation with a well known national maker a couple years ago about the chrome tanned question. He told me he had wrapped a mild steel rod in a large piece of suede leather, . . . and stuck it in a safe. Months later he pulled out out to see what if any damage had occurred, . . . and if anything, . . . the suede leather kept the rod from being dinged by the other stuff that was taken in and out. Long and short: no damage, no rust, no problem.

Additionally, . . . Galco for one is a prominent maker that uses suede in many of their applications, . . . they don't have problem. And yes, . . . suede is very much a chrome tanned leather.

Personally, I would not use oil tanned leather for any holster that did not have a robust retention strap configuration on it. Remember the flap holsters the military used to hand out for their .45's, . . . many of them were oil tanned leather. You'ld get your pants literally greasy from using a new one.

Anyway, . . . just some old codger thoughts.

May God bless,

Dwight