holster for a glock model #23

[Regg]

I have made a couple of holsters, all unlined. I have a person who wants me to make her a holster for a glock model #23 which has a blued finish. she has given me some deer skin and wants the hoslter lined with the deer skin. My question is will deer skin harm the guns finish or is it okl to use as a holster linning. thanks for your time and help in this matter.

Regg

[$$hobby]

you can use it for a lining, but i would check how well the gun slides on the deer skin.

my first lined holster was for a Colt ACE and it head a tendency to grab the lining. one would think that the smooth deer skin would just slide on the gun, but it didnt.

BTW, the Glocks arent blued, unless it was redone with the blue. Most OEMs GLocks are done with what i would call a "parkerizing", i forgot what they call it. also, since the lower frame of the glock is plastic, that may slide better over the deer skin, but in any case, i would try and see how well the gun sldes on the deer skin.

[Go2Tex]

Sounds like a waste of good deer skin to me. There are far better applications for that stuff.

Just to kick the subject around a bit and think out loud here......... Holster lining, in my humble opinion, should be top grain, with few exceptions. Suede, or anything rough, is going to collect dust and lint and moisture whcih is bad for metal. If the person is concerned about wearing off the blueing of a gun they plan on carrying all the time, as in a duty weapon or concealed carry for personal protection, it's just going to happen even more. Eh, gee, that's why they came up with stainless and chrome, ain't it?

Deer skin, if tanned the way I've normally seen it, as with gloves and buckskin clothes, is soft and a bit spongy. It would probably conform well to the gun and cushion it but it wouldn't wear as well as a veg tan. So, if the sights caught on it, there goes your nice lining.

Now, if a person is just thinking the deer skin looks nice or is soft like a glove, well, sure, I guess so. I'd charge appropriately for the lining and give 'em what they want. Lining is a pain anyhow.

[Johanna]

Holster lining, in my humble opinion, should be top grain, with few exceptions. Suede, or anything rough, is going to collect dust and lint and moisture whcih is bad for metal.

That's what I was always taught.

If I were going to line a holster, I wouldn't use deerskin or suede either, for all the reasons given above. That said, I;'ve been known to do a few jobs "just like the customer wanted it" because I knew the check would clear. (Only exception being something that could get them killed, like slipshod saddle repair, etc)

Johanna

[Billsotx]

I think you just used the term blue and didn't mean it literally, but we got the picture. Under the parkerization is Glock's tennifer finish - 69 Rockwell - it's hard, I think that's what $hobby was referring to. Parkerization has been around a long time and it will rub off the Glock but the tennifer will not rub off. Tennifer doesn't blue well but there's lots of new stuff and it could be blued. With each passing day I learn that I know less. Regardless, you will be hard pressed to damage the finish on that Glock pistol if it's factory. It may pick weird marks and stains especially where softer metals rub on it, not to mention other materials. One way to clean that rough textured surface if you should mar it or stain it while you're working on it is with a pencil eraser. That works well on cleaning parkerized finishes. That said, one should not store guns in leather holsters or cases in my experience. I'll go with Jo on satisfying the customer, she's paying the freight make what she wants as long as you're not negligent with design, etc. If the pistol sticks to the liner, spray it, the liner, the whole holster, heavily with silicone spray, then shove the pistol in it and work it to shape it, then let it set for 24 hrs. Remove the gun let it set another 24 hrs. and it should be good to go. You've just broke it in for her and added a thousand draws to that end. You should test the silicone on a scrap, but you know that. I've not seen the spray damage or discolor leather on any kind. I've sprayed a thousand + holsters with silicone to stop whining about holster break-in and sore shoulders and arms during our transition from the revolver to the pistol. I think John Bianchi turned me on to this procedure, or maybe it was Neil Perkins - one or the other, it's not my invention or idea. I've done all my duty gear and plenty of others like this for quite awhile - since the 70s - both chrome and vegetable tanned, don't matter. I make my belt loops on my gear as tight as Dick's hat band because I want the gear to stay put on the belt; when a customer complains, "Too tight!" I suggest they get a can of silicone spray and the ones that call back say, "That stuff's magic!" ... Bruce Johnson shed some light on this awhile back but no one seemed interested ... I guess it was a can of silicone spray in his rearview mirror. We he speaks I listen. If you're molding and details your holsters do that SOP and after it dries and you've got it finished, spray it well and shove the pistol in and let set 24 hrs., etc. Cops (ol' cops ... lol) have used silicone to slick up holsters for a long time. Jordan, Askins, Skelton, Cooper, Williams and other gun writers all mentioned it for slicking up holsters at one time or another.

[Regg]

Thanks for all the great information, I was able to talk her out of using the deer skin to line the holster and going with an unlined holster, the possibility of the leather '"grabbing" the gun was very upsetting to her since it is for her husband who is an undercover cop. When i finish the holster i will post some pictures.

Regg