How do you take care of your holsters?

[JLStorm]

I was thinking tonight as I was putting some leather conditioner on a pair of my boots that I condition and protect everything I have that is leather, my shoes, my briefcases, my jackets, etc, but I have never done anything to take care of my leather holsters other than wipe them down with a damp cloth every now and then. What do you guys do to take care of your leather holsters?

 

[Hillsideblue]

If you want your holster to keep it's stiffness just keep doing what you are now.............If you use saddle soap or anything else on the holster it will soften the leather.......Good for boots, bad for holsters.............

You may need to be able to re-holster your weapon with one hand.........Not just at the range to qualify, but out in the street........

If you're in a situation where you need to get the weapon back in the holster quickly you don't want a soft holster, you want it to stay wide open and stiff...........

A good horsehide holster will soften up with one or two applications of saddle soap and make it useless to re-holster without using two hands........

The holster will last you a lifetime if you just clean it by wiping it down once in a while with a damp cloth........

John

 

[Dave Workman]

JL:
As someone who builds custom concealment holsters in my (ha!) "spare time," (I have a small company and a website; P.M. me for details) here are a couple of tips to help that holster last a lifetime:

a) if it gets wet..remove gun, stuff it with paper towels and let it air dry. Don't set it near heat, don't put it on a window ledge (where it will remain cool, and could develop mildew) but maybe on your dresser in the bedroom. Don't put it in the laundry room: too much damp heat.

b) To spruce up your holster, use your shoe brush and brush all the dust off. Then, you might just hand rub in a bit of neutral shoe wax. This will shine it up, and will help the leather reject perspiration and other moisture.

c) If you have a rough-out holster the only thing I've found that will not typically soften the leather but WILL boost its ability to reject perspiration and moisture that could damage the finish of your pistol is a light application of spray-on silicon-based waterproofing stuff. But emphasis on LIGHT application. Rub the inside of the rig with neutral shoe wax.

NEVER...NEVER...treat a holster with: liquid shoe polish, Neatsfoot oil, any lanolin-based compound. That stuff may be great for shoes, and particularly hunting or hiking boots, but it will destroy the rigidness of your holster.