Renovating and re-shaping a leather holster
Mar 21, 2021 14:42:54 GMT
Wild Bill, CaptDAR, and 3 more like this
Post by HeadHunter on Mar 21, 2021 14:42:54 GMT
I really do like well made leather gun holsters, everything from cowboy rig holsters to pancake holsters for autos to basket weave duty rig belts & holsters and as a result I’ve bought loads of bargain priced leather holsters over the last few years, some have needed reshaping or repairing but most have needed restoration in some form or other. What I’ve learnt over this time is that you can turn any good quality ‘beat up & tired’ leather holster into a stunning addition to your collection with just a small amount of time, a few good products and a little hard work. All the information listed can be equally applied to speedloader pouches and magazine pouches too, in fact any leather gun related items can be given a second life with this method.
The first thing to consider is the actual item, whether that be a holster, belt or pouch. It should really be from a well known maker like Price Western Leather, Bianchi, Safari Land, Galco, etc., this will undoubtedly save you a lot of trouble as these companies manufacture good quality items that will stand the test of time and once renovated will look almost as good as new.
There’s basically three distinctly different types of finish to leather holsters; tooled (which are stamped leather work like basket weave), shaped (formed and shaped to fit a specific gun) and plain. The three types of finishes require a slightly different technique to be employed for each and shaping a plain holster (or mag pouch) to fit a specific gun (or magazine) requires a bit more work but is surprisingly easy and well worth the time and effort involved.
Refurbishing a holster
If your holster is just looking a bit tired and you don’t wish to make any major adjustments to the shape of it then a simple clean and restore is all that is needed. This can be done by brushing any loose dirt and debris from the surface and then washing quickly under fresh cold water, don’t soak the holster in a bowl of warm water as this will loosen the overall form of a shaped holster and soften the tooled edges of patterned holster. Once cleaned then pat down with some kitchen roll and leave it to dry completely for at least 24hrs (or longer) before doing anything else, this allows any trapped water that has been drawn into the leather to evaporate off and needs to be done before sealing the leather with a re-colouring balm. If you miss the drying step off you stand the risk of trapping the water inside the leather and then the leather will rot from the inside out ! You can place the holster on a warm radiator, outside in the sun on a hot day or even put it in your oven when it’s set on the LOWEST setting, you just need to drive out any remaining water from the holster. Personally I just pop it on a radiator and leave it alone for a minimum of 24hrs, you can’t leave it for too long so don’t worry if you forget about it either. Once the holster is dry move on to step 8 in the sequence below.
Re-shaping a holster
For the purpose of this article I’ve purchased a PWL holster for my 6” Dan Wesson 715, I already own a perfectly good basket weave style duty belt holster but I wanted something for general day-to-day use that could be easily attached to my jean’s belt for regular back garden use. The holster cost £16 plus £3.99 postage from a vendor on ebay that I’ve used quite a lot in the past for holsters, mag pouches and speed loader pouches. When it comes to shaping a holster one of the main things to consider is the thickness of the leather, a thinner leather will give a far better, more contoured shape with quite a bit of detail, whereas with a thicker leather the best you can hope for is a generalised moulded shape of the gun. Here's a picture of what I started with......
As you can see from the seller's picture it has seen better days, it desperately needs a refurb and I want to shape the holster specifically for the DW715-6”, so first lets start off by Listing a few of the bits that you’ll need;
A bowl of clean warm water,
An old toothbrush or a soft bristled brush,
A ‘dot’ of washing up liquid,
Kitchen roll,
Leather re-colouring balm (more on this below),
Two small clean cotton rags (an old T-shirt is perfect),
A burnishing tool (more on this below),
A sheet or two of grease proof paper,
A small amount of cling film (optional),
Step 1
Take the brush and give the holster a really good brush down, try to get into every little ‘nook & cranny’ and remove any loose dirt and debris. Use this time to closely inspect the holster for any major problems like loose or missing stitching and any major surface damage to the leather, as these will require further attention later.
Step 2
Immerse the holster in the bowl of clean warm water, I’ve found that re-shaping the holster requires it to be left to soak for a good ten minutes. While it’s soaking run your fingers over the outer surface of the holster and at about halfway through soaking remove from the water and add a ‘dot’ of washing up liquid to the holster, use your fingers to lather it up and try to get it everywhere, use the old toothbrush to get into the stitching to give it a good clean. Drop the holster back into the water and rub vigorously all over it to remove the suds, you need to remove it all from the holster and then allow it to soak for the remainder of the 10 minute ‘soaking’ time. Once you’ve finished soaking the holster remove it from the water and run it under COLD water until you're convinced that it’s totally clean.
Step 3
Shake all excess water from the holster, the more you can get off the better. Once you’ve done that use the kitchen roll to pat dry and wick off any loose water. Now place the holster to one side for a minimum of 15-20 minutes to allow it to even out before attempting anything further, if you push the leather at this point there’s a good chance that you could tear or crack the leather. If you haven’t got the time to work on it at this point you can always pop it into a zip-lock bag and leave it overnight, it won’t do it any harm and if you’re planning a major re-shaping it’s a very good idea to leave it for at least a few hours in a sealed plastic bag before attempting anything.
Step 4
While the holster is softening up get the gun that you’re wanting to use with the holster, take a good few minutes to study the gun properly, have a look at the front sight and anything else that is standing proud of the gun like slide catches on autos, cylinder latches on revolvers, ejection ports, cylinder fluting, etc., you need to think about how the gun will slip in and out of the holster and whether you want a quick, loose draw or whether you want a full retention holster which will make it harder to remove the gun from the holster. Once you’ve finished studying the gun you can (optionally) wrap the gun in a thin layer or two of cling film. This is commonly done with real steel guns as it stops any corrosion but replica CO2 handguns are generally made from non iron metals so corrosion is not something that happens when exposed to water, I don’t bother with cling film as I feel that it might interfere with getting the best possible shape for the holster.
Step 5
Fit the gun into the holster, if there are catches present then snap them in place, see how the gun fits the holster, is it sitting right ? Is it sitting too high ? Is it sitting too low ? If it has snap catches on the holster there’s nothing worse than shaping a holster to find that the snaps won’t close or that the snap straps are too loose. Work out the best position for the snap straps to go across the gun for your desired gun retention. I personally like a slightly loose holster fit but with strong tight fitted snap strap retention, that way the gun is held firmly in place until you pop the snap and then the gun is free to be removed from the holster quickly.
Step 6
Shaping the holster - This is the most crucial but also the most rewarding part of the whole process, don’t be overly concerned about getting it exactly right straight away, it takes a bit of time and patience to get the finish right.
For this step you’ll need a burnishing tool, these are traditionally made from bone, antler or hard wood, you can buy these from most leather work suppliers or (like me) make one yourself out of an old piece of scrap hardwood. The picture below shows mine, it just needs to have a few small rounded areas of different sizes, some curves and a flat side. I’ve heard of people successfully using hard plastic tools to do the shaping process, so it’s just a matter of finding an appropriate shaped tool that you can use easily and gives the desired results.
(I never realised till I took this picture that it looks like a little 'Hippo', lol)
Use the tool to outline the position of the gun in the holster, use an even pressure as you run the tool around the holster, push the tool into the leather to get the general shape that you want, continually run it backwards and forwards along the outside of the gun, gradually adding more and more pressure to the tool to get the desired look that you want. This is where you lay down the very first general shape to the holster, don’t bother with all the fine detail points yet as you just need the general shape at this stage.
Remove the gun and make sure that the holster retains the general shape, if it doesn’t then place the gun back in the holster and use the burnishing tool again, apply more pressure until it holds the shape. Once it’s done, remove the gun and wipe it down with a square of kitchen roll as using the tool forces water out of the leather onto the gun.
Step 6
Place the holster to one side for half an hour or so, this gives the leather of the holster a chance to rest before the next stage of shaping. Some holsters can be worked in one go but not all, better to be safe than sorry so patience is the key here.
Once it’s rested, place the gun back into the holster and start again with the tool. This time go over the work you’ve already done and get it even deeper into the leather and start going over the finer details of the gun (inside the trigger guard, slide releases, ejection ports, cylinder fluting, under barrel lug). Really go to town at this stage, as this is the last stage of the shaping process. Keep going over the same areas until you’re happy with the look, remove the gun, wipe it down and keep checking. At this point you’ve just have to keep going until you’re happy with it, this stage is crucial to the look of the finished item and I always have a habit of ‘over doing’ it BUT the finish is worth it.
If you’ve made any mistakes at this stage DON’T PANIC as you can just soak the holster back in warm water and start all over again if needed.
Step 7
Remove the gun from the holster, wipe any moisture off it and place it back into the holster, give it one last going over making sure that you’ve covered everything, it’s too easy to get focused on one part of it and forget another (like the snap straps). Now place it somewhere where it can dry over the next 8-12hrs, a warm radiator or a sunny window sill are good places. Check it periodically, remove the gun, wipe away any moisture, refit the gun back into the holster and leave to dry. You can (if you wish) gently give it further tooling as it dries by rubbing the tool quickly over the whole surface of the holster and this often helps the finish of the leather, making it very glossy looking. This process is called ‘slicking’ in the leather trade and is traditionally done to the edges of all leather work and as the holster dries you should do this to the edges of the holster for that glassy look, you don’t need to press hard on the tool as it’s a friction action that really brings out the shine.
After 8-12hrs the gun can be removed from the holster and it should retain its shape if dried enough. Allow the holster to dry for at least another 12hrs possibly 24hrs to dry completely depending on where you have it drying (a warmer place is obviously quicker than a cooler one), keep checking on it until it has dried totally BEFORE moving onto the next step.
Step 8
Once your holster is completely dry it’s time to put the final finish to it. A recolouring balm specifically for leather will renew the colour and seal it against any further damage from general wear and tear. A good quality product is well worth the cost, after all the work you’ve done it would be a shame to cut corners at this stage. The product I use is from a company called ‘The Furniture Clinic’, available from ebay and only costs £5.95 inc. P&P for a 50ml tub which is enough for a multitude of holsters, belts & pouches.
Follow the instructions for the product that you are using but for the purpose of this article I will go through the way I do it with the TFC recolouring balm.
Take one of the clean cotton clothes and apply a very small amount of the balm to the surface of the holster, I generally start by hitting those parts that have totally lost their colour, scuffed or scratched first and then move onto applying a complete layer to the whole of the holster. I’ve found that less is more, use it sparingly and rub it into the leather in a circular motion, DON’T apply to any suede areas. Remember to do all the leather of the holster; the back, the front, the straps and the edges, once you’ve completely covered everywhere allow it to dry completely before taking the other clean cloth and buffing the holster. Once buffed check over the finish, if it needs another coat or just a touch up to certain rough areas then just re-apply the balm, allow to dry and then buff.
You should now have an even coat that completely covers the holster and is starting to shine up. Take your burnishing tool and run it fast but lightly around all the edges to bring it up to a glass like finish, you can do the same to the surface of the holster if you so wish as this will make the ‘shine’ even brighter and deeper. When you’ve finished with the tool then get the buffing rag and really go to town polishing the leather, fast and furious is the key here, friction is your friend and will bring it up to its final glossy state.
Step 9
Normally once the holster has dried and been polished you may find that it is a little tight for the gun, acting like a full retention holster. If that’s what you were aiming for then that’s great but if like me you would rather have a looser fit then here’s a handy trick that CaptDAR suggested to me and works a treat. Take a sheet or two of grease proof paper and carefully wrap the gun, make sure you only wrap the parts of the gun that actually sit in the holster as you don’t want to obstruct the holster straps. Once wrapped, force the gun into the holster, work it around a bit, wriggle & twist it in it’s fully fitted position, apply the holster snaps and then leave overnight/24hrs for it to stretch the holster enough for a looser fit. Remove the gun, remove the paper and check it’s fit back into the holster, if needed then repeat this step to get the desired fit. I’ve found that it works perfectly for me on the very first attempt.
Step 10
This final step is completely optional, if you want to ‘lock-in’ all your work then seriously consider buying a leather protector spray. The one I’ve used before is made by a company called ‘Sheraton’, traditionally used on expensive leather car interiors (Rolls Royce, Mercedes, etc.) but is perfectly suited to being used on a holster and has a lovely smell too. Definitely worth the money but not completely necessary but if like me you’ve got a ‘few’ leather holsters it’s well worth it to keep your holsters in a tip top, easy to clean condition.
Things not to do……
Don’t use shoe polish, it’s full of chemicals, smells foul and will ultimately crack. The only way to remove it is to use acetone and that can be too harsh on certain leathers.
Don’t use hand soap to clean the holster, most contain moisturising agents that will be drawn into the leather and will stop the re-colouring balm from working properly and will give patchy results.
Don’t be afraid to start over, if the shaping process goes wrong then just soak the holster in warm water and start all over again, there’s a definite learning curve to this but it’s easily mastered with a bit of practise.
Don’t start step 8 until the holster is completely dry, if you lock water into the leather it might feel soft and supple but the leather will rot from the inside and start to come apart in a very short time.
Here's a few of my previous attempts to show you what's possible....
Colt 1911 Bianchi holster c/w single PWL magazine pouch.
Beretta pancake holster c/w a double mag pouch.
Both of the above holsters and pouches are of a thinner leather than the revolver holster, that allowed for a much more contoured and detailed finish, plus I really 'went to town' with the slicking action on them hence why they have such a deeply shined finish to them. The slicking action does add a bit of time to the job but is a perfect finish for certain types of holsters.
The first thing to consider is the actual item, whether that be a holster, belt or pouch. It should really be from a well known maker like Price Western Leather, Bianchi, Safari Land, Galco, etc., this will undoubtedly save you a lot of trouble as these companies manufacture good quality items that will stand the test of time and once renovated will look almost as good as new.
There’s basically three distinctly different types of finish to leather holsters; tooled (which are stamped leather work like basket weave), shaped (formed and shaped to fit a specific gun) and plain. The three types of finishes require a slightly different technique to be employed for each and shaping a plain holster (or mag pouch) to fit a specific gun (or magazine) requires a bit more work but is surprisingly easy and well worth the time and effort involved.
Refurbishing a holster
If your holster is just looking a bit tired and you don’t wish to make any major adjustments to the shape of it then a simple clean and restore is all that is needed. This can be done by brushing any loose dirt and debris from the surface and then washing quickly under fresh cold water, don’t soak the holster in a bowl of warm water as this will loosen the overall form of a shaped holster and soften the tooled edges of patterned holster. Once cleaned then pat down with some kitchen roll and leave it to dry completely for at least 24hrs (or longer) before doing anything else, this allows any trapped water that has been drawn into the leather to evaporate off and needs to be done before sealing the leather with a re-colouring balm. If you miss the drying step off you stand the risk of trapping the water inside the leather and then the leather will rot from the inside out ! You can place the holster on a warm radiator, outside in the sun on a hot day or even put it in your oven when it’s set on the LOWEST setting, you just need to drive out any remaining water from the holster. Personally I just pop it on a radiator and leave it alone for a minimum of 24hrs, you can’t leave it for too long so don’t worry if you forget about it either. Once the holster is dry move on to step 8 in the sequence below.
Re-shaping a holster
For the purpose of this article I’ve purchased a PWL holster for my 6” Dan Wesson 715, I already own a perfectly good basket weave style duty belt holster but I wanted something for general day-to-day use that could be easily attached to my jean’s belt for regular back garden use. The holster cost £16 plus £3.99 postage from a vendor on ebay that I’ve used quite a lot in the past for holsters, mag pouches and speed loader pouches. When it comes to shaping a holster one of the main things to consider is the thickness of the leather, a thinner leather will give a far better, more contoured shape with quite a bit of detail, whereas with a thicker leather the best you can hope for is a generalised moulded shape of the gun. Here's a picture of what I started with......
As you can see from the seller's picture it has seen better days, it desperately needs a refurb and I want to shape the holster specifically for the DW715-6”, so first lets start off by Listing a few of the bits that you’ll need;
A bowl of clean warm water,
An old toothbrush or a soft bristled brush,
A ‘dot’ of washing up liquid,
Kitchen roll,
Leather re-colouring balm (more on this below),
Two small clean cotton rags (an old T-shirt is perfect),
A burnishing tool (more on this below),
A sheet or two of grease proof paper,
A small amount of cling film (optional),
Step 1
Take the brush and give the holster a really good brush down, try to get into every little ‘nook & cranny’ and remove any loose dirt and debris. Use this time to closely inspect the holster for any major problems like loose or missing stitching and any major surface damage to the leather, as these will require further attention later.
Step 2
Immerse the holster in the bowl of clean warm water, I’ve found that re-shaping the holster requires it to be left to soak for a good ten minutes. While it’s soaking run your fingers over the outer surface of the holster and at about halfway through soaking remove from the water and add a ‘dot’ of washing up liquid to the holster, use your fingers to lather it up and try to get it everywhere, use the old toothbrush to get into the stitching to give it a good clean. Drop the holster back into the water and rub vigorously all over it to remove the suds, you need to remove it all from the holster and then allow it to soak for the remainder of the 10 minute ‘soaking’ time. Once you’ve finished soaking the holster remove it from the water and run it under COLD water until you're convinced that it’s totally clean.
Step 3
Shake all excess water from the holster, the more you can get off the better. Once you’ve done that use the kitchen roll to pat dry and wick off any loose water. Now place the holster to one side for a minimum of 15-20 minutes to allow it to even out before attempting anything further, if you push the leather at this point there’s a good chance that you could tear or crack the leather. If you haven’t got the time to work on it at this point you can always pop it into a zip-lock bag and leave it overnight, it won’t do it any harm and if you’re planning a major re-shaping it’s a very good idea to leave it for at least a few hours in a sealed plastic bag before attempting anything.
Step 4
While the holster is softening up get the gun that you’re wanting to use with the holster, take a good few minutes to study the gun properly, have a look at the front sight and anything else that is standing proud of the gun like slide catches on autos, cylinder latches on revolvers, ejection ports, cylinder fluting, etc., you need to think about how the gun will slip in and out of the holster and whether you want a quick, loose draw or whether you want a full retention holster which will make it harder to remove the gun from the holster. Once you’ve finished studying the gun you can (optionally) wrap the gun in a thin layer or two of cling film. This is commonly done with real steel guns as it stops any corrosion but replica CO2 handguns are generally made from non iron metals so corrosion is not something that happens when exposed to water, I don’t bother with cling film as I feel that it might interfere with getting the best possible shape for the holster.
Step 5
Fit the gun into the holster, if there are catches present then snap them in place, see how the gun fits the holster, is it sitting right ? Is it sitting too high ? Is it sitting too low ? If it has snap catches on the holster there’s nothing worse than shaping a holster to find that the snaps won’t close or that the snap straps are too loose. Work out the best position for the snap straps to go across the gun for your desired gun retention. I personally like a slightly loose holster fit but with strong tight fitted snap strap retention, that way the gun is held firmly in place until you pop the snap and then the gun is free to be removed from the holster quickly.
Step 6
Shaping the holster - This is the most crucial but also the most rewarding part of the whole process, don’t be overly concerned about getting it exactly right straight away, it takes a bit of time and patience to get the finish right.
For this step you’ll need a burnishing tool, these are traditionally made from bone, antler or hard wood, you can buy these from most leather work suppliers or (like me) make one yourself out of an old piece of scrap hardwood. The picture below shows mine, it just needs to have a few small rounded areas of different sizes, some curves and a flat side. I’ve heard of people successfully using hard plastic tools to do the shaping process, so it’s just a matter of finding an appropriate shaped tool that you can use easily and gives the desired results.
(I never realised till I took this picture that it looks like a little 'Hippo', lol)
Use the tool to outline the position of the gun in the holster, use an even pressure as you run the tool around the holster, push the tool into the leather to get the general shape that you want, continually run it backwards and forwards along the outside of the gun, gradually adding more and more pressure to the tool to get the desired look that you want. This is where you lay down the very first general shape to the holster, don’t bother with all the fine detail points yet as you just need the general shape at this stage.
Remove the gun and make sure that the holster retains the general shape, if it doesn’t then place the gun back in the holster and use the burnishing tool again, apply more pressure until it holds the shape. Once it’s done, remove the gun and wipe it down with a square of kitchen roll as using the tool forces water out of the leather onto the gun.
Step 6
Place the holster to one side for half an hour or so, this gives the leather of the holster a chance to rest before the next stage of shaping. Some holsters can be worked in one go but not all, better to be safe than sorry so patience is the key here.
Once it’s rested, place the gun back into the holster and start again with the tool. This time go over the work you’ve already done and get it even deeper into the leather and start going over the finer details of the gun (inside the trigger guard, slide releases, ejection ports, cylinder fluting, under barrel lug). Really go to town at this stage, as this is the last stage of the shaping process. Keep going over the same areas until you’re happy with the look, remove the gun, wipe it down and keep checking. At this point you’ve just have to keep going until you’re happy with it, this stage is crucial to the look of the finished item and I always have a habit of ‘over doing’ it BUT the finish is worth it.
If you’ve made any mistakes at this stage DON’T PANIC as you can just soak the holster back in warm water and start all over again if needed.
Step 7
Remove the gun from the holster, wipe any moisture off it and place it back into the holster, give it one last going over making sure that you’ve covered everything, it’s too easy to get focused on one part of it and forget another (like the snap straps). Now place it somewhere where it can dry over the next 8-12hrs, a warm radiator or a sunny window sill are good places. Check it periodically, remove the gun, wipe away any moisture, refit the gun back into the holster and leave to dry. You can (if you wish) gently give it further tooling as it dries by rubbing the tool quickly over the whole surface of the holster and this often helps the finish of the leather, making it very glossy looking. This process is called ‘slicking’ in the leather trade and is traditionally done to the edges of all leather work and as the holster dries you should do this to the edges of the holster for that glassy look, you don’t need to press hard on the tool as it’s a friction action that really brings out the shine.
After 8-12hrs the gun can be removed from the holster and it should retain its shape if dried enough. Allow the holster to dry for at least another 12hrs possibly 24hrs to dry completely depending on where you have it drying (a warmer place is obviously quicker than a cooler one), keep checking on it until it has dried totally BEFORE moving onto the next step.
Step 8
Once your holster is completely dry it’s time to put the final finish to it. A recolouring balm specifically for leather will renew the colour and seal it against any further damage from general wear and tear. A good quality product is well worth the cost, after all the work you’ve done it would be a shame to cut corners at this stage. The product I use is from a company called ‘The Furniture Clinic’, available from ebay and only costs £5.95 inc. P&P for a 50ml tub which is enough for a multitude of holsters, belts & pouches.
Follow the instructions for the product that you are using but for the purpose of this article I will go through the way I do it with the TFC recolouring balm.
Take one of the clean cotton clothes and apply a very small amount of the balm to the surface of the holster, I generally start by hitting those parts that have totally lost their colour, scuffed or scratched first and then move onto applying a complete layer to the whole of the holster. I’ve found that less is more, use it sparingly and rub it into the leather in a circular motion, DON’T apply to any suede areas. Remember to do all the leather of the holster; the back, the front, the straps and the edges, once you’ve completely covered everywhere allow it to dry completely before taking the other clean cloth and buffing the holster. Once buffed check over the finish, if it needs another coat or just a touch up to certain rough areas then just re-apply the balm, allow to dry and then buff.
You should now have an even coat that completely covers the holster and is starting to shine up. Take your burnishing tool and run it fast but lightly around all the edges to bring it up to a glass like finish, you can do the same to the surface of the holster if you so wish as this will make the ‘shine’ even brighter and deeper. When you’ve finished with the tool then get the buffing rag and really go to town polishing the leather, fast and furious is the key here, friction is your friend and will bring it up to its final glossy state.
Step 9
Normally once the holster has dried and been polished you may find that it is a little tight for the gun, acting like a full retention holster. If that’s what you were aiming for then that’s great but if like me you would rather have a looser fit then here’s a handy trick that CaptDAR suggested to me and works a treat. Take a sheet or two of grease proof paper and carefully wrap the gun, make sure you only wrap the parts of the gun that actually sit in the holster as you don’t want to obstruct the holster straps. Once wrapped, force the gun into the holster, work it around a bit, wriggle & twist it in it’s fully fitted position, apply the holster snaps and then leave overnight/24hrs for it to stretch the holster enough for a looser fit. Remove the gun, remove the paper and check it’s fit back into the holster, if needed then repeat this step to get the desired fit. I’ve found that it works perfectly for me on the very first attempt.
Step 10
This final step is completely optional, if you want to ‘lock-in’ all your work then seriously consider buying a leather protector spray. The one I’ve used before is made by a company called ‘Sheraton’, traditionally used on expensive leather car interiors (Rolls Royce, Mercedes, etc.) but is perfectly suited to being used on a holster and has a lovely smell too. Definitely worth the money but not completely necessary but if like me you’ve got a ‘few’ leather holsters it’s well worth it to keep your holsters in a tip top, easy to clean condition.
Things not to do……
Don’t use shoe polish, it’s full of chemicals, smells foul and will ultimately crack. The only way to remove it is to use acetone and that can be too harsh on certain leathers.
Don’t use hand soap to clean the holster, most contain moisturising agents that will be drawn into the leather and will stop the re-colouring balm from working properly and will give patchy results.
Don’t be afraid to start over, if the shaping process goes wrong then just soak the holster in warm water and start all over again, there’s a definite learning curve to this but it’s easily mastered with a bit of practise.
Don’t start step 8 until the holster is completely dry, if you lock water into the leather it might feel soft and supple but the leather will rot from the inside and start to come apart in a very short time.
Here's a few of my previous attempts to show you what's possible....
Colt 1911 Bianchi holster c/w single PWL magazine pouch.
Beretta pancake holster c/w a double mag pouch.
Both of the above holsters and pouches are of a thinner leather than the revolver holster, that allowed for a much more contoured and detailed finish, plus I really 'went to town' with the slicking action on them hence why they have such a deeply shined finish to them. The slicking action does add a bit of time to the job but is a perfect finish for certain types of holsters.
