El Muerto Negro Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Hi Pards What could you do to repair this longhunter holster? The top is split. http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb429/ebrahl/IMAG0217.jpg Thanks El Muerto Negro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presidio Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I ain't a leather crafter by trade...but here's two cents worth. I'd take a 1 inch wide x what-ever length needed of a thin piece of leather and glue/stitch it around the edge. Then I'd smooth out the them thar' pistola cylinder edges a mite. If'n ya' wants ta' fancy up the "seen" part.....imagination would be a handy tool at times! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Buckshot, SASS #2901 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I would take a strip of thin leather like calf or pigskin and wrap it around and over the top from inside to outside and stitch it in place. Doing it this way would give the appearance of the liner wraped up and over the top. Just my opinion after thirty years of doing leather work. Going back and looking I guess that's what Presidio was sayin' to! Ned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seldom Seen #16162 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I'd send it back to Longhunter's and ask them to repair it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six-Shot Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I'd send it back to Longhunter's and ask them to repair it. I never did see the purpose of "lining" holsters with another thin flimsy piece of leather. If the holster is made with quality leather in the first place the "lining" is unnecessary and unneeded. I'd cut the stitching and pull the "lining" out. Lesson learned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-BAR #18287 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 How about putting a grinding wheel on your Dremel and just polishing down the frayed area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 How about putting a grinding wheel on your Dremel and just polishing down the frayed area? IF it is lined, then I'd do as Presidio & Ned said, if it ain't then J-Bar's suggestion is the "right" one. Depending on it's age, I don't know that the maker has any more responsibility. But... the smartazz in me also recommends you quit shovin' yer Ruger into yer Colt-sized holster! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowhand Bob, 24229 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 The root problem is not the leather damage, that is likely symptom, looks most like you got a gun with some serious edges on the front of the cylinders? There are other possibilities but that is where I would look first. My old eyes are not what they used to be but it looks like the actual laminated edge is still intact and the cutting is taking place just below there at about the seam line?? I also see the thread exposed and pulled at the top of the fold. My suggestion as to the fix, call Kirkpatrick, have him look at the above photo and make a suggestion. If he can make a repair, it will be far batter than your trying to do it yourself, with long distance advice! His Longhunter holsters are very well known and are probably one of the most used holsters in SASS. If memory serves me right Red River Ray uses the Longhunters and his old pair had probably seen more use than most ever will and he was still happy with them. Shux, I even offered him a free rig as trade and he wouldn't part with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Muerto Negro Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 Hi I shoot Colts the holster was made for me in the appropriate size. I purchased them about 1 year ago and had a rivet pop the first time I put it on I fixed after kirkpatric told me it would be about 8 weeks. The split started soon after.A New holster is not in the budget at this time, I will call kirkpatric and see how that goes but so far from being giving the wrong lead time to the rivet I'm not feeling like it will be any luck. Will let you guys know how that goes. thanks everyone. El Muerto Negro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 My suggestion as to the fix, call Kirkpatrick, have him look at the above photo and make a suggestion. If he can make a repair, it will be far batter than your trying to do it yourself, with long distance advice! His Longhunter holsters are very well known and are probably one of the most used holsters in SASS. +1. Kirkpatrick was willing (summer of 2010) to replace a set of LongHunter rig holsters of ours that came apart after a year's worth of hard use, just like this situation. Great service. Course, we went through Long Hunter, who we got them from, and he dealt with the maker. May have made a difference in the attention we got. Good luck, GJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Muerto Negro Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 Called kirkpatric was told to send photos. Also told that not much they can do after 10 days. I will send them photos but as I said before my experience has not been good so far. Thanks again El Muerto Negro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korupt Karl Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I hear on the wire all the time how good this mfg is....they need to step up. All mfg's have their problems. The key is how they handle em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Hombre #23212 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Well Doggon it, I’d squirt me some Elmer’s carpenter glue on them fibers and dampen my thumb and push and work it down till their all one again. Let her dry!! I’d wet the top down with some warm water and stuff me a tennis ball ta midway (the widest part), squeeze it a little just below that ball, ta flair the top out. Let her dry…than bees wax her…rub her till she’s hot!! I’d park that t-ball there ta keep her round…sos ya can quite trying ta stuff a round peg in a oblong hole!!! That’s what I’d do if she were mine!! BH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Stevens SASS#55996 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Mike Kirkpatrick will take care of this for you. No holster maker has donated more rigs than KIrkpatrick, very supportive of SASS and it's events. But he can't do anything about it if he doesn't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN Mongo, SASS #61450 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Ned and Slowhand are two very good leather guys and have given you good advise. I'm also a leather maker and would probably do exactly what they suggested, if you can't get any help from Kirkpatrick. One other thing that came to mind when I looked at the picture; I haven't worked with rawhide yet, but I have seen holsters where the leading edge is covered in rawhide. The rawhide on these edges is rock-hard and I think might make any repair last much longer. Maybe another leather guy, who works with rawhide, can chime in here on the proper way to retro-fit this holster with a rawhide edge. Do you have any good leather workers at any of the clubs you shoot at? I had a problem with my USFAs, the leading edge of the ejection spring housing was ripping up the linings of my holsters. The fix on that was to "de-horn" that edge and re-blue it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Brass Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 If you finally end up fixing this yourself........head to Tandy Leather. The sell a product called edgecoat, it's a black plastic coating used to finish edges. You should be able to trim back the frayed material with an exacto knife. Then wet them and smooth it down with your fingers. Once you have it looking good wet, let it dry and coat it with edge coat, overlapping the other finished black edge on the outer part of the holster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Howdy, Pards, That lining appears to be suede. IMHO, after 36 years of making holsters and belts professionally, I would never use suede as a liner. The best lining material is 2-3 oz or even 3-4 oz topgrain, vegetable-tanned cowhide, smooth side to the gun, and stitched around the top of the holster body. But that's not the question here. The first suggestion would be to return the holster to the maker, and see what he will do. I doubt you can remove the lining and replace it with another;the lining is probably glued in, and pulling it out will leave a lot of pieces attached to the outer layer. Probably not necessary anyway if you trim it down past the fraying, and stitch the remaining lining to the outside piece. It won't be neat, and it won't look the greatest, but it will probably work. Hope this helps a bit. Godspeed to those still in harm's way in the defense of Freedom everywhere! God Bless America! Your Pard, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamond S Doug Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 The Longhunter web site calls the lining Krydex, whatever that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Umm, no, the Kydex is the reinforcing plastic sheet between the liner and the holster's outer layer. Usually black. The liner is a light weight leather - that is why the OP's picture shows it fraying - natural fibers in the thin lining coming apart. The Kydex sheet holds the shape of the holster. It's pretty tough and won't cut with the front edge of a cylinder working against it. And no, the standard lining in the Long Hunter holster is NOT suede. It's smooth leather. Draw is pretty slow from suede lined rigs. Good luck, GJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Dog, SASS #20401 Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 I'd send it back to Longhunter's and ask them to repair it. Long Hunter is a wizard at fixin' rifleguns and 6shooters but he don't work on holsters. I'm bettin' that the Kirkpatrick Kid will maybeso replace that holster, probably not worth the time to try to fix. But that holster looks to have been abused by jammin' a sharp cylinder in too hard too often. What does the other holster look like? I have a Kirkpatrick ER rig I use hard and have for oh about 10 years now I reckon and neither holster looks like that. Same 3 layer construction with the Kydex in the middle. Like Doots sez, no one has done more for the sport than the Kirkpatricks and Mike is a pard to ride the river with. That Edgecoat fix sounds good too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowhand Bob, 24229 Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 My personal opinion is that he will not try to fix this one. I also do not consider the damage (as appears in the photo) a fault of the maker or the materials (an educated guess from afar) but, as a gesture of good will, he might make a price adjustment or replace this holster, specially since it has become so public and his customers are actually raising high expectations for him. There is a flip side to this idea though, if people are really as proud of Kirkpatrick as they say, how long could we expect him to survive if he was urged to replace every holster that either simply wore out or became damaged due to conditions beyond the makers control? The doors can not stay open for very long if every sale becomes a two fer and do we want him to go away and/or have to double prices? Very few fokes realize the cost involved in a holster that is made by a small shop in America and made from quality leather that is produced in America or Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Black Smith Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 New member here and this is my first post. I'm a long time sheath maker and have made my own leather goods for CAS. One holster I lined with a pig skin liner seperated like yours because the contact cement didn't stick to the pig skin - a different cause than what has caused your problem. I fixed mine with a liberal application of super glue. Put in just enough to wet the seperation and press to firm and smooth with a popsicle stick (not your fingers). If it looks ugly, edge coat from Tandy (or any other black shoe sole edging) will help hide the repair. The comments by others about the front edge of your revolver cylinder doing the damage is most likely correct. The problem will probably occur again if not corrected. Edited - after I posted this, I noticed that the forum used my avaitar instead of my picture. Since my avitar is my logo, I'm not sure it's useage is appropriate. I'm sure the thread moderator will correct me if it's improper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Stevens SASS#55996 Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 My personal opinion is that he will not try to fix this one. I also do not consider the damage (as appears in the photo) a fault of the maker or the materials (an educated guess from afar) but, as a gesture of good will, he might make a price adjustment or replace this holster, specially since it has become so public and his customers are actually raising high expectations for him. There is a flip side to this idea though, if people are really as proud of Kirkpatrick as they say, how long could we expect him to survive if he was urged to replace every holster that either simply wore out or became damaged due to conditions beyond the makers control? The doors can not stay open for very long if every sale becomes a two fer and do we want him to go away and/or have to double prices? Very few fokes realize the cost involved in a holster that is made by a small shop in America and made from quality leather that is produced in America or Europe. Another side Bob. Kirkpatrick actually produces more law enforcement and CCW leather than cowboy leather. They also run a sucessful gun shop as well. Mike is pretty savvy. Mike's willingness to make things right has been going on for years. That's one of the reasons they sell so much, and why Mike is so well thought of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Dan Troop 70448 Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Here's my Kirkpatrick and one of the holsters were I had a wear spot. Used a thin piece of leather, cut to fit and glued. Held in place now for over 4 years on both holsters. MT http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z72/marshaltroop/SDC11995.jpg http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z72/marshaltroop/SDC11994.jpg http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z72/marshaltroop/SDC11993.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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