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Resealing the top of holsters


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I have a couple of sets of holsters that need to be resealed at the outside top edge where the lining is sewed to the outside. There is some delamination but the stitching is still in good shape. I would like to reseal them before the wear gets any worse but cannot find any info on what is used for that purpose. Any suggestions?

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Several ways the edge may have been burnished originally. Pictures might be helpful to point you in the right direction. 

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haven't experienced this - i guess i alter my rigs enough to avoid the excess wear but im glad you posted it as we all will experience it eventually , my move these days would to be taking it to my go-to leader guy for remedial action , 

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Hey Pard,

                   You can try "Edge dressing" available from most leather craft shops.

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+1 to Rip Snorter's fix.

Work the Barge cement into the delamination as far as possible,let it dry and then press the layers back together with as much pressure as you can. 

Edge dressing and burnishing compound( gum tragacanth from Tandy or Weavers) and burnish it well with a bone or hardwood burnisher, and you should be in good shape .

Choctaw

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37 minutes ago, Choctaw Jack said:

+1 to Rip Snorter's fix.

Work the Barge cement into the delamination as far as possible,let it dry and then press the layers back together with as much pressure as you can. 

Edge dressing and burnishing compound( gum tragacanth from Tandy or Weavers) and burnish it well with a bone or hardwood burnisher, and you should be in good shape .

Choctaw

I suggested wax / paraffin because most folks would probably have some in the house.  The compound is better as is a burnishing tool, often lignum vitae, but the suggested method would be free for most folks.  

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Some good ideas from other leather guys listed above. 

 

Once, you have the outer and lining leather glued together and dry, I would agree with light sanding of the edge, if it's rough.  My first step in burnishing, after sanding, is to lightly wet the edge and use a wool felt burnishing wheel that I've applied some glycerin (bar saddle soap - a bar of glycerin soap from the cosmetic department also works) at slow speed.  You can rub the edge with a piece of canvas (or a blue jean scrap) to get a similar result.  When building holsters, on an edge that I can't get on the burnishing wheel, I'll take a small felt wheel on a Dremel tool, run it against the glycerin bar for a few seconds, and then run it against the damp edge at slow speed.

 

I like to do a final burnish with a 50/50 mixture of paraffin and bee's wax on a separate burnishing wheel, but this can be accomplished by hand rubbing the edge with the wax mixture and then burnished with a piece of canvas. 

 

Good luck with the rehab of your holsters!

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Kid,

            I'm not a fan of the water based barge cement that you buy in a tube. That being said I have alway used Barge cement but I buy it by the quart.

I have found that the Gorilla glue contact cement works as well as the "old' barge cement that you could buy in the tube.

https://www.gorillatough.com/product/gorilla-clear-grip/      

          The  advise you have gotten is sound and should fix the problem you are trying to accomplish. I'm a firm believer in gum tragacanth from Tandy. My good friend Leona from Jax Leather got me started burnishing the edges of my leather work and it adds a bit of professionalism to the finished product!

Funny, She uses her fingers dipped in gum tragacanth for final burnishing!!

                  Good luck,

                      Jasper

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One of my holsters was separating slightly at the top.   I was talking to a guy on my posse and noted the stitching was still good but it was separating at the top edge and I needed to figure out how to fix it.  He said I can fix.  So I gave him the holster and he brought he back the next day fixed.  Easy, peasy.

Edited by Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933
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22 minutes ago, Jasper Agate said:

Kid,

            I'm not a fan of the water based barge cement that you buy in a tube. That being said I have alway used Barge cement but I buy it by the quart.

I have found that the Gorilla glue contact cement works as well as the "old' barge cement that you could buy in the tube.

https://www.gorillatough.com/product/gorilla-clear-grip/      

          The  advise you have gotten is sound and should fix the problem you are trying to accomplish. I'm a firm believer in gum tragacanth from Tandy. My good friend Leona from Jax Leather got me started burnishing the edges of my leather work and it adds a bit of professionalism to the finished product!

Funny, She uses her fingers dipped in gum tragacanth for final burnishing!!

                  Good luck,

                      Jasper

Thanks Jasper, I will try that.

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12 minutes ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

One of my holsters was separating slightly at the top.   I was talking to a guy on my posse and noted the stitching was still good but it was separating at the top edge and I needed to figure out how to fix it.  He said I can fix.  So I gave him the holster and he brought he back the next day fixed.  Easy, peasy.

Thanks Larsen, that sounds very similar to mine. I think with all the suggestions, I can fix them. I now know much more about the process.

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