1918 holster

I have an old flap holster my wife inherited along with a US&S 1911 (and a few other pieces).

The back says Warren Leather Goods Co 1918 J.A.O.

First thought was that it was for the 1911, but it flat out didn't fit so I figured it must be for something else. Poking around on the internet tonight, it looks like it might be a WW1 era holster for a 1911. So if that's right, why doesn't the US&S fit? I literally shoved the gun in as far as I could and still had to wrestle with the flap to get it closed. Then when I pull it out, its harder to get out than it was to get in and lots of shavings come out with the gun. I want to get a military holster for that pistol, are they all going to be that tight?

Is it a revolver holster? Give us a pic. Have a look here and see if you see it...45 auto,38 revolver,45revolver

I guess the center one's a red herring. How bout the outside two?

I'd say the first one for sure. Here are a couple of pics, I hope they display well enough. I don't see a quick upload feature, so I'll just do them as attachments.

Oh sure, that's a nice WW1 Warren Leather Goods 1916 pattern holster for the 1911 or A1. It probably needs some leather dressing to soften it and the gun will go in easier. I had a Gratton & Knight WW1 that was scummy and gross and made grinding noises when I put the gun in and out. It was scratching my .45. I threw it in the washing machine with my work clothes and it was completely clean when finished. I put the gun in to pop out the dents and set it up to dry for some time. After dry, I applied Dubbin and kept adding until it was saturated. Nice and supple and soft for years after. No more grinding. Now, maybe that's a bit radical but they were meant to go through all kinds of weather and conditions and it DID sort it out. You may need some leather dressing to fix yours.

Would the washing machine treatment get rid of the corrosion or make it worse? the shavings that came out with the gun were colored green, which makes me not want to use the holster at all unless there's a way to clean it out.

The green growth is verdigris, and is the result of the tannic acid in the leather reacting with the copper rivets. If you wipe it off and it get into the leather it is very hard to remove, so the best method of removing it I have found is to remove it with something like a toothpick that will not scratch the leather. Also, the verdigris is poison, so be careful in removing it.
I treat my leather holsters with Pecards, and coating the area where the verdigris is growing with Pecards and letting it set for a few days helps in the removal.

What Johnny says is true, I said what I DID was to wash it. This Pecards is widly used and accepted as the proper thing. I too have sat with a toothpick removing the verdigris from between leather sandwiched in by fittings. Like the back at the M1910 hook, or the eyelet at the bottom.

Some holsters and slings really produce a lot of the verdigris while others produce little. I suppose it has to do with the amount of tannic acid left in the leather from the tanning process, but I have holsters that the verdigris has pushed the washer off the rivet. Model 1907 rifle slings are another source of verdigris as brass was used up until WWII, and the verdigris will grow around the brass frogs or hooks and where the D rings are sewn in.

Nasty. I think I'm most worried about the junk that's inside though. Don't see a way to reach it unless I take the stitches apart. Even if I was good with my hands, that would seem like a bad idea.

Why not try a toothbrush inside?

Like the outside, the verdigris needs to be carefully removed. Brushing it inside the holster will make it stick to the rougher finish of the inside of the holster. It may take something like a flat screwdriver blade to lift as much out as possible.

Thanks, I'm not great with my hands, but I think I can handle a screwdriver well enough to pick the crud out. Next question, will the verdigris keep coming back, or has it made as much as its going to make? Or is that the purpose of the pecards? I assume putting a gun in the holster with any trace of green is a bad idea, correct? Sounds like it might be an acid that could eat away at the gun or at least its finish.

The verdigris will come back. About the only thing you can do is try to manage it. The Pecards in no way prevents it's growth, but does seem to make the new growth easier to remove.

As to whether is will corrode steel, I do not know. I have seen pistols that had been stored in holsters for years that showed no signs of corrosion from the verdigris itself, but would not recommend storing a pistol in a holster whether it had verdigris or not.