What to do with damaged leather items

[Aragorn243]

I am pretty confident I could do the repairs, I have done leather work before. It's just a matter of whether I should or not. I'm leaning toward it because In researching these, I've encountered quite a few that had the strap replaced. And it would seem as this is most likely the area most likely to fail they were replaced while in active service. So, in restoring it, not being a military repair, I know it would be an issue for some collectors. At the same time, I don't see a lot of individuals that would really be interested in it without a functional strap. My daughter already has the tools so I wouldn't even have to buy them. She probably has the leather too although I'll have to check. At today's gun show, I only found one, it had been dyed black which I believe was a post war thing and it had it's strap replaced and not even the original type strap. They went from the original straight strap to the angled strap like mine. The original thread holes were still there and pretty obvious. Asking price $325.00.

I have also come to the conclusion (probably not surprisingly to those that know me here) that I now need to find a Luger to put in it. Priced them on Gunbroker and while pretty far out there, if I stop buying the rifles every other month, I could afford one before the year is out. I even discussed that with the wife and encountered no objections, just polite interest which is another positive. Refraining from new purchases is the difficult part. For while there aren't many out there I'm actively seeking, these other "interesting" ones seem to fall into my lap. Already have my eyes on one at the next auction from hell although I rarely win the bidding wars there.

Information

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[Seaspriter]

I am pretty confident I could do the repairs, I have done leather work before. It's just a matter of whether I should or not. I'm leaning toward it because In researching these, I've encountered quite a few that had the strap replaced

Go for the repair. Generally speaking, in the world of Preservation versus Restoration, Preserve it if it has a provenance (i.e. it belonged to Rommel, etc.); Restore it to functional condition if it is ordinary/common (what good is a dysfunctional antique?)

Refrain from rifles and buy a good Luger to fit the holster (what good is an empty holster -- it's like an empty gas tank).

[aarondhgraham]

Do not over oil the leather,,,
The worst mistake is to drench dried up leather in neatsfoot oil.

If the leather is stiff, drenching it will simply turn it to mush.

The trick is to use a lanolin based treatment,,,
And go slowly and sparsely with the applications.

One product I've used in the past is Dr. Jackson's Hide Rejuvenator.

Rub just a little bit on the leather,,,
Then wait a few days for it to soak in.

Then do another application,,,
repeat as many times as necessary.

Resist the temptation to flex the dry leather,,,
If you do that the fibers will break,,,
There's no repairing that.

I once restored an 1850's holster that was dry as a desert stone,,,
Honestly, it took about six weeks to rejuvenate the leather.

But when the hide rejuvenator finally permeated the fibers,,,
The leather became flexible again and the holster was restored.

As for sewing, do yourself a favor and learn to saddle stitch with two needles,,,
And save every piece of the original leather parts,,,
That's for the collectors who want it all.

I hope this helps.

Aarond

.

[Seaspriter]

I'm always interested in the ingredients of different products.

Dr. Jackson's Hide Rejuvenator

Here is a list of ingredients and %.


Petrolatum USP (Vaseline) 10% - 15%
Sulfated animal oils, sodium salts 1%– 5%
Sulfated synthetic oil 1% – 5%
Fatty acids 1% – 5%
Glycerol esters of C14-C18 fatty acids (artificial substitute for lanolin?) 70% – 87%

FWIW