Packing Iron: Gunleather of the Frontier West

[Naphtali]

On recommendation of the former design chief for Bianchi Holsters, I bought Blued Steel and Gunleather and Packing Iron. Packing Iron is reputed to be among the best references for gunleather (holsters, belts, cartridge carriers, saddle scabbards, et al.) of the American frontier West. I'm hooked.

I'm also confused specifically about holster details. First-quality holster and saddle makers living in the frontier did not line their holsters, apparently, until near the turn of the twentieth century. Suede and calf leather liners - do they serve a purpose other than cosmetic? I would think that their softness would become a liability in a short time for working cowmen, attracting abrasive dirt (that current urban holster wearers would not have as an issue).

I noticed that no first-quality maker used horsehide. Rather they used varying grades and thicknesses of cowhide. Today many holster wearers tout horsehide as being significantly more durable than cowhide. If this is accurate, why was horsehide not used by any top-of-the-line maker?

And lastly, is verdigris a cosmetic defect only? If it is not, how did cowmen and other frontier outdoor workers deal with it when using gunleather having leather cartridge loops? Excluding woven cotton/canvas/wool cartridge belts, the only ways I can think of to deal with verdigris are shooting a lot, or periodically removing cartridges from leather belt loops and wiping them off. On their faces, neither way makes appears to make good sense.

[Harter66]

I suspect that the cartridge loops were of rawhide and relied body oil to avoid excessive shrink .
I know the verdigris term but not it's application here so if I just covered it ....umm .......opps .

[Wayne Smith]

It is the acids in the tanning of the leather that causes verdigris. Rawhide would cure that but would stretch if wet, I think.

[waksupi]

A build up of verdigris can prevent chambering a cartridge.

[bob208]

verdigris can also cause it all most imposable to get a stuck cartage case out of a cylinder. I have had to deal with that one. verdigris is the reason we have nickel and tin plated cartage cases. the army had cartage belts made out of canvas. a little paste wax can slow down its formation.

[blackthorn]

Verdigris is also corrosive. If it is allowed to build-up it will eat a hole right through the brass case! As long as it is wiped off before it gets too bad it will do nothing more than cause discoloration. A few years ago I was given three boxes of factory 300 H&H that were badly corroded with verdigris. I was only able to save the silvertip projectiles. The primers MAY have been OK, but the powder was damp and clumped-up so I scrapped case with primer.

[bedbugbilly]

as ar as verdigris goes and how a cowboy/frontiersman would have handled it . . . . if it was you, how would you have handled it? There is your answer. IF, it were a problem, you probably would have wiped it off and moved on. And, remember that casings were copper for many years so don't use our modern "thinking" that they were brass.

Again, think of how "you" would have done it. At a cost of $25.00 or more for a Colt SAA - big money in those days - yo wold take care of you handgun and your cartridges just as we do today - i.e. make sure your gun is clean and oiled and your ammunition is in good order and ready to use - which probably involved wiping the case with a cloth, shirt tail or other.

Be care of the use of "raw hide". Raw hide is "untanned" leather. It is pliable when wet but will shrink and harden when dry. Cartridge loops, if you look at original examples, were made from tanned leather.

I make holsters and cartridge belts as a hobby. Cartridge loops can be "sewn" or "woven". On the belts I make, I prefer to weave them which involves cutting slots with a bag punch of the correct length. A lighter weight leather is used for the loops. I cut the long strip of leather for the loops a tad wider than the slot. When I weave the loops, I wet the strip, secure the beginning end by either sewing or riveting it to the belt and then weave the loops using dummy cartridges. Each loop is pulled tight before inserting the strip through he back side of the next slot and then reinserting it in to the slot to pull tight. Once I'm done with weaving the loops - I think the most I have ever done on a belt is around 30 or so, I secure the end of the strip to the belt and cut off the excess. I then let it all dry with the dummy cartridges in the belt. When dry, I remove the cartridges.

Wetting the vegetable tanned leather and letting it dry actually "drys" out the leather of natural oils. Everyone has their preferences as far as what they use on their leather products - I prefer to use Pure Virgin Olive Oil. I take a Q tip, dip it in the oil and rub the inside and outside of the cartridge loops. This puts natural oils back in tot he leather causing the fibers to swell up again from the drying out from being wet with water. It is just enough to put good tension on the cartridge when inserted into the loop and good retention of the cartridge. When the belt is put on around the body and buckled on, that puts further tension on the loops as well. I have never had an issue with cartridges falling out in any of the belts I have done that way.

There are many ways to do cartridge loops and every person has their "favorite" way to do it. Cartridge belts should never be stored with cartridges in the loops - to do so will compress the fivers of the leather in the loops and could cause poor tension on the cartridges.

sBelts used everyday such as is being talked about would certainly be exposed to the elements. That would cause them to dry out and just like a saddle in use, it required "maintenance". A saddle was not cheap and saddles, harness, etc. for the most part would have received regular "maintenance". I'm sure, just as there are today, there were those who didn't take care of what they owned - but the original examples we have today survived because they're taken care of - cleaned and oiled frequently, etc. Even as a kid, I can remember spending hours cleaning harness and oiling it that we had for our horses and ponies on the farm - my Dad was born in 1908 and my grandfather raised and raced sulky horses in the late 1800s so my Dad was well versed on how to maintain saddles, harness, etc. In the time of the horse, it was a common chore.

Another misconception is that the "cowboy" was always wearing his belt, holster and revolver. Not so. If you read first person accounts, a working cowboy may have had his revolver, etc. tucked away in his saddlebags, but unless there was a need due to danger, a gunboat and gun would have been in the way. Think not? Then put one on and try to wrestle a yearling down for branding or medicating on the range.

Just as a side note, one of the common leather dyes used to make a "black" leather item was "vinegaroon". This is made by taking a container of vinegar and throwing in some pieces of iron - I just take a gallon jug and throw in some common steel nails. Let it set for a month so. Whine is ready, you apply and it will turn leather in to a nice black. Once applied, it has to be "neutralized". I use a soda water bath - rinse it in clean clear water first, apply the soda bath and rinse - do it several times to neutralize the acidity of the vinegar dye - and then let dry. This drys the leather out so it has to have natural oils put back in to it. Again, I like to use Pure Virgin Olive Oil but anything that will put natural oils in to it will work.

I also "wet mold" my holsters to the handgun. This was done by old holster makers as well. The wet molding will dry the leather out and again, natural oils need to be put back in to the leather in some form.

Naphtali - "Packing Iron" is one of the best reference books I have ever seen. I keep a copy of it on my bench as it is a great reference. I don't know what they are going for now as I got my copy when it was first published - the last time I looked they were kind of pricy but I think they are well worth it. Whether you do leather work or not, it is a great read and the photos are fantastic!

[Geezer in NH]

On cleaning the cartridges every few days or so, let's see cowboys who depended on the gun for their lives, had no cell phones, no computers, no television w/or without cable satellite. Sat in cabin or around fire every night.

I would call them butt lazy if they did not care for their gear. Especially without any other stupid distractions of todays type of shooter who doesn't clean the gun and ammo they carry.

But that may be why the stupid lazy ones died on the prairie.

[waksupi]

On cleaning the cartridges every few days or so, let's see cowboys who depended on the gun for their lives, had no cell phones, no computers, no television w/or without cable satellite. Sat in cabin or around fire every night.

I would call them butt lazy if they did not care for their gear. Especially without any other stupid distractions of todays type of shooter who doesn't clean the gun and ammo they carry.

But that may be why the stupid lazy ones died on the prairie.

I doubt a cowboy's gun got cleaned very often. Most were left in the chuckwagon, and would stay there from the beginning of the drive, to the end.

[Tnfalconer]

I ways enjoy reading those books on the old west gun leather, Packing iron in particular. Great reference although I am not sure it was a great representation of the average joe. The average cowboy carried whatever was available to him or he could afford, which wasn't much. The fancy representations we see of cowboy gun leather were most likely cattle drive Cowboys or what I like to call Fancy Cowboys. Who wanted to look the part but didn't really do the job. The cattle drive guys would spend months on the trail to pull into some cowtown across the country with a pocket full of money. If they were lucky enough to have a saddle maker there, they would buy or order some of these fancy rigs. Usually spending a month or more in wages to do so. I do imagine that these weren't made for every day use either. Out on the prairie one had little use for a fancy belt rig and I would think it to be like a "Sunday go to meeting" when they rolled into town and dressed up a little.

[KCSO]

#1 I have seen many original holsters that were country made, not Meana or El Paso but local leather work or home made. They were made form what the maker had. Ihave seen everything from beaded doubled buckskin to rawhide and most from tanned cowhide. Most of the modern holsters are way thicker and harder than the originals I have seen.

#2 a holster in the old days was a container to carry the gun on your person and NOT the fast draw rigs of today the true faster drawing rigs were typified by the Tom Threepersons design and such late in the game. A LOT of holsters in the old days were cut down military rigs or flapped copies there of. Look in the old catalogs and see what the holster makers of old sold...they were bags to carry a gun in.

As to lining it will protect the blue on a modern gun if kept clean but otherwise I have never found an advantage. They are slower to dry than a regular holster and leather is a slow dry anyway. I have at least 10 different books I use when researching hilsters and there is no set in stone design or material.

[jonp]

I checked out the book "Packing Iron" and it looks very interesting but is well out of my price range

[Blackwater]

I believe that, for our modern use, using nickeled cases will lessen or eliminate verdegris, won't it? I bought 100 new Starline .44 Specials for that purpose at least. Please tell me the extra money wasn't spent in vain!

[nicholst55]

bedbugbilly said "I prefer to use Pure Virgin Olive Oil."

IIRC, so did the ancient Romans. A few examples of their leather kit has survived the ages, and is in remarkably good condition, considering.

[Wayne Smith]

I believe that, for our modern use, using nickeled cases will lessen or eliminate verdegris, won't it? I bought 100 new Starline .44 Specials for that purpose at least. Please tell me the extra money wasn't spent in vain!

Nope, not spent in vain. That is the exact use of those - except some people seem to the shiny silver cases!

[Just Duke]

I doubt a cowboy's gun got cleaned very often. Most were left in the chuckwagon, and would stay there from the beginning of the drive, to the end.

Incorrect. The main reason a Cowboy carried a gun is if he got hung up on the stirrups, he'd shoot the horse to keep from being dragged to his death. One vendor we know of makes a break away stirrup and posted a video on his website showing someone being dragged helplessly and flailing about.
Also note the "drop Loop Holster" was a movie fictional fabrication created by Alfonso of Hollywood who's still in production.

[Just Duke]

I believe that, for our modern use, using nickeled cases will lessen or eliminate verdegris, won't it? I bought 100 new Starline .44 Specials for that purpose at least. Please tell me the extra money wasn't spent in vain!

That's what I use in all mine.

[Just Duke]

Cool pic

[Just Duke]

A majority of the holsters in the book are owned by Rick M. Bachman http://www.oldwestreproductions.com/

[Char-Gar]

I do know that the US Army required their soldiers and troopers to remove their cartridges from leather and clean off the verdigris every day while in the field. It was the Sargent's job to make certain they did.

I suppose wise civilians did the same and stupid civilians did not.