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View Full Version : Reducing Holster Friction?



unclebill
06-23-2008, 06:25 PM
i have a nice old holster that my new ruger blackhawk wants to ride in.
there is a little bit of drag putting it in and taking it out.
how about some dry silicone spray?
it is suede lined.
the gun fits fine in there .
i just want an easy draw.

thanks again
bill

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l272/billhedges/davesdrive099-20.jpg

Sprue
06-23-2008, 07:12 PM
i have a nice old holster that my new ruger blackhawk wants to ride in.
there is a little bit of drag putting it in and taking it out.
how about some dry silicone spray?
it is suede lined.
the gun fits fine in there .
i just want an easy draw.

thanks again
bill

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l272/billhedges/davesdrive099-20.jpg


Poodle Lube? [smilie=l:

Rick Hodges
06-23-2008, 07:12 PM
I don't know much about the dry silicone spray. My best advice would be to use it. Most of my duty holsters were suede lined and ,while they started out tight, they would come around with a little use. Usually they became too loose.

Rick

unclebill
06-23-2008, 07:17 PM
i wear this maybe 2 or 3 hours a month.
i will be dead before it loosens up.
:-D

unclebill
06-23-2008, 07:24 PM
Poodle Lube? [smilie=l:

got any extra?:mrgreen:

AZ-Stew
06-23-2008, 08:12 PM
My suggestion would be to use the technique outlined in Bill Jordan's book, "No Second Place Winner".

Soak the holster in water until it becomes soft and pliable. Spray down your revolver liberally with WD-40 and wrap it in a dry cleaning bag. About two layers of plastic should be adequate. Remove the holster from the water and allow it to drain well, but not to become dry. Insert the oiled, plastic covered revolver into the holster and spend an hour or so using thumb pressure to mould the holster around the features of the revolver. Remove the revolver, re-oil it and apply a fresh two layers of dry cleaning bag for protection. Put the gun back into the holster and allow it to dry overnight with the gun inside. In the morning, remove the revolver and dry cleaning bag plastic and thoroughly clean the gun. Allow the holster to completely dry at room temperature (no forced heat or sunlight) and when it's dry you'll have a holster that's perfectly custom form-fitted to your revolver and will allow the revolver to be easily drawn, yet be held securely during normal activities.

Regards,

Stew

waksupi
06-23-2008, 08:15 PM
Use some saddle soap, inside and out. It will slick up pretty fast, and is good for the leather.

longhorn
06-23-2008, 08:56 PM
Unload the thumb-buster (twice!), put on the holster, and practice about a hundred draws and re-holsters a night. Bet you'll feel a difference in a week. Knowing very little about leather, I'd avoid both soaking and saddle-soaping suede. Steel and aluminum will burnish the suede pretty quickly.

danski26
06-23-2008, 09:10 PM
I have used the spray silicone on a suede lined duty holster and it helped a bit. I reapplied it several times. If anything.....it didn't hurt the holster.

jhalcott
06-23-2008, 11:17 PM
What are you doing that you NEED a "quick draw" holster. You gonna blow your foot off?
I think longhorn may have the best advice. I have a 44 SBH and I practiced drawing and holstering it a couple hours a day while watching TV. It "slicked" up nicely in a couple weeks. So slick that the gun would drop out on it's own if I wasn't carefull!

unclebill
06-24-2008, 12:23 AM
i didnt say anything about quickdraw.
i just want it to come out a little smoother.
this is a 39 year old holster and i sure as heck aint soaking it in water.

unclebill
06-24-2008, 12:26 AM
and i dont put wd40 on my guns.
thanks though.

44man
06-24-2008, 01:17 AM
Axle grease? :mrgreen:

Lloyd Smale
06-24-2008, 05:50 AM
I dont like putting anything on my holsters that may soften them. Best bet is to just let it wear in with use.

Bass Ackward
06-24-2008, 06:13 AM
I like soft leather. So I use Saddle Soap and then Neets Feet oil to soften leather and keep it soft. Same stuff you used on your baseball glove when you were a kid. Same with those folds on your shoes. Cuts down on blueing wear too.

Works in bullet lube (Neets Feet, not saddle soap) too if you have some extra.

JayinAZ
06-24-2008, 08:54 AM
You can wrap the gun in plastic without soaking the holster and leave it in there for a couple of days. But wearing it in is the best way, IMHO.

Morgan Astorbilt
06-24-2008, 09:46 AM
Use Fiebing's 100% Neatsfoot Oil, not Fiebing's Neatsfoot Oil Compound, which is thinner, and contains petroleum distillates. It's easy to tell the difference, the 100% oil is not only much thicker, but it smells like rancid grease. It, in itself, will add a reduced friction surface. I use it for all my gun belts and leather goods.
Morgan

9.3X62AL
06-24-2008, 10:06 AM
Lined holsters I left alone--they slicked up within a week of duty use. Unlined holsters benefited from one application of neatsfoot oil when new.

JMHO, but nylon holsters don't have the subjective feel or "soul" that gun leather has. Nylon is practical, and can be decontaminated after contact with drug lab environments--but that is their only real advantage.

felix
06-24-2008, 10:17 AM
That rancid smell is the only reason I do not like to use it for making boolit lubes. The same thing happens with some kitchen oils too, like walnut and peanut oils. The micro-bugs like that stuff too much. That is why they "compound" these kinds of oils with petro. Of course, they could add other stuff instead, like direct bug killers. But we all know what they do. The cosmetic companies have taken all of these killers out of their "lubes" as of late. ... felix

gcf
06-24-2008, 10:40 AM
...this is a 39 year old holster and i sure as heck aint soaking it in water.

Forget the water part. Just wipe your gun down in what ever type of CLP you use, wrap it in a couple layers of plastic (gallon size baggies / whatever), & stuff it in the holster.

Leave it overnight, unwrap, & check fitment. Still tight? Repeat process, until you are happy w/ the fitment.

It will make a difference. Nice rig, BTW...

jhalcott
06-24-2008, 12:16 PM
Bill, I'm sorry about that poor attempt at humor. My holster got slick enough that the gun could/would slip out if I got my head lower than my waist. Like when laying on a hillside or putting your feet up on some thing while resting on your back. I learned to check the thumb strap real quick! I hate to put any thing on leather that MIGHT do it (or the gun) harm.

yondering
06-24-2008, 12:47 PM
One trick I've found is to put the gun in a sock (preferably a clean one!) and put it in the holster. You can leave it overnight, or for a few days, depending how much you want to loosen it up. This will stretch the leather just a little bit, so you gun will still fit perfectly but it will be a little looser.

I use saddle soap too if the leather is real stiff.

Mack Heath
06-24-2008, 02:12 PM
Forget the water part. Just wipe your gun down in what ever type of CLP you use, wrap it in a couple layers of plastic (gallon size baggies / whatever), & stuff it in the holster.

Leave it overnight, unwrap, & check fitment. Still tight? Repeat process, until you are happy w/ the fitment.

It will make a difference. Nice rig, BTW...

This technique is one that is recomended for very expensive leather concealment holsters like Milt Sparks, Kramer, etc. In this case you want the holster snug, but not tight. You have to be able to get the gun out cleanly which is sometimes not possible as it comes from the manufacturer.

The recommendation is to wrap your gun in one of the plastic bags that you get from the grocery store or Walmart that they put your pruchases in. Put the gun in the bag and wrap the bag around the gun completely, then put the package in the holster. If after you let it sit for a day, the holster is still too tight repeat the process for another day or two, If still not enough, use two bags. The bags from the grocery store are thin enough that they don't stretch the leather too much in any one pass. Also, there is just enough wax left in the material to slick up the inside of the leather. When they polymerize the raw material from which the bags are made, there is always distribution of molecular weights, and the low MWs are what we call waxes.

You will notice a difference using this technique. If it is not enough, you could add a third bag, but first I would just extend the time. This is a very safe approach because it is very tough to overdo things with this method. Soemtimes it has taken me as long as a week to get the right feel.

Good luck.

unclebill
06-24-2008, 08:59 PM
Bill, I'm sorry about that poor attempt at humor. My holster got slick enough that the gun could/would slip out if I got my head lower than my waist. Like when laying on a hillside or putting your feet up on some thing while resting on your back. I learned to check the thumb strap real quick! I hate to put any thing on leather that MIGHT do it (or the gun) harm.

no apologies necessary!:drinks:

unclebill
06-24-2008, 09:01 PM
This technique is one that is recomended for very expensive leather concealment holsters like Milt Sparks, Kramer, etc. In this case you want the holster snug, but not tight. You have to be able to get the gun out cleanly which is sometimes not possible as it comes from the manufacturer.

The recommendation is to wrap your gun in one of the plastic bags that you get from the grocery store or Walmart that they put your pruchases in. Put the gun in the bag and wrap the bag around the gun completely, then put the package in the holster. If after you let it sit for a day, the holster is still too tight repeat the process for another day or two, If still not enough, use two bags. The bags from the grocery store are thin enough that they don't stretch the leather too much in any one pass. Also, there is just enough wax left in the material to slick up the inside of the leather. When they polymerize the raw material from which the bags are made, there is always distribution of molecular weights, and the low MWs are what we call waxes.

You will notice a difference using this technique. If it is not enough, you could add a third bag, but first I would just extend the time. This is a very safe approach because it is very tough to overdo things with this method. Soemtimes it has taken me as long as a week to get the right feel.

Good luck.

that is what i will do.
i really like this rig.
it came with another revolver i hated .
but i kept this!:mrgreen:

waksupi
06-24-2008, 09:24 PM
Keep in mind, Neetsfoot oil will rot stitching.

knothead
06-24-2008, 10:29 PM
The double bagging will work. Been using it for a few years, one of the custom guys told me about it.

MtGun44
06-25-2008, 01:18 AM
Owl snot.

Kinda hard to get, but works great. [smilie=1:

Bill

Doughty
06-25-2008, 04:47 PM
Bill,

Owl snot is fine, but NOT spotted owl snot, because it will of course...... leave spots on your holster.

MtGun44
06-25-2008, 08:59 PM
Well, you wouldn't want spots on the holster! I was worried that you were
going to remind us that collecting snot from spotted owls is likely to be
a serious federal crime, them being endangered and all.

Only collect from NON-endangered owls, to be safe.

Wear gloves, those guys have really sharp beaks and talons and might
object to you collecting. [smilie=1:

Bill

unclebill
06-25-2008, 10:23 PM
well i trapped an owl.
and put his head in a bench vise.
i got about a cup of what i think is snot.
i doused the inside of the holster and since my new boots are tight i gave them a healthy dose too.

longhorn
06-25-2008, 10:23 PM
Aw, I like spotted owls. They taste kinda like eagle.

unclebill
06-27-2008, 06:56 AM
i wrapped a paper towel around it and put in in a plastic bag for 2 days.
it works great.
thanks again!
bill