Old leather restoration/care

canuck

canuck

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North-west of Calgary
Guys, in light of the Vimy anniversary, I felt the need to fondle my Canadian contract Gov't model.
Whilst doing so, I was dismayed to notice an issue with the holster that came with this gun when I bought it many years ago.
While the leather seems to be in decent shape, the hand written info on the inside flap seems to be disappearing (or my eyes are getting worse than I had thought!) - its really hard to get a picture of it.
The hand written notation there reads
Lieut RB Ball
72nd Highlanders CEF
Click to expand...
I'm certain it was much more legible the last time I looked (quite a few years ago :()
Is there a way I could safely restore the legibility or best left to an expert? If so - any recommendations?
What about advice on general care for the holster itself?
Thanks in advance......


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I use Obenauf's on all my leather. Amazing stuff.
Can get it at Cabela's.

https: //www.cabelas.ca/product/75024/obenaufs-heavy-duty-leather-protector-4-oz
 
Canuck, any chance of getting a photo of the entire rig posted?

Treatment for leather material, has always been a difficult process for any museum curator. There are a thousand opinions, and not many of them if any, will prevent rotting, etc.
Vaseline works on a baby's skin, and on cow's skin. Any of the green vertigri (sp) mold/corrosion, can be removed just by wiping it off and a regular cleaning.

I would suggest using some different lighting colours and filters and obtain a photograph of the writing before it is completely unreadable. "Enhancing" the writing will diminish its value.

It appears some of the white stuff on the leather in the photos may be remnants of some other leather treatment, ie. Pecards?
 
Not much more to see there Koldt, its a basic Sam Brown rig which I picked up separately (the pistol and holster came to me together)
I have always wanted to pick up a correct Highlanders officers sword to go with it but, whoowee - expensive! Not too mention hard to come by.

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Thanks everyone for the advice here and in PMs
 
I had some similar issues on a batch of leather ammo pouches I picked up a while back. After much research and consulting a few curators I know, my solution was a slightly damp cloth and slow gentle circular rubbing. It's time consuming but it works.
 
Nice holster, I have the same one in mint condition.
It doesn't have the extra magazine on It and never did.
 
canuck said:
Not much more to see there Koldt, its a basic Sam Brown rig which I picked up separately (the pistol and holster came to me together)
I have always wanted to pick up a correct Highlanders officers sword to go with it but, whoowee - expensive! Not too mention hard to come by.

Thanks everyone for the advice here and in PMs
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting the entire set. I don't need to (but I will) say, don't ever separate the holster from the pistol. You are fortunate to have obtained the two together.

A P08 sabre would be appropriate with that set as well. There are a few out there in collector land, that are Canadian unit/regimental marked. That's all part of the game, is trying to complete sets. Then we go on to the next project.
 
DRA said:
I use Obenauf's on all my leather. Amazing stuff.
Can get it at Cabela's.

https: //www.cabelas.ca/product/75024/obenaufs-heavy-duty-leather-protector-4-oz
Click to expand...

this probably works great for the sling on your hunting rifle, or your boots/belts/wifes purse, but you are risking long term damage to historical pieces using it on them. pecards has been found to cause a white bloom on leather after a while, and many other products become a liability in the long term. whats worse is that they cannot be removed later.
https://www .nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/09-01.pdf
 
Amazing piece of history, and workmanship. No collector, but from other old items, it is easy to lose "patina" from items.

Patina being copper leeching from brass on 100+ year old historical leather. Compared to forgetting cartridges in your leather rifle sling, or so ive been told.
 
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