Some of our customers are experts and some of our customers are brand new to the “leather & steel” world. We just want to share a couple of care tips with everyone for the sake of happy guns and happy holsters.
- The holster you have purchased is NOT meant for long term gun storage
Guns and leather holsters are best worn together but stored separately. This is because leather will naturally absorb sweat and small amounts of moisture from the air during a day of wear. This is especially true if you’re living in a humid climate - some of our customers live where the humidity is so high it doesn’t take much for the holster to get a little damp. Leaving a gun in a moist holster, as you can imagine, is not a winning combination. The best practice is to remove the gun from its holster when not in use to allow everything a chance to dry fully.
Rest assured, we do use 100% veg tanned leather for the protection and safety of your gun. This means that the gun leathers we craft were tanned using tree barks and a blend of vegetable extracts (hence the name “veg tan”) and the natural oils of veg tanned leather are safe for your gun. So you can wear your new holster with complete confidence that the holster you’ve purchased is clean, safe and of the best quality.
So our friendly recommendations are to be sure to allow your firearm and holster to dry out separately at night if you carry daily. Also, if you are storing your gun long term, do so outside the holster. Think “cool and dry” - this means no hot car trunks, attics or window ledges in direct sunlight. This is not a hard & fast rule, just our recommendation for best results.
Leather Care
Wipe down your holster with a clean dry cloth after use or when needed. If the holster is heavily soiled, you may use a damp cloth and a very small amount of saddle soap to cleanse the holster. When you are finished, pat the holster dry with a clean cloth until it is only slightly damp and then allow it to air dry the rest of the way. To maintain better shape after a cleaning, place the gun inside the holster and reshape it with your hands by molding the leather to the form of the gun. Once it fits very well, remove the firearm and allow the leather to dry the rest of the way without touching it further.
Depending on the climate in which you live, an occasional light moisturizing of your holster will keep it supple and healthy. This is even more beneficial if you live in a particularly dry climate. We recommend using a safe leather balm about once a year. You can use a balm on your leather as often as every six months if you live in a dry climate. Working a small amount of leather balm into the holster (or any Hellhound gun leather item) once or twice a year will help keep your holster safe from flaking, cracking or dry rot.