Holster flap colors?

[Captain Lee Bishop]

I just finally broke in my set of M1885 holsters to my Rugers. When I shoot CAS, I'd have the flaps pulled back to the inside of the belt to make drawing them easier. My question is, should I dye the insides of the flaps black? Were original ones dyed as well, or should they be left in the natural color?

[St. George]

The originals I have are Black throughout...

The Army had dyed the old 'Buff' leather equipments - but by late Civil War, Army leather was supplied in Black, and would continue to be so supplied.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Pitspitr]

I'm not sure about the inside of holsters, but during the 1870's the inside of belts were left natural as the army was worried about the black dye bleeding into the uniforms.

[Trailrider]

As nearly as I can tell from examining at least one (badly deteriorating) specimen, the insides of original holsters were dyed black.  If you have difficulty with black dye (alcohol-based) rubbing off, apply Fiebing's Bag-Kote or Tan-Kote after letting the dye itself dry thoroughly.  Not sure about petroleum-based dyes as I don't use them on my products.  Mixing 50-50 Fiebing's Tan and Fiebing's Black dyes will also help.  The color will stay pretty much black, depending on how heavily you apply it, and the porosity of the leather.  I call that mixture, "Faded Arsenal" in my catalog, but I still apply the Bag-Kote.

Hope this helps.

Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

[Charlie Bowdre]

I have had good luck in 'setting' dye  by using Future Floor Wax  , It is acrylic and for some reason ... I'm no chemist the  acrylic sets the dye so it will not rub off on anything. Worked for me . But as usual if ya try it ...do a small piece first to test.
Good luck.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

There's a good thread by Nolan Sackett in The Leather Shop on historically correct dyes. There's one that I use is his VINEGAR BLACK recipe. It changes the color of the leather by chemically altering the tannic acid. It doesn't rub off since there is no pigment being added. It produces a nice, rich black better than any alcohol dye. This is the way they dyed leather up until the early 20th century. Here's the link: Old Timey Dyes