Reproduction of leather goods for historical weapons.
Holsters, pouches etc.
 

To produce a new well made reproduction holster, it is necessary to have either a drawing of the item or a sample in good condition.

In general the following operation steps are used to get a good result and a satisfied customer.

 

 

1.      step: Manufacture of a mold

 

The mold is necessary to correctly shape the leather part. If the mold has the wrong dimensions, the part will also have incorrect dimensions and the gun will not fit it perfectly. It is comparable with the last of the shoe makers.  Hard-wood is the common material.

 

 

2.   step: Cutting

 

For each part of the holster a template of cardboard is used. This important tool is also responsible for the correct size, leather strength and number of stitches. The template will be put on the leather to cut out the piece from the selected particular cow hide.Special sharp knifes are necessary.

 

 

 

 

 

4. 

 

 

 

3.   step: Forming  the leather

 

The leather, which has to be stretched into shape, will be put in water. After that it will be put  on the mold, fixed with staples on the edges on a thick wooden board. Two days later it can be taken off and cut to exact size.

 

 

 

 

5. 

 

 

 

 

4.    step: Dyeing

 

The best coloring results are achieved with leather corrosive fluid. We mix it from light to dark (matter of experience). It is necessary to check a color sample in advance (left over pieces). The leather part has to be totally dry to judge the achieved color.

 

 

 

 

 

6. 

 

 

 

 

5.    step: The manufacture of the sewing-thread

 

We use linen thread selected to match the different seams. The linen thread itself will be rubbed with special kinds of wax.

 

 

 

 

7.

 

 

 

 

 

6.     step: Assembly of the holster

 

After the shaping process the leather has to be treated with special solutions.The pieces remain in this step

for 2 days before the sewing operation begins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pictures 20, 21 shows the finished holster M 87, the picture 22 shows the holster M 87 in comparison with an original.

Picture 23 shows a newly manufactured standard holster for RR 83 next to an original.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1) Lederzentrum GmbH. Raiffeisenstr. 1, 37124 Rosdorf, Tel: 0551 770730

www.lederzentrum.de