Walker holster from Cabela's...

[Ben Towe]

Anybody got one? The reviews were all good, and I need a holster for it so I thought I would give it a whirl for $25 since I was ordering a magazine for the XDm anyway. Supposed to be made out of heavy leather according to the reviews. I never could find any info on who the manufacturer is.

[Hawg]

With leather you pretty much get what you pay for. It's most likely Oklahoma leather and chrome tanned. It will do if you don't use it much.

[Razor740]

I don't have the Walker holster, but I do have a couple of others for an 1851 & 1860.
No Idea who the manufacturer is either.
They are well made though, no complaints here.

[wogpotter]

I have the "western" holster from the same line. It is Chrome tanned (or something similar) but soak it in water with a little baking soda overnight, rinse twice with plain water & wet block mold to the pistol & you'll be fine.

[Steeltown Joe]

Here is one I just got on E-Bay ! It's was for the holster, pouch, belt and knife ! This guy makes great stuff!

Steeltown

[Fiv3]

Looks like it'd do the job of keeping the pistol clean and free of dings and whatnot. I'm hoping to have the $$ for my Walker in a few weeks. I think i'll just make my own holster though. Might not be pretty, but'll be tough as nails and custom fit

[BConklin]

I was in Cabela's the other day and I'm pretty sure the Walker holsters on I saw on the rack were made by Triple K.

The key would be the price. They had two lines of holsters - one that came in about $24 for Remingtons and had no manufacturer's name - and the other that came in around $40. The higher priced holsters I saw were all Triple K. If yours costs $25 it probably ain't Triple K.

[Ben Towe]

I don't know the difference between tanning methods, but I have read that some are better than others. I know it likely won't stand up like higher quality holsters but it should get me by until I can have a good one built.

[wogpotter]

Mostly the tanning method effects how chemicals retained in the leather can leach out & discolor brass.
The water/bicarb wash & rinse will solve the problem & a bit of neutral shoe polish will keep it going for years.

[Ben Towe]

Steeltown Joe, I want that rig! Only problem is it fits up to a 48" waist and mine is about 56". Since losing 8" off my waist is unlikely I may contact the seller about a custom rig. Thanks for the link!

As far as washing the holster, what is the proper mixture exactly? And how do I properly wet mold to my Walker?

[Hawg]

The problem with chrome tanned is it gets soft. Oiling accelerates it. It will get so soft the gun will sink further down and get wedged. It will take both hands to draw or you'll have to use leg ties. Also the mouth will flop over and you'll have to use both hands to holster it. Been there, done that. I have a couple of chrome tanned slim jims that don't get used much but do keep guns holstered in them. No rust or discolored brass so I don't think thats an issue.

[BConklin]

I can't say for sure if my $24 Cabela's holster is chrome tanned - but I can say that mink oil was the wrong thing to put on it. Just as Hawk warned - one light treatment rendered the holster so soft it's nearly useless as a holster.

On the bright side - that's part of the reason I started making my own holsters so I won't complain

[wogpotter]

I got the information on washing & brass staining after my pouch discolored everything brass overnight. Not sure if it is chrome, or something else, but the wash did cure the brass discoloration. When the brass trigger guard started to discolor too I decided to treat all the leather. I found this trick on a Black powder & related forum.

The mix isn't critical, the only purpose of the bicarb is to neutralize any acids present. I used a 5 gallon bucket of warm (blood heat) water with one tablespoon of bicarb completely dissolved. The holster was immersed & left overnight but I did dunk several times after about 15 minutes, just to agitate the liquid & ensure even treatment. Don't be surprised when you get a strong purple discoloration of the water it's perfectly normal, if a bit disconcerting.

The next morning I drip-dried the holster to remove excess water & filled & rinsed the bucket till I got clean water. The holster was dipped several times. More purple came off the surface. I did this a second time & got no color so I assumed it was clear of whatever was leaching from the leather.

I patted the holster dry with paper towels both inside & out & wrapped it in more to draw as much liquid as possible from the leather.

I took the pistol it was going to hold & applied lots of oil I mean dripping wet with thick oil!. Then I shoved it into a 1-gallon heavy-duty Ziploc freezer bag with the muzzle in a corner, wrapped the bag neatly round the pistol & slid it into the unwrapped holster. (Take care to not puncture the bag with the front sight while doing this a turn of duct tape at the area of the sight is a good idea.) The bag & heavy oiling will protect the metal very well, you just have to clean it off later.

I started at the muzzle & working my way back up the material pushed the leather into the shape of the wrapped gun inside. On my holster I removed the wrap round strap which just snap-fastens at the rear, but attached it again after I'd finished doing the mold. Leaving the whole thing to dry took about 2 days, then I removed the pistol, but left the holster to dry even more, when done it was stiff as cardboard & shaped to fit the pistol firmly.

I do not use any kind of oil! Only either neutral shoe polish, or wax furniture polish (not Pledge) will finish the job off well.

[BConklin]

as for wet molding to a gun - before I'd soak it overnight I'd make sure it was chrome tanned leather to begin with.

Quality holster leather is veg tanned - and all that is needed to wet form veg tanned leather is a quick dip in warm water, some plastic wrap, a gun and very closely trimmed fingernails.

I'd actually be afraid to soak a veg tanned leather overnight for fear it would ruin it.

With my veg tanned holsters - I clean out the kitchen sink, fill it 1/2 way with luke warm water then submerge the holster completely. After about 30 seconds I take it out and set it aside to let it dry a little.

While that's happening, I wrap the gun in good, heavy plastic wrap making sure not to make it too lumpy - but covering it with two layers at least. Then, once the surface water has dried off the holster I jam the gun into it to where I want it to sit.

With your fingers, press the leather firmly to form it around the gun. I keep the mouth of the holster flared a bit around the cylinder on revolvers. If you pinch it there, the edge of the cylinder will catch when you put the gun back in. If you have fingernails - be careful or you will make little crescent marks in the wet leather that will be permanent.

If you want it formed to the point that you can just about read the serial numbers through the leather, then you're gonna have to go at it with some sort of tool - I use the polished, rounded end of a stainless steel butter knife..one of those colonial style "pistol grip" knives. You can also use the polished rounded tip of a deer antler...Press down around the gun and all over with the tool - pushing the leather to shape it around the gun.

Another way I do this is the put the whole thing in a food saver bag and vacuum pack it...works like a charm - especially for concealed weapon holsters - but you have to wrap the holster first in another food saver bag you've cut open and turned inside out - or else the ridges inside the bagg will leave marks all over your holster.

After you're satisfied with the results, you can pull the gun out and set the holster somewhere to let it dry overnight.

If you can keep your oven below 140°F and you want a rock hard holster, you can put a folded hand towel in there and lay the holster on top of it to dry for an hour or so. You want to protect it from the steel rack in the oven but other than that, oven drying makes a very firm holster shaped perfectly to the gun.

[BConklin]

I see Wogpotter and I were working on similar responses at the same time - oh well. It's all useful information anyway - even if I ended up repeating what's already been written

[wogpotter]

Tag! You're it.
If the holster you get says Cabela's right on the back then you have the same line as I do, overnight won't harm it. If it doesn't say Cabelas I can't be sure so proceed with caution as it may not respond so well.

I think the purple stain is the trick here. It only seems to appear with modern tanning processes. It also appears very fast. Based on that I'd say if you got no purple coloration within the first 15~20 minutes you're probably not dealing with a chrome tanned item.

[BConklin]

Ditto on the shoe polish afterwards...good ol' fashioned Kiwi neutral. Not too much, just rub it in with your fingertip - wait a few, then buff with a horsehair brush or flannel rag.

I was lucky enough to find a pile of new, old stock Kiwi neutral in the local hardware store for 99¢ a tin....it was left over from before this store moved to its present location in the early 90's but it was still good stuff. I bought 'em out The guy was giving me the hairy eyeball even after I told him it was $5.49 a tin at the Rite Aid.

A light treatment with pure neatsfoot oil is called for if you're oven drying the holster. If you don't have pure neatsfoot, extra virgin olive oil is great stuff. Either one - don't soak it in - just dip your fingertip in the oil and spread it out as much as you can.

[Foto Joe]

I've got two of these holsters and I use them for everyday carry either on horseback or motorcycle. I did oil them down with Ballistol as they were stiffer than a board when I got them. They are Triple K brand and as far as the tanning process, I haven't got a clue but...The Ballistol trick didn't make them limp by any means, it just "seasoned" them a little.

Also, since Ballistol is slightly alkaline, if there is an acidic problem in the leather, it would stand to reason that the Ballistol would help off set the problem.

My two cents worth is that: They ain't purdy, they're functional. Worth the inexpensive price.

[wogpotter]

My two cents worth is that: They ain't purdy, they're functional. Worth the inexpensive price.

I'd agree with that.
I honestly don't know how many had fancy hand-tooled holsters & belts back then. I'd bet there were a lot of working men who just had a basic functional rig & that was what I was going for.

Those pictures above are a little over 2 years after I bought the setup BTW so it seems to last reasonably well.

[Hawg]

Triple K is pretty decent vegetable tanned leather.

[Hawg]

I honestly don't know how many had fancy hand-tooled holsters & belts back then. I'd bet there were a lot of working men who just had a basic functional rig & that was what I was going for.

I think most did have plain ones. Here's mine.

[wogpotter]

That's a nice rig.
It wouldn't work for me though I no longer have a waist, more of a sunken chest If I hung that much iron round the middle my pants would fall down

[Hawg]

These are Oklahoma Leather but don't get used much so do ok.

[Ben Towe]

The holster came in today. It does have Cabelas stamped in the back so its probably Oklahoma leather. The color is virtually the same as Hawg's rig there. It looks like a pretty decent $25 holster. I may try the washing method prescribed and will avoid leaving the gun in the holster overnight until then at least. Thanks for all the help guys!

[Hawg]

Good luck, hope it works out for you.