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I've been a holster maker for about 40 years, and this is how I do it.

First.....wash your hands. Any thing that touches the leather will either stain it or leave marks in the softened leather. If you don't want dye stained hands, wear plastic gloves.

Fill a sink with cool water and a couple of drops of liquid soap as a wetting agent.
Hold the holster under water for around 20-30 seconds, until it's damp, but not soaking wet.
OR:
Some holsters have enough oils in them that the holster may not wet properly. In this case, spray it with alcohol until damp, but not soaking.

Lay it on a clean cloth or paper towel, not newspaper, this will leave ink on it. Allow the leather to absorb the moisture. This is known as "casing" the leather.

The leather is ready for molding when the leather feels dry but cool to the touch. Tan or brown leather will have returned to it's original color. If when you press on the leather, moisture appears on the surface it's too wet, allow it to case longer.
If you try to mold when the leather is too wet, it will not hold the molding properly, and the leather will stretch too much. If it's too dry, spray a thin coat of water on it and allow to stand for a few minutes.

Coat the gun with a thin coat of some rustproof lube and insert it straight into the holster without twisting. DON'T put the gun in plastic bags or wrap, this will leave the holster slightly over-sized.

With clean hands, gently massage the leather around the prominent features like the cylinder, trigger guard, slide, and frame, pressing the leather into the hollows of the gun.

If you want the "detail" look where the leather is so closely molded you can see cylinder flutes or slide stops, use rounded hard plastic or metal tools to press the leather around the features as though you were outlining them with a pencil. My favorite tool is a 1/2" ball bearing attached to a handle. This "detail" molding usually isn't necessary, or even desirable on most holsters, but works well on open, no safety strap concealment rigs where a very tight fit is necessary.

After molding the leather, gently remove the gun, without twisting. The gun will be bone dry, but will need another coat of lube.
DO NOT leave the gun in the holster. The gun will rust, and the holster will stretch too much, ruining it.

Allow the leather to dry overnight. Keep it away from sunlight and heat. After it's completely dry, apply your favorite leather dressing. For a finish coat, I recommend Fiebing's Resolene. This is an water-based finish coat that won't crack, peel, or flake off. It's nominally waterproof, and seals dyed holsters.

When molding, be careful not to stretch safety straps or thumb breaks until they won't hold the gun properly.

Don't put too much leather dressing or oils into the leather, and NEVER use gun oil. If you want real leather oil, get a small can of 100% Neatsfoot oil, NOT neatsfoot Compound, which is fish oil with just enough neatsfoot oil to allow the use of the name.

You cannot completely waterproof leather, but I've had good luck on heavy duty field gear with THIN coats of Thompson's Waterseal. Although sold for wood decks, this works well for canvas and stiff leather. Thats it!!!!!

DallasSVT wrote:Thanks!

I have only been wearing it for 3 weeks... Thought it would last longer than that before it loosened up!

Will the dryer shrink it?

What holsters does everyone recommend in leather?