First holsters try

[Miguel Loco]

Gray would be great. No one makes a decent gray dye. Sounds like some experimenting is in order.

[Marshal Will]

To get grey, you could probably just water down your vinegaroon. It would take some experimenting to get a shade you like. Over time, the lightened vinegaroon would probably lighten more so you would probably need to mix up a new batch or add more vinegaroon to it. It could have its uses, though.

[Miguel Loco]

The lightened look would be nice for a more rustic look. Kinda like the Will Gormley Hand Of God rig.

Most of the guys (reenactors) I build for don't want a new looking rig. They prefer the "lived in" look. This approach may save some time getting there.

[Marshal Will]

I have used old greyed out vinegaroon with diluted brown to get a sort-of Hand of God look. You may want to try that in two stages, brown then grey or vice-versa.

I've been thinking about another holster doing that again since I have an old batch of vinegaroon in the cabinet. Thanks for the kick in the butt on this.

[Hawg]

Y'all probably already know this but this guy gets a pretty good used look.

 

[Miguel Loco]

Yup....antiquing is a good start. But looking at old holsters that have been well used, there are certain wear patterns depending on the use. It's kind of fun playing with different ideas to create some of the realistic rubs, bump and other thing that a piece of leather protruding from your hip is going to get.

[Hawg]

Seems to me it would take many years to get any appreciable wear patterns. Scuffs and scrapes yes but wear methinks not so much. I may be wrong tho. Wouldn't be the first time.

[Miguel Loco]

It may take a while....but if it was worn every day, taken off and tossed in a pile next to your bed roll every night, it may show wear pretty quick.

Here is an oldie....lightly used. You can see the wear where the cylinder would go....and the dark streaks inside....along with other general wear. It might be subtle, but these reenactors are picky about that kind of thing, and will pay handsomely if it's done to their liking.

[Hawg]

here's one I wore literally daily for a few years starting when I was 12. I put it through more crap than any CW holster ever went through. It's been dunked in a river a few times, rode around in the back of a pickup. I played cowboys and Indians with live ammo crawling around on the ground etc. It's scuffed yeah but not a lot of wear. The paint is till on the snap. The white spots are where I had my initials on it with square Ronco studs.

[Marshal Will]

Bat Masterson's rig shows about the same amount of wear as the one you posted, Mick. I notice that the first thing to go is the stamping detail on high wear areas as it gets burnished down over the years. If these were conditioned and or cleaned now and then, they probably lasted better. I like this amount of wear much better than what some people put on them.





Frank James' rig shows considerably more wear than that, but it may not have been taken care of over the years after he turned it in.

[Miguel Loco]

Yeah, Bat's holster shows the kind of subtle wear they look for. Also keep in mind that Bat was a city slicker. I bet the rigs he wore in his early days didn't look that nice. Not beat to hell like Frank's rig. However, Frank cut the top front of his out with a knife so he could pull the hammer back. Nice to see the wear there. I'm sure it wasn't dyed all pretty after he cut it out.

 It's more easily noticed on lighter colored leather. On a Mex Loop, I usually sand the tops of the loops and the top of the cylinder area....then some around the bottom and down the front. It's all pretty subtle on a dyed rig.
That's why the Vinagaroon interests me. I'm going to experiment. That's what it's all about......mess it up and try again. But even the goof ups will eventually sell.

[Marshal Will]

Yeah, Bat's holster shows the kind of subtle wear they look for. Also keep in mind that Bat was a city slicker. I bet the rigs he wore in his early days didn't look that nice. Not beat to hell like Frank's rig. However, Frank cut the top front of his out with a knife so he could pull the hammer back. Nice to see the wear there. I'm sure it wasn't dyed all pretty after he cut it out.

 It's more easily noticed on lighter colored leather. On a Mex Loop, I usually sand the tops of the loops and the top of the cylinder area....then some around the bottom and down the front. It's all pretty subtle on a dyed rig.
That's why the Vinegaroon interests me. I'm going to experiment. That's what it's all about......mess it up and try again.

I may have to do one with that level of aging. It can look mighty good.

But even the goof ups will eventually sell.

There's a butt for every saddle.

[Hawg]

Yeah, Bat's holster shows the kind of subtle wear they look for. Also keep in mind that Bat was a city slicker. I bet the rigs he wore in his early days didn't look that nice. Not beat to hell like Frank's rig. However, Frank cut the top front of his out with a knife so he could pull the hammer back. Nice to see the wear there. I'm sure it wasn't dyed all pretty after he cut it out.

 It's more easily noticed on lighter colored leather. On a Mex Loop, I usually sand the tops of the loops and the top of the cylinder area....then some around the bottom and down the front. It's all pretty subtle on a dyed rig.
That's why the Vinegaroon interests me. I'm going to experiment. That's what it's all about......mess it up and try again.

I may have to do one with that level of aging. It can look mighty good.

But even the goof ups will eventually sell.

There's a butt for every saddle.

I thought it was a saddle for every butt.