Rust prevention under leather lever wrap??

Yea, well, maybe. While the leather may not cause the rust, it is the cause of the rust, as it holds the moisture once it gets wet and the gun is always exposed to it from that point on unless you get them apart.

The other problem with leather is, it picks up and embeds all sorts of abrasive crap into it, and that is just constant wear on the finish, every time the gun is drawn and inserted.

trackskippy said:

Yea, well, maybe. While the leather may not cause the rust, it is the cause of the rust, as it holds the moisture once it gets wet and the gun is always exposed to it from that point on unless you get them apart.

The other problem with leather is, it picks up and embeds all sorts of abrasive crap into it, and that is just constant wear on the finish, every time the gun is drawn and inserted.

Click to expand...

The general statement that "leather causes rust" is factually incorrect and intellectually lazy. It helps to understand exactly what's going on. Blaming the leather without considering the role moisture/humidity plays is a low info mentality. The moisture is the issue, whether the gun is in a holster or not. If you live in Florida and leave a gun on the seat of your truck in the summer, in the open with no holster or case, it's going to rust (been there, done that). If you live in a dry climate, you can leave a handgun in a leather holster indefinitely with ZERO chances of rust. It's the same if your guns are not exposed to water and are stored in a climate controlled environment. Even in a humid environment, it's not a guarantee. I live humid TN but I don't hunt in the rain and have left guns in holsters for years. My LeMat has been in its holster for about six years. I left a Single Six in my truck for 2yrs before I realized it. No humidity, no rust.

Maybe, if you're riding a dusty trail all day long. Most people aren't and leather imparts very little finish wear. Most of this is old wives tales people repeat without even thinking about it.

You may say the holster/leather isnt to blame, and you might be able to leave it in a "dry" holster indefinitely, but once that holster absorbs moisture, and gets wet/damp, it is the vehicle that puts the gun into the position of being in that environment and the guns will rust if they are left exposed to it. Trust me, I had decades of experience dealing with it on daily basis, especially in the summers. Leather gets wet, and stays wet, and wet leather holsters lead to rusty guns.

Now, I admit, I worked outside, long days, doing physical things, in all weather, often sweating like a pig, and I carried a gun the whole time. Sweat, dirt, dust, stone dust, etc, all attack leather holsters (all holsters for that matter, but with different results), that in turn, attack the the guns in them. If it weren't for the leather holsters, the guns finishes wouldn't have looked like they did, and wouldn't have rusted.

Maybe if you work in an office and just occasionally wear a gun, in a pristine holster, you have differing experiences.

The best thing to happen to the holster world, for anything being used regularly, especially in real world environments, is Kydex. Hands down. Proof is in the pudding too, as as soon as I went from using a leather holster to one made of Kydex, my rusting issues dropped off about 85-90%. Finishes like hard chrome and tennifer, took that up to about 98-99%.

Kydex also reduces the wear on the finish to just a few key spots, which are generally very small, and often not even noticeable depending on the guns finish. They don't rely on being tightly "molded to the gun" to retain them, like leather, and because of it, you don't have the overall wear and washed out look in the finish that you get with guns carried in leather over time.

chicharrones said:

Well, for the guys that don't understand the leather wrap, there is a reason besides looks.

If you've ever cranked out a few hundred shots out of your lever gun in an hour or less, the meatless back of the fingers can take a pounding.

This is less so with a standard sized lever loop, but much more so with an oversize lever loop as the fingers move quite a ways before contacting the lever. Which is like the difference in pushing something and slapping something to make it move . . . with the meatless back of the fingers.

Of course, one could wear gloves. I live in the Texas coastal plains and the only time I wear gloves is if it's genuinely cold outside, which isn't that often. My generation may be one of the last that doesn't wear gloves out of habit. Seemingly, glove wearing for working on things or using guns has taken off in the last two decades, it just hasn't taken off with me.

So, the only time my compadres and I wore gloves was during hunting season when it was our version of cold. And during a hunt, we weren't exactly cranking out a few hundred shots in an hour or less.

Seems like there ought to be a North and South version of each lever gun model, as the general proliferation of oversize lever loops tends to confound this Texas boy.

Click to expand...

That is funny. I do wish as a younger man I had worn gloves more when working outdoors and sunscreen in general . But the big loop levers are not all that big to my hands. I do like the paracord as a buffer to the cold hard edges of the levers.



Not a good photo but my hands dwarf the grip and wrap fully around the stock and pretty much fill the lever. I have taken to using fingerless leather gloves for shooting, it improves grip and gives a little padding.

Who cares its under a leather wrap. bugs ya just polish and krylon or powder coat it. And yes go veg tan vs all the chem tan stuff too. And for kydex thats what I would give away to people I would love to see dead.

3Crows said:

That is funny. I do wish as a younger man I had worn gloves more when working outdoors and sunscreen in general . But the big loop levers are not all that big to my hands. I do like the paracord as a buffer to the cold hard edges of the levers.

Not a good photo but my hands dwarf the grip and wrap fully around the stock and pretty much fill the lever. I have taken to using fingerless leather gloves for shooting, it improves grip and gives a little padding.

Click to expand...

That looks like a Marlin 1895 sized hand. My hands are closer to being Marlin 39 sized.

I've done a ton of shooting with leverguns and have never felt the need to wrap a lever. I also don't care for the big loops. I think it's the larger loops that actually make the wraps necessary.

trackskippy said:

You may say the holster/leather isnt to blame, and you might be able to leave it in a "dry" holster indefinitely, but once that holster absorbs moisture, and gets wet/damp, it is the vehicle that puts the gun into the position of being in that environment and the guns will rust if they are left exposed to it. Trust me, I had decades of experience dealing with it on daily basis, especially in the summers. Leather gets wet, and stays wet, and wet leather holsters lead to rusty guns.

Now, I admit, I worked outside, long days, doing physical things, in all weather, often sweating like a pig, and I carried a gun the whole time. Sweat, dirt, dust, stone dust, etc, all attack leather holsters (all holsters for that matter, but with different results), that in turn, attack the the guns in them. If it weren't for the leather holsters, the guns finishes wouldn't have looked like they did, and wouldn't have rusted.

Maybe if you work in an office and just occasionally wear a gun, in a pristine holster, you have differing experiences.

The best thing to happen to the holster world, for anything being used regularly, especially in real world environments, is Kydex. Hands down. Proof is in the pudding too, as as soon as I went from using a leather holster to one made of Kydex, my rusting issues dropped off about 85-90%. Finishes like hard chrome and tennifer, took that up to about 98-99%.

Kydex also reduces the wear on the finish to just a few key spots, which are generally very small, and often not even noticeable depending on the guns finish. They don't rely on being tightly "molded to the gun" to retain them, like leather, and because of it, you don't have the overall wear and washed out look in the finish that you get with guns carried in leather over time.

Click to expand...

We're obviously not talking about wet holsters. Guess what, the same thing will happen in a nylon or kydex holster. Yeah, if you're getting wet every day, kydex is probably a good option. However, the gun still needs to be removed and everything allowed to dry.

When I started carrying I was a field tech. Climbing poles, crawling under houses and through attics.....in Florida. Yes, I know a bit about getting dirty and sweating.

Tennifer is not a finish.

Kydex wears hard and it wears ugly.

CraigC said:

I've done a ton of shooting with leverguns and have never felt the need to wrap a lever. I also don't care for the big loops. I think it's the larger loops that actually make the wraps necessary.




We're obviously not talking about wet holsters. Guess what, the same thing will happen in a nylon or kydex holster. Yeah, if you're getting wet every day, kydex is probably a good option. However, the gun still needs to be removed and everything allowed to dry.

When I started carrying I was a field tech. Climbing poles, crawling under houses and through attics.....in Florida. Yes, I know a bit about getting dirty and sweating.

Tennifer is not a finish.

Kydex wears hard and it wears ugly.

Click to expand...

We are talking about wet leather constantly left against the gun. A holster, or worse, something like a wrap, that gets soaked with use isn't likely removed at the end of the day doesn't matter, it's the wet leather that is the problem. Never had that issue or saw it happen with a Kydex holster.

And you're right, the gun should be removed at the end of the day and wiped down, and they are, but the wet leather holster doesn't dry out over night and the gun is right back in it in a few hours and the holster right back at soaking up more sweat and that goes on day after day through the warmer months. It's constantly exposed to a sweat soaked holster. You don't get that with a Kydex holster, it's easily cleaned under the kitchen tap at the end of the day, rinsing abrasive dirt and crap out of it that usually embeds in a leather holster that just adds to finish wear, and you can dry it with a paper towel and if need be, use it again immediately, without having to put the gun back into a wet holster.

My experience with Kydex holster wear on guns is 180* from yours. The wear is limited to a couple of contact points and the rest of the guns finish is not affected. The hard and ugly you speak of is more appropriate for leather.

A very thin coat of contact cement under the leather. It will have the advantage of adhering the leather as well as creating a waterproof barrier against sweat, humidity, etc. It comes off VERY easily when you want it to.

I didn’t see anyone mention type of leather. Veg tan vs chrome, etc
I would use veg tan leather and treat it thoroughly all sides with something like sno seal or boot wax.