I know that leather sheaths and holster are the last place you'd want to store a knife or handgun.

What should I use to line a fitted case?
What does the factory use?
I have lime green synthetic felt.

Rich

I think maybe the kind of tanning done to the leather may determine whether it is safe to keep guns in.

My wife had a box custom made of lignum vitae to fit my consecutive SN'd matched pair of Colt single actions, and gave it to me as a surprise present for my birthday in 1966.

I used plastic wood and glove leather to form the "fitted-to-the-pistols" interior.

I kept the guns in it in direct contact with the leather for 7 years. When I sold the whole shebang, the guns were still in As New condition inside and out.

Some processors use a salt in curing the leather

quote:

I have lime green synthetic felt.

Go to Walmart and get a sheet of the thin poster board they sell in the school/office supply department. Then get a spray can of the fabric glue they sell in the ladies crafts dept. to attach cloth to other stuff.

If your case is wood prepare the surfaces for gluing with a coat of clear finish - varnish or poly - and sand away any stick-up nubs so everything is really level. (Lady's cheap sandpaper/nail files work well for smoothing in tight places.)

Cut pieces of your cardboard, trim and fold where needed so each perfectly fits into each of your case cavities and over any dividers. Spray each cut piece in turn and glue it to your felt. Trim the excess AFTER the glue dries, but try to leave a few thousanths clearance along each edge so the material will fill any small gaps you may have.

When your liner pieces are it's all cut out and felted, mask off anything in/on the case you won't be covering. Lightly spray the case and paper bottoms of the liner parts, then stick 'em together.

Tandy leather sells Bark Tanned leather !

I have a Zebra hide I'd sell you. I have seen a few old English doubles that used that hide as a liner. Then use a Cape Buffalo or Elephant hide for the outer, with buckles. I saw two at Elmer Keith's house one fall. Looks awfully sweet!

When I was making cases I always advised clients to put a piece of cling wrap between the gun and the felt. It keeps oil off the felt and insures that nothing in the felt will hurt the gun.

If you use real velvet and glue it to the separators it looks good and lasts a very long time. If the felt picks up a bit of oil it just enhances the patina of the case.
You do want to wipe the gun down to keep the velvet from getting saturated but a bit of oil is expected in a gun case.

I have green felt, green nauga, and linen canvas that I use for photo backdrops. I stay away from blue, red and brown

Nauga



Linen



felt

Have a look at ZORO.com.
They offer various thickness of felt.

Jim