1903 Leather sling repair

[Smokeeaterpilot]

Hey guys I have a very early sling dated from RIA 1904. It came with a recent rifle but is dry and snapped in half in transit.

Does anyone have a tip of how to possible repair it?

I contacted the RIA museum and spoke with a curator he recommended I find a "leather conservationist" (I didn't realize there was such a thing) to try and repair it.

Does anyone have any ideas? I'd hate to write it off and just consider it trashed.

[Fred]

How about some photos?

[Dan Shapiro]

I'd contact Turner Slings:

http://www.turnersling.com/

See if they can help or point you to someone who can.

[stretch74]

Leather from that era was tanned using a method that incorporated Chrome in the tanning process, which is detrminental to long term leather life. If the flesh side of the leather is cracked, there is no fixing that. There are methods to restore leather that is degraded,
but it is extremely expensive and time consuming. A cheaper option to try is to treat the leather with Pecards Antique Leather Dressing, I have had limited success with it on old horse equipment. Another method is to clean it with Murphy's Oil Soap, and then treat
it with Neats Foot Oil. I would not recommend using products with lanolin or glycerin. A leather conservationist might cringe at either suggested method. Once the leather regains some elasticity, you may be able to have a saddle builder skiv the ends of the break,
and splice the peices together by stictching. If the goal is to maintain it as a historical artifact, you may be able to save it but as a functional sling it is doubtfull.

[Fred]

The reason I would like to see pictures is because I wanted to see how much of the slings length would be lost if the two pieces were overlapped and sewn. The slings dated 1904 might be the 52" slings that don't allow for much reduction in length.

[PhillipM]

I once ripped an M1923 and had a shoe repairman sew a thin piece of shoe leather over one side of the butted up strap. It's only a few thousandths thicker than the original.