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A vintage leather work of art for my 1911

4K views 17 replies 15 participants last post by  steelhawk 
#1 ·
Here's something you handmade leather and traditional gun fans may enjoy. Living in Alabama where OC is legal, I occasionally choose to do so. When I do, I particularly enjoy doing so with my Colt 1911 and this beautiful handmade vintage leather holster that belonged to my late grandfather.





I know very little about it other than it has the name "Hunter" embossed on the snaps and stamped into the rear of the holster. Knowing my grandfather, he likely purchased this holster in the late 1940s to carry his Colt 1911 on base while he was stationed in various places (he was an Air Force Colonel in WWII). My memories are of it sitting in the display case with his handguns as he had long been retired once I came around.





The detail work in the leather is amazing...even more so knowing that it was more than likely all done by hand.





As you can see in the above pictures it's just a little long for my commander length 1911...it's made for a government model...but my commander still fits very well.



His initials, "LJB", can still be seen written into the back of the belt loop. The wear of the letters wasn't done by my usage, so it shows that he carried his Colt in this holster frequently.

Hope you enjoyed this family heirloom and a glimpse into the past of leather holstermaking.
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#2 ·
I have a black Hunter holster that I used to carry an N frame S&W model 28 in years ago. It was smooth leather without the engraving but it had the same stamping and the straps like yours. I retired the 28 to my safe and still have the holster in one of my holster boxes somewhere.
 
#6 ·
Thanks guys, I love wearing this old holster. When I'm not, it sits on display with my other items of historical interest...most of which were also my grandfather's before they came into my possession.
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#8 ·
Believe it or not HUNTER Holsters is still around. They have been making holsters for probably about 70 years.
Not sure if they are still offering or selling hand tooled holsters anymore though.
 
#9 ·
Now that's pretty! Both the leather and the gun!
 
#11 ·
Leather 'eye candy' with 'family memories' attached...niiiiiiiice!:hand9:
 
#12 ·
Thanks again guys! It's cool to know that Hunter holsters is still around, I'll have to check them out sometime just to see what they are making these days.
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#16 ·
Here's something you handmade leather and traditional gun fans may enjoy. Living in Alabama where OC is legal, I occasionally choose to do so. When I do, I particularly enjoy doing so with my Colt 1911 and this beautiful handmade vintage leather holster that belonged to my late grandfather.



I know very little about it other than it has the name "Hunter" embossed on the snaps and stamped into the rear of the holster. Knowing my grandfather, he likely purchased this holster in the late 1940s to carry his Colt 1911 on base while he was stationed in various places (he was an Air Force Colonel in WWII). My memories are of it sitting in the display case with his handguns as he had long been retired once I came around.



Hope you enjoyed this family heirloom and a glimpse into the past of leather holstermaking.
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Ran across this example of an old Myers from the 1930s, showing floral carving at its best (though, amazingly, I've seen even better on Bohlin saddles). My image collection runs to 10,000 images.

Pattern Orange Visual arts Design Carving


Orange Arm Human body Art Visual arts
 
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