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The Defensive Carry Vintage Holster Thread

79K views 261 replies 48 participants last post by  msgt/ret 
#1 ·
How about a classic, vintage holster thread for all of us to share?

I was cleaning up in the gun room a couple years ago, properly putting away all the stuff that inevitably stacks up on one's reloading bench. I was replacing some holsters in the holster bin and got to looking at the bin's contents. There were a lot of holsters in there. A lot of cows died for those holsters! Over the years holsters had accumulated: acquired with some handgun purchase, picked up out of a used holster bin on a gun show exhibitor's table, been given me, or occasionally purchased for cheap just because I liked the artistic carving or basket weave adornment. There were holsters enough to stack on shelves, several deep with three large paper grocery sacks full in the bin at the bottom of the metal locker where they are kept. Something clearly had to be done so I began sorting them into a keeper pile and a white elephant pile.

I was having a good time poking through this menagerie of leather. The more I looked through the holsters, the more I was liking a lot of them, just for what they were: Obsolete defunct manufacturers, bygone designs, trends from long ago yet many exhibited really outstanding materials and workmanship. Sure, some were a bit clumsy, not too cutting edge for concealment, and just generally out of style but then they were from another time. Yep, something clearly had to be done so, rather than divest myself of the holsters, I kept nearly all of them and then added the odd one along the way.

The inspiration hit me that it might be fun to feature old holsters in a Forum thread. That way everyone could pronounce judgement on them and we could just generally chew the fat on old holsters. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. I went insane in summer of 2013 and came back out of retirement to bite off more than I can chew as a one-person compliance department in a local bank so never seemed to get "a round tuit" on beginning a Forum holster thread.

So now, over two years later, we're going to give this a try. I'm going to try to resurrect this thread on occasion to add new photos of old holsters as time allows for photographing. Am hoping that y'all all will add photos and narrative of your own about holsters you have. We can all remark about each others' leather.

Rules (which are made to be broken)

Y'all be sure and participate in this as well by featuring photos of your vintage holsters. Any holster can be featured as long as its genu-wine leather.

Nasty ol' materials like Kydex, canvas, whether tacti-cool black or OD camo, don't really belong in this thread unless they hold special meaning to the member, in which case, stick 'em up too along with the tales to go with 'em. I'm sure that sometime later on, I'll get around to photographing some neato British WWII canvas Webley holsters and putting them up.

With such an astute membership, we're bound to cover some ground looking in from time to time on old holsters. I'm hoping some of y'all can help me figure out what I've got, help with holster maker history and lore and all for fun and frolic.

With all that introduction, here's the first holster I'm going to stick up here.
 
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#2 · (Edited)






It pays to hitch to the House of Heiser

The inaugural holster I'm placing here is the one that nurtured a budding interest in old leather. It has to be the first one because it holds the most sentimental value to me. It's a Heiser holster, with floral carved motifs and white latigo-laced trim made for the Colt Woodsman. My old gun club friend, Cres Lawson sold me his Woodsman, purchased new in 1928. This pistol was one of two shipped to Ad Toepperwein's hardware store and gun shop in downtown San Antonio, subsequently resold directly to William Crites of Crites gun shop just around the corner and down the block from Toepperwein's. Cres worked for Mr. Crites summers and when he was home from college from about 1926 to 1932. He said it was only gun Mr. Crites sold him for full retail, not giving him a normally generous discount and he'd always wondered why. Some 70 years later, Cres learned the rest of the story, about his Woodsman was shipped to Toepperweins, from whence Mr. Crites fetched it to fill Cres' order. Crites and Toepperwein were good friends as well as business competitors so Cres was much amused at this discovery found within the Colt factory letter I had requested.



Cres originally purchased a Brill holster to fit the Woodsman, purchased from A.W. Brill's shop in Austin, Texas. Both Cres and his father had traded there on occasion plus Cres was in Austin from 1927 to 1932 attending the University of Texas. The Brill, a holster which Cres waxed enthusiastic about, was later left in Mexico on one of the Lawson family visits to their ranch west of Cuidad Victoria. There the holster got away from him. So, he ordered this Heiser sometime later on.



The Hermann H. Heiser Saddlery Company almost lasted a hundred years, from 1858 to 1955, turning out very well-respected leather goods of all kinds. Hermann H. Heiser was born in Saxony the year of Texas' hard won independence from Mexico. He immigrated to America and by 1858 had opened a saddlery and harness business. He apparently made quality leather goods and he had a good head for business as well for the company prospered. He brought his sons into the business and when he died in 1904, they continued operating it for many years afterward. A better history than I can offer is provided in this link: Hermann H. Heiser Saddlery Company History and Maker Marks - www.vintagegunleather.com California

No man ever lived long enough to wear out a Heiser Holster

Cres always spoke of the Heiser holster line as being the premium line of gun leather back in the day. He did reserve a special place of top honor for the comparatively scarce Brill holsters. Perhaps this was because he traded in their shop and he and his dad knew the Brills personally. The Heiser holsters I've examined are very good holsters, made of high quality leather, near as thick as saddle skirting. No scrimpy thin wallet leather here. They are well-formed and ruggedly stitched. Though the newest Heiser is now over 60 years old now, the leather is generally found to be supple, is not found to be rotten, and the holsters remain serviceable. Any holster leather can break down when used and abused but Heiser holsters are generally found to be remaining in better condition than many more modern makers from the 1950s forward that one may see in collections of used holsters offered for sale.

Cres' Heiser holster has seen a good bit of use. I don't know its exact age but am guessing late 1930s/early 1940s. Heiser changed their maker's mark in the early 1920s and this holster features the later mark. Heiser snaps were of brass, amply large and decorated with the Heiser logo, all art deco in style, up until the late 1920s or early 1930s. It's possible to have a Heiser holster with the later style maker's mark but having the large brass Heiser-adorned snaps so there was overlap of these features for a few years in the 1920s. Later, the snaps became smaller, were of stamped steel construction, dark brown enamel painted and more simply marked "Heiser." Even later, the Heiser marking on the snaps was deleted which is the style seen here. Last style of snaps appear to be bright metal.

Heiser gun leather - Life is too short to take chances!



Cres never scrimped on what he termed "cheap-jon guns" or on accessories. The Colt Woodsman came to me in a vintage Boyt fleece-lined leather zippered pistol case. I don't know its age but am guessing it to be from the 1930 to 1950 time period. The Woodsman always lived in this case when Cres had it, the pistol carefully preserved in a coat of RIG so that's the way the Woodsman lives in my safe.













Old pamphlet advertising the Toepperwein's (spelled Topperwein in the text) Winchester shooting exhibition.
 
#4 ·
It may be vintage (bought in the 1970s) but it does get use on long road trips to carry a Colt Detective Special, a Bianchi upside down holster. Don’t have pictures but I have another for a 4-inch S&W 10/15. One of the most secure holsters I have ever owned, many pre-flights of C-5s I have never had the gun fall out of the holster.
 

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#13 ·
Thanks for the kind responses and great photos! Y'all've already got the idea.

Gotta inquire further with msg/ret on those Bianchi upside down holsters, how they retain the handgun, and how easy the draw? I've heard of those for years but never examined one.

Am pleased to see the three holsters you posted, 33S. Wonder who was the maker on that Detective Special holster? Looks sort of S. D. Myres in style but is apparently unmarked. Perhaps it originated from south of the border?

You gave me an idea by posting your WWI holster. I think I already have photos of my old M1916 holster that I could stick up here. You also preempted me on putting up the neato Western .38 Special wadcutter ammo. Good for you! I'm guessing the Western ammunition in that style box to be mid to late 1950s? I'm mid to late '50s myself but wasn't buying much ammo back then. I had considered doing a "period" display of guns, ammunition, and other vintage stuff to go with in a photo. There's lots of vintage junk of all kinds around here.

Jeff1981, is that a discontinued DeSantis model? I don't know when DeSantis first started up.
 
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#16 ·
Thanks for the kind responses and great photos! Y'all've already got the idea.

Gotta inquire further with msg/ret on those Bianchi upside down holsters, how they retain the handgun, and how easy the draw? I've heard of those for years but never examined one.
Retention is by the leather going behind the trigger guard and an elastic strap across the opening above the top strap, gun has to be drawn in up and out motion to clear the trigger guard.
 
#14 · (Edited)
scottync slipped in photos while I was typing a reply.

Love the old Bucheimer stuff. I'm old enough to have purchased some of their stuff brand new.

Here's a Bucheimer Federal Man holster. The 4-inch K-Frame Smith & Wesson rides high on the hip, concealing nicely beneath a jacket when this holster is used. I'm old enough to have purchased Bucheimer holsters brand new and now they're gone. This is one I purchased new and used for 30 years or so.

The stitching finally let go on this one since the photo was taken. Intend to sew it back. Meanwhile, I found another just like it, still new in the package so snagged it for use.

Of course if I hadn't bashed it on rocks the stitching might have held up longer.
 
#18 ·
It seemed a good idea in a way, as if it would facilitate the hand grasping and drawing the gun however, I was a bit skeptical. Couldn't make the design completely square with gravity.
 
#22 ·
So you search out the used holster bargains at the gun show too, Jeff.

Continuing on with holsters for which photographs are already on hand: Here's a Model 1916 holster. There are several of these around here but this is the first one acquired and the one I've had the longest. I got it at a gun show too and seems like it also cost $5 at the time. I had just bought my first 1911 and needed a holster. I did carry the pistol in this holster on hikes around our place for the first few years I had the 1911. Now these are somewhat collectible. Warren Leather Goods was the World War I holster contractor who made this one.




The first 1911 acquisition was a 21st birthday present I got myself, purchased at a Fort Worth pawn shop.
 
#25 ·
OOo ... that was a wild guess, 33S. And I'm jealous of you too. I have a Detective Special that would cozy right up to that holster.

A Myres or two live here but their markings are more obviously placed. S. D. Myres holsters are good stuff.

Here's the Detective Special but it's in a holster like msg/ret's. It's a Triple K. I think these are still made. Good holster. Sits there handy on the belt under a sport coat and nobody knows.
 
#27 ·
Feeling flush with photos already taken of holsters around here. They've been on Defensive Carry before.


Bought my first handgun 40 years ago this month, this Smith & Wesson Model 10 Heavy Barrel. A new holster was called for so went into Larsen's Sporting Goods in Cleburne, Texas and gave $7 and change for this Smith & Wesson holster. Wore the hooey out of both gun and holster for around 35 years. The inexpensive holster finally died. The gun's still alive and kicking.

A good holster, it was. Leather is thick and well, if simply sewn. It could have gone on longer if it hadn't had so many drenchings (including going in swimming more than once), dustings, thrashings with brush, smushed on rocks, caught on barbed wire, tossed into shooting boxes, under pickup seats, in car trunks, door pockets and consoles, and toted a million miles in the field. Was shamefully neglected too. Might have been oiled twice in its life.

After it was retired to an honored place on the gun rack on the reloading bench, I adopted the Bucheimer shown in an earlier post in this thread, pressing it into service as a field holster. Previously the Bucheimer served as a concealment holster under jackets and sport coats, something the old Smith & Wesson holster wasn't good at doing. A couple years of this abuse blew the stitching out on the Bucheimer. About the time I noticed this tragedy, my good ol' brother-in-law presented me with a gift for Christmas, a replacement Smith & Wesson holster. He said he couldn't bear to see me afield with the Model 10 stuffed in any other holster. The model numbers are the same on these but the newer one has an open toe and the older one is closed. Carries just the same though and feels familiar.

 
#42 ·
This holster looks quite familiar but I can't recall it. Never owned one but have seen this style.

Sure am loving that Colt Police Positive which is in fine condition. Is it a .32 or a .38?
 
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