Colt Or S&W 1917 Leather

Sea Buck · March 15, 2011, 03:04 PM

What type of leather rig do you use to carry your 1917 ? Replica WWI,or WWII? Modern field types? Full flap?

Frasier · March 15, 2011, 08:11 PM

As soon as I can afford a 1917, I found a WW2 full flap replica online for about $40.
Brown leather, stamped with US, just beautiful.

gyvel · March 16, 2011, 01:06 AM

I bought one of the Sarco 1917 repros for $29.95 on eBay and it is a beautiful, well-made holster. I don't know where they are made, but they seem to be a cut way above some of the other repros I have seen. It was much better than I expected. I use it for my current production S&W Model 22 1917 "replica."

zippy13 · March 16, 2011, 02:17 AM

I seldom holster my S&W M-1917, but when I do, it's with its original WW I issue leather.

gyvel · March 16, 2011, 05:42 AM

I hesitate to holster my originals for two reasons: To avoid blue wear and the fact that the leather is getting a bit fragile after nearly a century.

zippy13 · March 16, 2011, 10:08 AM

Yep... The last time I used mine was in 1966 when I was younger and less appreciative.

Andy Taylor · March 16, 2011, 11:26 AM

El Paso Saddlery makes a nice repro of the original military holster.

DG45 · March 16, 2011, 01:12 PM

I bought one of the first Brazillian contract S&W 45 revolvers to come back into the US. I needed a holster for it. I picked a holster for a 1917 Model Army revolver out of a pile of old leather holsters at a Mechanicsville, Va. gun show back in the late 1980's. Any one of these holsters could have been had for $5. This particular one was marked U.S. on the front and TexTan 1942 on the back. Not a WWI holster, but a WWII holster.

The stopper in the bottom of this holster had been removed, which allowed water to get out of the holster after the wearer got soaked in a monsoon, or fording streams or whatever, and two holes had been punched in the leather loop that was originally meant for a Sam Brown belt to go through, but these holes allowed the holster to be hung by metal hangars from a combat style military pistol belt. As soon as I saw these two things, I realized this holster had almost certainly been used in WWII in a Pacific combat zone, because in no other place or time would it have ever been worn like that; at least no other time and place I can think of.

I bought it, and took it to a shoe shop that I knew did miracles with old leather, and for $11, they cleaned it, and refurbished the leather and now it looks like a million dollars. In fact, I've been offered $75 for it and turned it down. I'll never sell it.

Glenn Dee · March 16, 2011, 02:24 PM

Try Pacific Canvass and leather. They make almost perfect reproductions for a very reasonable price.

March 15, 2011, 03:04 PM	#1
Sea Buck Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2008 Location: Maine Posts: 156	Colt Or S&W 1917 Leather What type of leather rig do you use to carry your 1917 ? Replica WWI,or WWII? Modern field types? Full flap?

March 15, 2011, 08:11 PM	#2
Frasier Senior Member Join Date: March 10, 2011 Posts: 175	As soon as I can afford a 1917, I found a WW2 full flap replica online for about $40. Brown leather, stamped with US, just beautiful.

March 16, 2011, 01:06 AM	#3
gyvel Senior Member Join Date: August 30, 2009 Location: Northern AZ Posts: 3,458	I bought one of the Sarco 1917 repros for $29.95 on eBay and it is a beautiful, well-made holster. I don't know where they are made, but they seem to be a cut way above some of the other repros I have seen. It was much better than I expected. I use it for my current production S&W Model 22 1917 "replica."

March 16, 2011, 02:17 AM	#4
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,281	I seldom holster my S&W M-1917, but when I do, it's with its original WW I issue leather.

March 16, 2011, 05:42 AM	#5
gyvel Senior Member Join Date: August 30, 2009 Location: Northern AZ Posts: 3,458	I hesitate to holster my originals for two reasons: To avoid blue wear and the fact that the leather is getting a bit fragile after nearly a century.

March 16, 2011, 10:08 AM	#6
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,281	Yep... The last time I used mine was in 1966 when I was younger and less appreciative.

March 16, 2011, 11:26 AM	#7
Andy Taylor Senior Member Join Date: October 23, 2010 Posts: 499	El Paso Saddlery makes a nice repro of the original military holster.

March 16, 2011, 01:12 PM	#8
DG45 Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2009 Posts: 904	I bought one of the first Brazillian contract S&W 45 revolvers to come back into the US. I needed a holster for it. I picked a holster for a 1917 Model Army revolver out of a pile of old leather holsters at a Mechanicsville, Va. gun show back in the late 1980's. Any one of these holsters could have been had for $5. This particular one was marked U.S. on the front and TexTan 1942 on the back. Not a WWI holster, but a WWII holster. The stopper in the bottom of this holster had been removed, which allowed water to get out of the holster after the wearer got soaked in a monsoon, or fording streams or whatever, and two holes had been punched in the leather loop that was originally meant for a Sam Brown belt to go through, but these holes allowed the holster to be hung by metal hangars from a combat style military pistol belt. As soon as I saw these two things, I realized this holster had almost certainly been used in WWII in a Pacific combat zone, because in no other place or time would it have ever been worn like that; at least no other time and place I can think of. I bought it, and took it to a shoe shop that I knew did miracles with old leather, and for $11, they cleaned it, and refurbished the leather and now it looks like a million dollars. In fact, I've been offered $75 for it and turned it down. I'll never sell it.

March 16, 2011, 02:24 PM	#9
Glenn Dee Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2009 Location: South Florida Posts: 1,419	Try Pacific Canvass and leather. They make almost perfect reproductions for a very reasonable price.