A step back in time...

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mb111263

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
452
Location
USA
My holster making began long ago out of necessity. Limited funds meant limited extravagances. That, and the fact that I grew up doing things with my hands led me to building my own 'shucks'. Some of my earliest ones (built for BB and pellet guns) were rather crude. I even went as far as building a holster for my CVA 1860 cap-n-ball revolver out of the top of an old cowboy boot, just like Skeeter had done when he was a kid. A trip one day to a Tandy Leather store set me up with a few basic tools and enough leather to build a few holsters. Several of those holsters are still in my 'collection', though more for the entertainment value than for anything else, while others have long since disappeared.

Recently, I pulled out the first holster that I ever built for a 4 5/8" Blackhawk. The inspiration for the design was the classic Threepersons holster and the equally classic holster worn by John Wayne in many of his great films. Blending the lines of the Wayne holster with the pure function of the Threepersons was my goal. The result was a minimalist style holster, which carried the gun high on the belt, with enough cant for an easy draw. Like the Threepersons, the holster was cut to fit a specific width belt; the John Wayne holster featured a 'half flap' belt loop style. While the half flap style is a throwback to many classic holsters, such as the Mexican loop, the Cheyenne, the Texas Jockstrap and many others, it does allow a holster to slide up and down on the belt unless it was secured to the belt with stitching or a rivet.

Looking at the holster made me think.. While not very pretty, it was and is a very functional field holster. That old holster has been used quite a bit, and is one that I still sometimes use, and I thought it might make a good addition to my line of holsters. I dug through my patterns and found the original that I had made 25 years ago. The original was built for a Blackhawk with a short front sight, but the pattern will be slightly altered to use with taller custom sights. This model will come signed and dated on the back.

I built one holster using the original pattern, and it fits the medium frame flattops perfectly. It will be posted for sale in the classified section. This new/old holster will be known as the 'Barranti No.1 Shuck'. Just a plain, no frills field holster, with a lot of memories. Thanks for visiting with me!


On the right, is the original holster and pattern, on the left, the new Barranti No.1 Shuck!

IMG_1422.jpg



The Barranti No.1 Shuck with my Skeeter Special!

IMG_1405.jpg
 

Jeff Hoover

Blackhawk
Joined
Feb 25, 2009
Messages
919
Looks good, Doc ! :lol: Great story behind that rig ! Got a rear view of that shuck ?
 

bwelch47

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Messages
42
I enjoy looking at leather work. One of my family's close friends is a gentleman by the name of Eddie Bacon, master saddlemaker. He is still alive but he has retired. During the 70's and 80's, there was very little interest in leatherwork. He wondered if there was a future in leathercraftsman ship. To see, people such as yourself, delight him. If you every have a chance to see one of his saddles, you will enjoy the level of craftsmanship. He has been called by his peers,other master leathercraftmen, as the master of masters. He received his master's training through a company called Porter's. It usually took a person to become a master when he reached the late 30's or early 40's by the standards that were established. Eddie became a master at the age of 24, an achievement that had never been obtained before. I will let you, if someone tells you that a silver saddle is a Bacon

saddle, it is a fake. Eddie never made a silver saddle.

To let you know how scare a Bacon saddle is, during the 55 years of saddlemaking, he produced less than 400 saddles. His son, Earl, was at an auction in Portland, Ore. where one of his father's saddles went on auction. It was a quartered tooled saddle. The winning bid was $250,000.

Keep up your leatherwork
 

contender

Ruger Guru
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
25,138
Location
Lake Lure NC USA
As always, it's great to see such fine work. I'm proud of my one measly holster from you, but it's evident that your talent has been around a long time. Cool pics and the trip through your history.
 

mb111263

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
452
Location
USA
Thanks for the all the kind comments!

My father loved working with wood, and I have done my share of carving and building with it, but my love of firearms led me to leather. While I can and do make things like briefcases, leather boxes and other accessories, building gunleather allows more time with my true passion; sixguns!

bwelch47, your friend sounds like quite an interesting man. I could spend an entire day just following a true craftsman such as him around in their shop. Whether he be a gunsmith, woodwright or saddlemaker, I get a kick out of watching someone that really knows their craft.

Tank, here's a shot of the back...

9ab33e29.jpg
 

bwelch47

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Messages
42
mb111263 said:
Thanks for the all the kind comments!

My father loved working with wood, and I have done my share of carving and building with it, but my love of firearms led me to leather. While I can and do make things like briefcases, leather boxes and other accessories, building gunleather allows more time with my true passion; sixguns!

bwelch47, your friend sounds like quite an interesting man. I could spend an entire day just following a true craftsman such as him around in their shop. Whether he be a gunsmith, woodwright or saddlemaker, I get a kick out of watching someone that really knows their craft.

Tank, here's a shot of the back...

9ab33e29.jpg

Perhaps one of these days you will be able to examine a saddle Eddie has made. He is a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assn. hall of fame as a saddlemaker. He is also a member of the Western Artists Hall of Fame. Eddie is not impressed by the sales amount his saddles bring at auctions, but his buttons pop when a old cowboy tells him that the saddle that he made for the cowboy was the best damn saddle he ever used.
 

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