mawkie
C&R Whisperer
-I'm a frugal SOB and just refuse to pay market value for almost anything. Case in point: I've wanted a copy of Jan Still's Imperial Lugers and their Accessories for at least 20 years. But nice copies sell in the $300-350 range, being out of print since the early 90s. Simpson has one in excellent condition selling for $500.
-Fast forward to today. I spy a lot in a rinky dink auction with two books and a queer looking holster. One of the books is a first edition example in fantastic condition. No dust jacket but otherwise perfect. I manage to snag the lot for $152 with shipping included. It shows up today and I find tucked inside a copy of a work order for examining a 1916 Dated P08 and a receipt for the book dated to 1993. The book was sold for $47.63 with tax!
-The holster was an afterthought for me until it arrived and I got curious as it was a configuration I'd never seen before. A bit of internet sleuthing got me close. I found that Bianchi designed and built a nearly identical holster: the M66 Military/Police. But this one was built by Wald's in Dallas Texas, same city that the book came from.
-The M66 was never officially adopted by the US military but sold on the commercial market and I was able to find reports of MPs using them in the Vietnam era and briefly afterwards until the M84 holster was adopted. Try as I might, couldn't find any examples of this Wald's built holster or info on the company. Build quality is excellent. The design is interesting in that it has belt loops on both sides for R/L carry and the flap can be removed for open top carry. A 1911 fits perfectly and I can see slide serrations indented into the leather so that's how it was used.
-Fast forward to today. I spy a lot in a rinky dink auction with two books and a queer looking holster. One of the books is a first edition example in fantastic condition. No dust jacket but otherwise perfect. I manage to snag the lot for $152 with shipping included. It shows up today and I find tucked inside a copy of a work order for examining a 1916 Dated P08 and a receipt for the book dated to 1993. The book was sold for $47.63 with tax!
-The holster was an afterthought for me until it arrived and I got curious as it was a configuration I'd never seen before. A bit of internet sleuthing got me close. I found that Bianchi designed and built a nearly identical holster: the M66 Military/Police. But this one was built by Wald's in Dallas Texas, same city that the book came from.
-The M66 was never officially adopted by the US military but sold on the commercial market and I was able to find reports of MPs using them in the Vietnam era and briefly afterwards until the M84 holster was adopted. Try as I might, couldn't find any examples of this Wald's built holster or info on the company. Build quality is excellent. The design is interesting in that it has belt loops on both sides for R/L carry and the flap can be removed for open top carry. A 1911 fits perfectly and I can see slide serrations indented into the leather so that's how it was used.