mawkie
C&R Whisperer
-I'm not a stranger to or shy of risk when it comes to collecting. But never totally reckless. I need to see a glimmer of reward before I'll toss the dice. The latest bit of fun came on the cheap and totally paid off. It came in the form of a 6 holster lot up on Evil Pay with the title "Luger Holsters, Vintage and New". At first glance I almost walked away. In the first three holsters there was an obvious Luger repop, a badly damaged holster of unknown pedigree and a well worn American commercial holster. So far not fantastic, though the commercial holster was of some interest.
-But the last three holsters were much more interesting. There was an L08 Artillery Luger holster without marks and a P08 police holster, again without marks and looking very much unused. But the item that had me focused was a shortened L08 holster. I knew that Arty holsters were shortened during the Weimar Republic years to accommodate P08s. Not so hard to understand during those years of financial struggle for Germany. That holster I was 100 percent certain was genuine and made the lot worthy of bookmarking.
-When the lot closed I was high bidder at a whopping $47, just under $70 delivered. I had the lot shipped to my work office, taking zero chances on porch pirates. Opened the box and went straight to the shortened L08 and my heart raced upon finding a Kriegsmarine mark inside. Yes! The perfect holster for my Weimar period Reichsmarine Luger.
-The other L08 holster had a broken pull strap but was otherwise intact and in good condition. I believe it to be a commercial contract holster, very much like a Persian Luger version. Wish Jerry Burney was still restoring holsters, this one is worthy of the cost of getting the pull strap replaced.
-The police holster is a mystery that I'm hard at work trying to ID. Pretty certain it's post war, definitely original as the materials and construction are too good for a repop. Besides, who makes a repop of an unmarked Police holster? First thought was DDR/VOPO but all the known examples I was able to find online are marked differently. So the search continues.
-The American commercial holster had a neat impression of a Luger inside. Someone carried a Luger in this holster for a very long time. The leather is supple and it's in good condition. There's a model number stamped on the belt loop but I haven't been able to ID the manuf. as of yet.
-Sadly the badly damaged unknown holster got tossed, there was nothing of value whatsoever. And the repop P08 holster will go to the auction pile.
-But the last three holsters were much more interesting. There was an L08 Artillery Luger holster without marks and a P08 police holster, again without marks and looking very much unused. But the item that had me focused was a shortened L08 holster. I knew that Arty holsters were shortened during the Weimar Republic years to accommodate P08s. Not so hard to understand during those years of financial struggle for Germany. That holster I was 100 percent certain was genuine and made the lot worthy of bookmarking.
-When the lot closed I was high bidder at a whopping $47, just under $70 delivered. I had the lot shipped to my work office, taking zero chances on porch pirates. Opened the box and went straight to the shortened L08 and my heart raced upon finding a Kriegsmarine mark inside. Yes! The perfect holster for my Weimar period Reichsmarine Luger.
-The other L08 holster had a broken pull strap but was otherwise intact and in good condition. I believe it to be a commercial contract holster, very much like a Persian Luger version. Wish Jerry Burney was still restoring holsters, this one is worthy of the cost of getting the pull strap replaced.
-The police holster is a mystery that I'm hard at work trying to ID. Pretty certain it's post war, definitely original as the materials and construction are too good for a repop. Besides, who makes a repop of an unmarked Police holster? First thought was DDR/VOPO but all the known examples I was able to find online are marked differently. So the search continues.
-The American commercial holster had a neat impression of a Luger inside. Someone carried a Luger in this holster for a very long time. The leather is supple and it's in good condition. There's a model number stamped on the belt loop but I haven't been able to ID the manuf. as of yet.
-Sadly the badly damaged unknown holster got tossed, there was nothing of value whatsoever. And the repop P08 holster will go to the auction pile.
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