holsters
I told you about my appreciation for carbines. a carbine can be said to have a holster, the scabbard that attaches to the saddle and holds the carbine out of the way, but ready for the gunman to draw it out and use it. but those aren't the holsters that fascinate me. of course the holsters in comic books and movies attracted me almost as soon as guns did. but once I had guns of my own, the question arose, what kind of holster would I have for my gun? a neighbor, the man from whom I learned much about guns and the equipment that goes with them, the man who taught me the respect guns should be given, just by the way he spoke of them and demonstrated them, had seven handguns, and each had its own holster. well, of course! each handgun had its own shape and size! but each holster also had its own angle to the belt. what? yep, and apparently it was on purpose. huh. so I read and read and read about holsters and - take this with at least one grain of salt, I was about fifteen and learning from gun magazines, not from any technical person - discovered that there was no science to them, no technical rules for them. there was lore and preference and different considerations from a sportsman, a marksman, a quick-draw enthusiast, a police officer, and a professional gun user. (the last one particularly fascinated me. what did it mean to be a professional gun user? did he hire himself out to use a gun for some man who didn't want to use one himself? I never found out.) so when the time came, I designed and built a quick-draw holster for my .32 revolver. not just any workday holster either, one like Roy Rogers had, with carving and tooling. I did! build one, I mean. I had already prepared myself, not only by all the reading I'd done, but also by teaching myself to work and tool leather. I made my own notebook for class notes and homework and stuff. none of that genuine simulated cowhide for me! I made my own wallets. I made purses for a lot of women and some girls. some of the giftees even used my purses. so first I designed the holster then I designed the toolworking that would decorate it, then I bought the leather I needed and cut out the parts, tooled them, lacquered them, and assembled them. (see me beam) yes, it looked good (to my eyes, and I was the only judge who counted), and worked and satisfied the criteria I'd learned from the quick-draw person's article. so I bring that knowledge to my appreciation of holsters today, which are even more varied and spectacular than they were fifty years ago. some holsters nowadays use no leather at all, except where they attach to the belt. they don't contain the gun, they just support it. I read, and listen, and wonder and mainly wonder. I doubt that I'll ever make a holster again, but the ones available certainly intrigue me. I thought writing this appreciation might reveal what underlies my fascination with holsters. it didn't. but it did display my appreciation of them I think.
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