SNAPS??

[J. R. WEEMS]

Would any of our experts have an idea when holster makers went from brass snaps to nickel?? I've done a lot of looking but cannot come up with an answer for this one. THANKS!!

[elpac3]

Back in the day, ( early to mid 70’S) they used to have the option of brass, nickel or black depending on department uniform policy. Our department standard was the safariland Velcro belt system with black snap hardware.

[LoboGunLeather]

Snaps are a feature on many holsters and other gear. Not all snaps are equal. Some are imported, some are domestic production. Some are brass, some are steel, some are plated, some are painted, some are powder coated. Some are multi-directional in function, some are one-way only.

Some folks are not aware that snaps are rated as "soft" action, "medium" (or standard) action, or "hard" action, referring to the degree of force required to pull the cap section off of the post section. That force is a function of the spring strength.

Manufactured by the millions. Four basic parts: the "male" post with base, the "female" cap with base. The cap portion contains an annular-shaped spring which engages the exposed post when closed (the spring being a separate part that is contained within the cap during the manufacturing process.

The two parts (post and base) are installed in the leather parts, usually by means of a peening process of the tubular rivet structure of the base parts. The "setting" of those parts is controlled by the installer using a drive tool or a machine-driven setting tool. The condition of the setting tools in use, the angle at which force is applied, the degree of force applied, and the attention of the installer to the process can all affect the result.

As with any metal part, the metal alloy used will affect the suitability and durability for the purpose. Also, there will be some degree of failure caused by metallurgical qualities or application processes.

Finally, like any mechanical device there will be wear and tear with use over time. Failures are not unheard of.

43 years pounding hides into holsters. I averaged about 1/2 of 1% warranty returns, of which nearly all were hardware failures, with snaps leading the way by a huge margin. I got to a point that I could drill out a broken snap and install a new one in about the time it takes me to type this paragraph.

[turnerriver]

Some makers didn’t switch, some used both. The S.D. Myres holster I ordered in 1968 or 9 has a brass snap, I know I ordered a brass buckle on the matching belt.
During WW II Heiser used a base metal snap for a while as brass was needed by the US forces.
Myres holsters from the same time period may have either type,Lawrence used primarily nickel snaps.
Maybe Red will enlighten us.
Regards,

[J. R. WEEMS]

Originally Posted by turnerriver

Some makers didn’t switch, some used both. The S.D. Myres holster I ordered in 1968 or 9 has a brass snap, I know I ordered a brass buckle on the matching belt.
During WW II Heiser used a base metal snap for a while as brass was needed by the US forces.
Myres holsters from the same time period may have either type,Lawrence used primarily nickel snaps.
Maybe Red will enlighten us.
Regards,

Know they are long gone, but I sure would like to find a 'LAWERENCE" marked snap.

[MG34/bar]

As far as brass vs nickel on the snaps, when I started more than 50 years ago the difference was the agency and color of the uniforms; we wore navy blue with black basket-weave leather and brass snaps. The county wore tan, and later green uniforms with black basket-weave with nickel snaps (and of course, the Sam Browne buckle). We certainly envied them the snaps that did not require polishing.

[SS336]

Do not know the answer, but every holster, belt or sling with brass fasteners seem to grow green gook. Also known as verdigris. Maybe that had something to do with it?

[rednichols]

Originally Posted by turnerriver

Some makers didn’t switch, some used both. The S.D. Myres holster I ordered in 1968 or 9 has a brass snap, I know I ordered a brass buckle on the matching belt.
During WW II Heiser used a base metal snap for a while as brass was needed by the US forces.
Myres holsters from the same time period may have either type,Lawrence used primarily nickel snaps.
Maybe Red will enlighten us.
Regards,

The material in snaps is a bigger topic than it appears. Since about 1940 gunleather makers have used what's called a Dot snap fastener and it has been made in all-brass material, in all steel, in all stainless steel. Then all those materials have been plated, too, in brass, nickel, black oxide, enamel, etc. Then all these pieces are mixed by the gunleather maker, too!

Steel parts, of course, will rust. Brass I think was used originally because of saltwater exposure; it's the one that creates verdigris (the green stuff) when in contact with veg leather esp. brown oiled leather. Stainless then is ideal for all uses.

There was a period circa 1970s when Perkins at Safariland was successful in persuading agencies that the mere appearance of hardware made uniformed officers look like soldiers; so he made good money either covering the cap of the snap or substituting velcro that itself was brand new in the 1960s. Many of us, including at Bianchi, made the switch to the nylon covers built into the cap of these same metal snaps.

The query is likely about the color of the cap, which was strictly an ornamental decision. The Army used brass on its hardware including the Sam Browne buckles, and the snaps expected to match; the belts were typically brown horsehide. The Sam Browne was adopted for WWI and that leaked over into law enforcement; in their case black was settled on and nickle hardware for them became the standard. The likes of CHP in the '60s onwards wanted brass as I recall. There were even black plated metal buckles. Sheriffs departments around USA often wanted brown leather and brass hardware, usually basketweave.

I have tens of thousands of gunleather images and see that none of them have brass snaps! I fully expected to find what I wanted in my Tex Shoemaker subfolder because Sheriff's departments were his cup of tea. This is one of his in floral carved; when the snap is against the body then these were not necessarily expected to match the buckle: