What can you tell me about this HOLSTER?
It came with the 36 - S42.
I pretty well know what the gun is, but don't recall seeing the holster.
I am fairly certain they came back together.
What kind of leather is it?
The grain reminds me of elephant leather I have seen on boots years ago, but the pores on the backside remind me of pigskin.
The rivets are aluminum. The leather is very old, but obviously did not see the field.
The gun is nicer than that lyin' camera makes it look!

What say ye?

__________________
Regards,
Lee Jarrett

You are probably familiar with Ray Viers and Hugh Brock. They could probably answer your question.

Looks to be a ersatz holster, very late war, pig skin. They made smaller holster late in the war for Walther PP and other .32's in paper! The buckle and aluminum rivets look period correct (1945). Hope that helps a little!

Reminds me of water buffalo hide. I've still got a buff hide wallet from my SEA days.

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John

Lee that is a very nice luger but the holster is UGLY. Probally as said a late war erzats holster or one made up by a GI after the war .

I think that is a holster that some Nazi officer's kid made in summer camp, so he had no choice but to use it. He had to keep his extra mag in his pocket.

I'm no expert on holsters, Lee, but it sure looks like pigskin, and probably from the period. It's definitely not a standard issue holster. Your Luger looks to be in good shape!

Just for reference, here is the standard holster for the P.08 Luger. This one came with my S/42 1936. The closeup shows the manufacturer markings and waffenampt mark on the back of the holster. Getting a Luger with the original holster is pretty rare combination.





Just as an item of information on your Luger. The S/42 1936 was of course made by Mauser. This year was the last of the issue P.08s to have straw-colored smaller parts (i.e., trigger, safety lever, mag release, ejector, & take-down lever). The 1937 and later issue Lugers had those parts blued.

Here is mine for comparison with yours:



Hope this information will be helpful.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

That's definitely not a German holster: they all used a 'tab over stud' for the flap.

A strap and buckle was considered too slow for service use.

Somebody made that holster after the war.

That's a really nice Mauser 'pre war' Luger: don't store it in that funky holster. The acid in the leather can pit the metal.

Thanks for the help, guys.

Ersatz is what I figured also.
It is relatively certain that they came back together.
I've had a few dozen good Lugers over the years, and looked at thousands, but I had never noticed or had anything other than the standard holster shown above.

__________________
Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Does it fit a P38?

Try Lugerforum dot com.

Sorry to dispute, but I've seen MOST German GI holsters with strap and buckle. (See Paladin's 1936 one in this thread.) Usually brown until about late 1942, I think. Someone else can be more precise.I think those with a strap and stud were mainly police holsters, but have seen photos of them in use by German troops, too.

T-Star
P.S. As an aside, I have a sheath for a Buck No. 120 knife that is normal, except that the leather has this wrinkled apprearance. It was bought used, and the seller had no idea what it was. I contacted Chuck Buck, and he looked at a photo of it. Said that it had NOT been shipped that way from Buck Knives, and had no idea what caused that look. But he agreed that it is quite attractive.

I do think that Hand Ejector's holster is German. Look at the provision for the strap to pull the gun up within the holster, to better grasp it. I've not seen that used elsewhere other than on Euro holsters, mainly for the Luger. If this is not a civilian sales item or late war ersatz issue, I think some US GI had a German make the holster for him after the war.