George Lawrence

[krsmith58]

good evening good Sirs , work has been crazy . 1 guy quit leaving 3 to staff lab at steel mill 24/7 . to many hours but still a little time for Gunbrokering . won an auction on a Smith 17 - 5 . a bit of surface rust issues but minor . good looking shooter which is all I do . anyway , after work go by the pawn shop that FFLs for me to pick up revolver . he keeps a big plastic tub that he tosses holsters , slings and so forth in. usually gives me anything I find in it that i like . short story i found a George Lawrence flap holster marked 14S above Lawrence brand 549 below . as always he gave it to me and I thought the holster guys on here could I D it for me . Please and Thanks in advance , Kenny , texas will try to post pics of new revolver and holster when I can find the time . thanks again , Kenny

 

[glenwolde]

The 14 is a full flap? I think the 549 is a 4" S&W Combat Magnum. The "S" is an option code....I think "S" is sight protector. Should have a block of leather sewn at the top inside to hold the rear sight blade away from the holster.

I'm working off of memory. But Lawrence made very high quality stuff.

 

[crazyphil]

glenwolde has a great memory. Model 14 is the full flap. Size 549 is the
Model 19 Combat Magnum. S is for sight protector. My memory is not
that great so I looked in my Size Selector Chart.

 

[glenwolde]

glenwolde has a great memory. Model 14 is the full flap. Size 549 is the
Model 19 Combat Magnum. S is for sight protector. My memory is not
that great so I looked in my Size Selector Chart.

Funny thing is I can't remember what I had for breakfast....

 

[krsmith58]

Mr. glenwolde , Mr. crazyphil is correct . you have an awesome memory . your description is 100% spot on . describes holster exactly . it's a little beat up and has spots of mold here and there but overall in great condition . any recommendations on products to clean and condition and perhaps production time frame ? thanks for the replies , you fellows continue to support my thinking that this is the best site around . thanks again , Kenny , texas

 

[glenwolde]

Cleaning is good, but you don't want to soften it. So nix the saddle soap or Gloveoleum. If you over-soften it, it will lose it's rigidity and just turn into a big sloppy mess. I just use glycerin soap and warm water with a soft brush. Just look for a soap marked "glycerin" at the supermarket. It's not hard to find. The more natural glycerin soap the better so you might want to hit a Whole Foods or something. But I've found it at Kroger. Or buy somebody's fancy holster cleaner.

The reason I remember 549 is (5-4 =1) then the 9 = 19. I used to fill out orders to Lawrence for customers when I worked at a large gun store in a past life. I did several a week. I had that exact holster. Except mine was basketweave with the sight protector ("BS").

Where I was, full-flap holsters were popular because of the protection they offered in the field. While a Model 19 was $200 or so, that was a lot of money at the time. Guys wanted to protect it.

Time frame is hard to nail down, but it's not one of the pre-made ones that came later on. Pictures would be nice. Originally they were all made to order and marked as yours is. At some point they started making them in bags for point-of-sale displays. Yours is most likely an ordered one. The pre-made ones were mostly marked for the gun..like "6 1/2 BH" for a Blackhawk, or HS for High Standard, SA for Single Action Army, rather than codes. They had a different name for the "line" they used for the point of sale holsters but it escapes me at the moment. It was just on the packaging, which was a Ziplock bag rather than the box the ordered ones were shipped in.

The Model 14 came without the snap installed, and with instructions on how to install it to fit your gun depending on what kind of grip you had on it. Targets, Magnas, Herretts, Ropers, whatever.

 

[crazyphil]

To clean a holster I use a few drops of Dawn dishwasher soap in warm
water and a kitchen sponge. Dawn is what they use to clean the birds
when there is an oil spill, so I have always believed it must be quite
effective but still gentle. After it's good and dry, I massage in some
BlackRock Leather 'N' Rich. Wipe off all the excess. Let it get good
and dry again, and then buff to a shine with your shoe brush.

If you happen to have access to a Shooter's Bible 1970 edition (#61)
there is a picture of your model 14 on page 482