Late last year, my dad gave me my grandfather's old Law Enforcement belt kit, along with Gramp's sidearm, a 1940 38-44 Outdoorsman.

I am stumped by this holster. It does not seem to be a match to the gun, at all. I am baffled by the metal loop at the opening of the holster and...what the junk growing inside the holster is. It appears that my grandfather put some kind of padding in the holster but, over the last 50 years, it has grown and hardened into some lumpy fungus-like mass.

Here are some pics and questions:

My grandfather, in 1941, wearing this belt and holster (best I can tell).

The entire package. The leather needs some care. Any suggestions for product and methods?


A local brand for the department Gramps worked for.




I can't figure out this setup. What is the metal ring?


It's hard to see but, in the lower left side of this pic, you see a lump in holster. It is rock hard and runs down the side of the interior of the holster. What is that?


I am not so sure the OD will ever actually fit in that holster, now.

Any ideas, comments, recommendations?

Thanks for sharing your grandfather’s rig with us. The belt was made by the Hoyt Co., the holster is a clamshell model safety holster made by one of several companies in the mid 1900’s. The maker is likely stamped on the back of the holster. The entire front of the holster opens outward when a release latch is pushed, the release button is inside the top of the holster adjacent to the metal loop. When you find the release latch the front of the holster should spring open. I can’t tell what’s inside from your picture but the interior should be aluminum covered by leather shaped to hold the revolver.
The holster may be frozen, the spring may not work but if you find & push the latch the front of the holster should open.
Once you do that you can get a better look at what’s inside. The holster is not designed to allow the revolver to be holstered unless the front is open.
Let us know if the holster opens.
Regards,
turnerriver

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turnerriver

The green stuff inside the holster could be a suede lining to keep the gun nice. I have a couple holsters that are lined. His equipment could get wet if he got caught in the rain on a motor. Which would affect the lining but probably not the leather. Also, I’m not sure that type of holster was available in the years your Grandfather rode the Indian in the photo. But I’m no holster expert. We have people on the forum that are. Maybe they’ll weigh in. Cool stuff.

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SWCA 3255 SWHF 615

Great gun, and the box is quite valuable by itself.
That is a clamshell style holster.
The design was patented by F.C. Jewett in 1932, patent# 1930203.
Clamshell style holsters were made well into the 1960s by Jewett, Stanroy, C.A. Hoffman, and Safety Speed companies.
The maker should either be stamped on the back of the belt loop or, if it's a Jewett, on the inside of the holster in small letters.

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John

You guys are freaking awesome. I finally get it. The mystery is solved by a few knowledgeable people.

Here is the holster and gun...


Just the holster...


And, this was the only mark I could find, on the loop...

Wow! That is truly a treasure.
That clamshell sure brings back the memories. Those were still popular when I started with Denver PD back in 1979. I wanted one, but they were too pricey for my blood. By the time I could afford one, they were outlawed by the department. (The bosses decided they didn't like "mechanical holsters.")
I think that one is missing the button cover, a plastic part that covers the metal ring that fits behind the trigger that's shaped like a"D". I believe the holster opens when you press that ring, right?
Anyway, thanks for letting us see it. Whole lotta history right there.

It appears to be a swivel holster too, so it can be folded back when
seated in a vehicle to prevent it from poking into the seat. There
should be some kind of lock and release button for the swivel?
The Bucheimer-Clark swivel holster just used a snap button.
Maybe yours is the same?

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In Omnia Paratus

I believe the motorcycle is an Indian Four, cool bike.

The best leather treatment for belts and holsters I have found is Blackrock N' Rich. Easy to use and works well.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

+1 on the Black Rock Leather 'N' Rich.

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In Omnia Paratus

I'd like to look at the actual picture, but the leather gear in the officer photo doesn't appear to be basketweave. Also, the belt loop on the holster in the officer picture appears bigger/wider than the loop on the basketweave holster. Of course, it could be just bad lighting on the original picture . . .

Regardless, nice picture, nice duty rig, and nice backstory . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

I'm just spit-ballin' here, but can anyone say if that is an old Berns-Martin holster?

To the OP: You are a very lucky person.

JPJ

Thanks.

I'd love to know the maker. I can't find any markings on the holster, inside or out.

Here’s the same or similar Indian that I saw in that car museum up in CO.

Attached Images

DDEB1C37-5C1F-478A-ABB7-B9D7A8C7AF44.jpg (53.5 KB, 125 views)

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

There is a leather covered button, just under that ring (if the holster is hanging on a belt). It was hidden enough that I did not know to press there until this thread.

It does swivel but, there is no lock/release. It is purely by pressure on the pivot point.

I think your pic is a year or two older than my grandfather's. Note the rigid tail on the CO bike. If you look closely at my GD's, it has a small rear shock. That came out on the '41 Indian 440.

This pic shows it better.

After further research, I am positive that my GD's holster is a Safety Speed. This makes sense, as the company was based in Montebello, CA, just around the corner from his home of Pasadena.

The D-ring, the button placement, all the particulars are matching up to pictures I'm finding for the Safety Speed Clamshell. I just can't figure out why the name was not stamped in one of the usual spots on the holster.

Thanks again, guys, for all your help.

A very good resource for you, is this article by one of my correspondents (entirely his own work):

Fighting Leather: The Clamshell Holster - RevolverGuy.Com

The most likely way for you to guarantee you've picked the right brand, is to compare the two elements of the basketweave imprints: the main and the border.

Turnerriver's and my book, Holstory, has a section devoted to the Clamshell including Jewett and Safety Speed (Paul Boren).

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The Holstorian

Red, That is a great article. Thanks for sharing.

Based on the pictures I've posted here, do you have an opinion about the manufacturer of mine?

I always knew about pushing the button through the trigger guard, but didn't realize it had the block behind the trigger. I had heard they were "outlawed" because of accidental discharge. I incorrectly assumed it was from pushing the button. I can see how it is possible during holstering. Thanks for posting the pictures.

>A very good resource for you, is this article by one of my correspondents (entirely his own work):
Fighting Leather: The Clamshell Holster - RevolverGuy.Com<
Oh, man. Thank you, Red! What an awesome read.
I didn't just spend 35 of my years in policing, I was a fan ever since my pre-teen years. I was the one everyone I knew just expected would end up a cop. I watched every show, listened to the police radio, and followed what was going on in the papers. I continued that through my career, following the various trends in equipment and vehicles all over the country. LAPD was a particular favorite, and when I had an opportunity to attend an LAPD class in 1987 at The Academy, I jumped at it. It was awesome - the Jack Webb Building, the iconic arch, and the giant nightstick on the wall in the grille.
I still follow policing and the tools of the trade to a degree, but the plastic revolution kind of dampened the fun. Leather can be made into artwork, plastic is just - industrial garbage. No soul.
I recognized many of the points in the Revolver Guy post. It was a trip down memory lane. Thank you very much!

I poked around Google for a bit, looking for two clues in particular: the basketweave's border tool (which is called a camouflage tool) that does vary from maker to maker; and the construction of the metal piece that blocks the trigger from being pulled.

speed.jpg

Based on the first one, I had strong feelings in favor of C.A. Hoffman & Sons; but as close as their border tool is to yours it is not identical.

clam.jpg

Based on the second, I have strong feelings in favor of Safety Speed -- but VERY early, perhaps at the handoff from Jewett. Because unlike nearly all I've seen, the metal piece on yours is a wire loop; whereas on the Hoffman's it's a plate with a hole in it.

speed jewett.jpg

The above only plausible because yours is very early (as is the Jewett patent) because the Safety Speed folks that I knew used aluminium for the body of their holster -- and more importantly used a very different camouflage tool.

The imprint reads:

THE SPEED HOLSTER
U.S. Pat. Oct 10 1933 Copyright 193(x)
Manufactured by
The Jewett Safety Holster Co.
Bakersfield, Calif

The patent indicated that it was created to eliminate the need to carry the long revolvers on swivels -- yet 98% of all of them are on swivels. FYI the use of 'copyright' in the marking is puzzling because it is established law that a short phrase, such as the title of a book or film, cannot be copyrighted. It could have been trademarked but a review of the federal copyright registrations online indicates none of these words -- jewett, safety, speed -- were linked with 'holster'.

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The Holstorian

Beautiful revolver-and Indian-thanks for the post!

The rarest of all clamshells, which I owned for a short time -- the Hopalong Cassidy version. Box and revolver were original to the holster itself:

nichols speed.jpg

The image almost made it into The Book.

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The Holstorian

The gun and whole rig is such a treasure...thanks so much for sharing....

If I recall from my reading, the clamshell holsters went out of favor because a) they would sometimes malfunction and dump the gun b) once the bad guys (who may not be rocket scientists but aren't stupid) figured out how they opened some major security advantage was lost...

I started with Dallas PD in 1977 and both clamshell and break front holsters could not be carried...I think swivels were banned also or shortly after I stated.... When I started working in NH in 1989 I was surprised to see a lot of swivel holsters...comfort over speed....

Bob

There is a superficial resemblance, both holsters enclose the revolver and both are open along the front of the holster. The Berns-Martin holds the revolver with a C spring around the cylinder, the revolver is drawn by rocking it forward through the open part of the C and bringing the barrel up onto the target. The clamshell design opens completely leaving the revolver unemcumbered.
Red’s Hopalong Cassidy clamshell Holster is a marvel. According to one old article I read there were models made for .38 Super & .45 auto pistols that were sent to Mexico, they are rare examples as well.
Regards,
turnerriver

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turnerriver

I have always admired that picture of yours, turnerriver, of that B-M that I expect is a Calhoun City model. The details of the Speed holster changed from its introduction in the early '30s, then throughout CC's years which were '50s and into the '60s, and then more when Elberton production began early '60s (it seems the two companies operated in parallel until Martin died in '68). Magnificent.

Your image exaggerates (for me) the large, hand-sewn opening that admitted the relatively narrow spring; and the holster is also 'blocked' squarely at a width much greater than the spring. I have to wonder why the opening was made so large in the first place. Have any X-ray access?

I, too, have seen those 1911 clamshells, at least one of which also had a belt loop on its backside. The entire assembly was really awkward looking. With the same story about them being for the Super Automatic. I'm recalling there were more than one in the posted thread? So slightly less rare than the Hoppy.

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The Holstorian

No X-ray access but that holster was made for a .44 Magnum with target stocks so it’s the biggest revolver around at the time.
Regards,
turnerriver

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turnerriver

What a great thread! This kind of thread is one of the real reasons people join up on this forum.

Great post! Brings back a lot of memories.

My experience in law enforcement was from early 1970's to mid 1990's. Those years spanned the transition from revolvers to semi-autos, but probably more importantly allowed me to know and work with senior officers with experiences starting in the 1940's. Quite a few were WW2 veterans, lots of Korea vets, and the "puppy policemen" like me were mostly Vietnam vets.

One of the things that doesn't seem to come up much in these conversations is just how expensive some of that gear was for us to buy (very few agencies issued handguns, leather gear, uniforms, etc). I started out at a salary of $657 per month (less than $4 per hour), and after taxes, pension fund, and health insurance were withheld my take-home pay was $192 every two weeks. I had two kids to feed and my house payment was $182 per month, so it should be obvious that there was never much "discretionary income" left.

Sure, a new Model 19 could be had (LEO price) for $125, a new Model 36 was about $80, and Colt Commander or Government Model could be had for about $100. But those dollars were as scarce then as the new prices are today!

Getting set up to go to work was tough. A couple of the "police supply" companies offered charge accounts with payroll deduction through the employer. Three pairs of trousers, 3 summer shirts, 3 winter shirts, uniform cap, winter jacket, raincoat, boots or shoes, Sam Browne belt, holster, handcuffs & pouch, ammo pouch, nightstick & belt ring, and a revolver (Colt or S&W, 4", blued steel, .38 or .357) all added up to well over a month's pay. The payroll deductions for my charge account at the police supply company took a year to pay off (by which time I needed more uniforms).

I remember the clamshell holsters, and the break-front holsters, and a lot of other cool stuff that I just could not afford to buy!

That element of economic necessity got me started making leather holsters and accessories in 1972. That was the only way I could have the stuff I wanted, or convinced myself that I needed, without dipping into the grocery money feeding my wife and kids. When the other guys at work saw me wearing a new holster they started asking me to make more for them, and I shamelessly took their meager lunch money to do so. After work and on my days off I spent much of my time at the kitchen table doing patterns, cutting leather, painfully hand-stitching every seam (probably averaging $3 or $4 per hour, but every dollar came in very handy during those days).

The danger with those was reholstering a cocked gun and pushing against the metal loop with the trigger. Later Safety Speed clamshells replaced the metal loop with a plastic block. Good argument for a DAO revolver if you were going to allow clamshells on a PD.

rocknroad and everyone posting on this thread, thank you very much. Not only did I enjoy it very much but learned a great deal.

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Caper

Those foam pieces inside the holster are not original to the holster. It would have had the smooth leather lining. Holsters could be modified to fit different guns. I had mine switched from a 4” K frame to a 4” L frame when we got 686’s in the ‘80s. Safety Speed changed the blocking on the body side of the holster and replaced the lining.

Yes, I understand. The padding was something my grandfather added. The lump closest to the trigger guard has turned into a jagged rock. The barrel pad, as I've finally figured out, was what wore the blueing off the right side of the Outdoorsman. Also, what you can't see in the pictures is, the end of the barrel wore through the leather lining, exposing the steele frame on the outside clamshell.

I have learned a ton here, too. That clamshell had me stumped until I posted here.

My Dad was with the CHP, 1950-1979. He carried his K38 Masterpiece, in a RH. Hoyte clamshell. Other clamshells, of lesser quality were scorned, especially by the motor cops, as the vibration would sometimes cause the locking latch to fail—->Lost Gun. Also, on his, the release button was in the trigger guard. Not much of a problem for the well trained, with a double action revolver. Clamshells were eventuality banned, but were grandfathered, and Dad retired wearing his, and at 60, he was “fastest “ out of the holster, at his office. I have that holster and rig, complete with swivel, dump pouches and handcuff case. Cheers!

I'd love to see it. Please post pictures, if you can.

Since my GD's belt was R.H. Hoyte, maybe the holster was too?

As I recall Bill Jordan mentions these in his book. If you would like to see a “clamshell” in use, the Policemen in “Adam 12” used these. Odd looking sight , gun in hand, holster on belt wide open.

I have to dig them out first.
Also: some cops complained that ya needed 2 hands to reholster. Problematic when trying to handcuff a perp. Dad said “Hell, I just shoved the gun into my waistband “ never had a problem. Old School. I also have his old sap. A spring loaded blackjack.

All good except Dick Hoyt didn't make the clamshell; ever. He is best known for his forward draw holster, that preceded the now-well-known Bianchi 'Breakfront'. Forward draw holsters are spring loaded, too, but stay shut while the revolver is drawn.

Perhaps Dad's belt was a Hoyt and that's where you've picked up the name; but not his clamshell holster. If his clamshell is unmarked by the maker then it is likely an original Jewett. I've picked up more info about Jewett and his business partners and will work out a way to post it without retyping it all!

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The Holstorian

That looks like a '41 Indian 4. '40 was the year the valanced fenders and plunger rear came out. The only difference was 18" wheel in '40 and 16" in '41. Those look like 16's, maybe. 1942's are unicorns, less then 100 were built before war production started.

OK. This thread inspired me to do a bit more hunting in various databases online; which reminds that searching in them invokes the Butterfly Effect of chaos theory. A database like Newspapers.com, for example, takes spelling quite literally and doesn't offer up equivalents; so if one misspells a name it might actually be in the database that way! Example, is D.A. Jelly Bryce whose surname sometimes appears there as Brice; stumble across that and get new info :-).

Here, it seems that although like J.E. Berns with the Berns-Martin, F.C. Jewett was the inventor; he was not the maker. With B-M it was Martin who made them and with Jewett is was a partner Al Northey who actually made them. This matters not least because of their death dates.

Both were born late 19th century and it was Jewett who was a California police officer; various sources indicate he was S.O. but his draft registration in '42 shows his employer as Delano P.D.. He was in a partnership with Northey and his wife, with Engelman and his wife, and third person who was a lawyer-turned-senator.

It all seemed to come apart for the group just before the War: Jewett's wife who was a Stanroy (remember that name) divorced him in '39, in '40 Engelman and his wife sold out to Northey in a partnership dissolution, in '42 Jewett has had to register for the draft (having now lost his marriage exemption), in '48 he has died.

An extensive history published in a July 1954 newspaper article reveals that Northey made the metal cases entirely on his own; and his wife Amelia assembled the leather onto them. At that time the two had made 30,000 (!) of them that way and he built them in lots of 1,000.

The operation is called the Jewett Safety Holster Co. in Bakersfield yet there is no appearance of that corporation in the Cal Sec'y of State database; which suggest it was not actually incorporated (which is what the word 'Co.' is supposed to indicate).

Northey died in '60. I expect that this is where the handoff to Boren at Safety Speed took place because he has married in '62.

There are Stanroy versions of the Speed Holster, that being the family name of Jewett's ex-wife. They feature the wire loop for the trigger blocking device as do the Northey versions; but not the Hoffman or Safety Speed versions. Stanroy also does not appear in the Cal Secy of State database as a company.

stanroy speed (3).jpg

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The Holstorian

Amazing post with gobs of history laid out.

I still confused though. Since my granddad's holster has the wire trigger guard and no name stamped in or on it, it was obviously made by....oh, who knows?!

I don't blame you! I think without the marking, and in that time frame, we would think of it as a Jewett, made by Northey under the four-way partnership but before the name was established as the Jewett Safety Holster Co. The partners all are mentioned in a 1936 article about two CHP officers being en route to a police pistol competition in Mexico City (which is called Distrito Federal and so 'D.F.' and pronounced 'day effay' in Mexico vs. Ciudad Mexico, the literal translation) with their clamshells. But by '40 as mentioned the partnership had been dissolved and perhaps that is when the formal name was adopted.

And the info about the partnership, was always emblazoned across the top of Jewett's patent: 1/4 interest to the inventor and to the three partners, who are named there.

I've re-read the historical portion of the online article I mentioned about fighting leather, and do believe that it would now need some adjustment in light of the newly-discovered newspaper articles etc. I've sent those along to the author, who has been super nice in our exchanges to date; if I were Ian Fleming I would call him a 'correspondent' of mine (we write but don't know each other, as with Fleming and Boothroyd).

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The Holstorian

If you are not rushed, it is quite easy to reholster with one hand. If you were in a real hurry, it went in the waistband.

Re Post 44:

Red-

Fleming and Boothroyd knew one another in person and appeared on a TV show together.

But it is true they were mail correspondents before they met in person.

Yes, to both statements :-). When they did meet, Fleming promptly had his first heart attack!

1962 fleming sports illustrated (9).jpg

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The Holstorian

Berns Martin did make a "clam-shell" holster back in the day; I believe that Bianchi did as well.

I think you are mistaking the "break front" for the "Clamshell. Not the same.

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Support your Police, & NRA

You are correct; and has already been addressed in this thread. Neither Berns-Martin, Hoyt, nor Bianchi made clamshells, which are leather-covered metal cases that fly completely open to release. Instead they made forward draw holsters, which are held shut by an internal spring and stay shut while the pistol is drawn through the forward edges of the holster.

bm elberton (1).jpg Berns-Martin forward draw

2 costa mesa 1960-80 (8).jpg Hoyt forward draw

1971 (3).jpg Bianchi forward draw

hoffman (5).jpg Hoffman clamshell

Why do folks persist in guessing when they don't know? The consequence is that it spreads misinformation that then becomes gospel for the next poor slob who reads it -- and spreads it.

Next we'll have people posting, "I don't know, I'm just guessing, but I heard somewhere that the Dirty Harry gun was a .22 Magnum". That's not a little wrong, it's very wrong!

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The Holstorian