Safety Speed Holster for Small Frame, Worth $25?

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antilamr

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I only have until tomorrow night to commit to this holster.
I haven't seen one exactly like this before. I like the forward cant design.(oldie but goodie?) Anyone have any opinions on this?




I ended up buying it and will post better (hopefully) pictures when it arrives as well as update on whether or not it fits my S&W.
 

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Absolutely! Grab it fast before someone else notices...
Randy
 
Of course its a paddle type holster, made to be worn cross draw. I agree
that it should fit the 2" J Frames, but not the concealed hammer J Frames
like the 642, 442, etc. because the retention strap goes over the hammer.
Some would fear the open trigger guard, but not me. I'm old school and
I like it. Any holster you like is worth at least $25.
 
growr said:
Absolutely! Grab it fast before someone else notices...
Randy
Click to expand...


Would this holster design be an attempt at a paddle holster with a retention strap?

Haven't seen this exact design before.
Would you call this holster "desirable" from a collectors stand point?

Worth using as a EDC holster?
 
crazyphil said:
Of course its a paddle type holster, made to be worn cross draw. I agree
that it should fit the 2" J Frames, but not the concealed hammer J Frames
like the 642, 442, etc. because the retention strap goes over the hammer.
Some would fear the open trigger guard, but not me. I'm old school and
I like it. Any holster you like is worth at least $25.
Click to expand...


Didn't see your post until after I posted asking about this being a paddle.
The cross draw holsters I see usually cant in the opposite direction (with the butt parallel with your belt). That's what has me scratching my head on this.(unless this holster is for lefties). What's your take on this?
 
Forward cant on strong side (right side in this instance) would be
the same degree of backward cant on the opposite side. I think
the cross-draw is more logical. It's awfully early (or late) so I
could be looking at it wrong, but don't think so.
 
crazyphil said:
Forward cant on strong side (right side in this instance) would be
the same degree of backward cant on the opposite side. I think
the cross-draw is more logical. It's awfully early (or late) so I
could be looking at it wrong, but don't think so.
Click to expand...

Actually wouldn't it be a reversed backward cant on the opposite side?

I envision it in my head on the right at 3 o'clock, butt pointing backwards with a forward (forward cant). Then imagine sliding it on your belt to your middle at 12 o'clock - it will now be canted to your left with the butt pointing right. Then imagine sliding it on farther around your belt to the left side at 9 o'clock - it will now have the butt pointed forward and be canted to the rear.

Now if you want to do a left-handed reverse (cavalry) draw it will be perfect on the left side....
 
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Right hand, strong side, forward rake.

I'd grab it for $25, but I'm a sucker for odd gun leather. A quick peek at the moulding on the inside should tell you if it's for a Chiefs Special or a Detective Special. The flutes will be at 3 and 9 o'clock for a 6 shot DS; about 4 and 8 o'clock on a 5 shot CS.
 
s&wchad said:
Right hand, strong side, forward rake.

I'd grab it for $25, but I'm a sucker for odd gun leather. A quick peek at the moulding on the inside should tell you if it's for a Chiefs Special or a Detective Special. The flutes will be at 3 and 9 o'clock for a 6 shot DS; about 4 and 8 o'clock on a 5 shot CS.
Click to expand...
After looking at pictures of a CS & DS it appears that this holster is for a DS.(judging from the picture of the outside of the holster).
Based off of my UN-informed guess, this would not work for my J-frames?
I'm also a sucker for odd gun leather but don't want to have to hunt down another gun to fit a holster I shouldn't have bought!
 
BC38 said:
Actually wouldn't it be a reversed backward cant on the opposite side?

I envision it in my head on the right at 3 o'clock, butt pointing backwards with a forward (forward cant). Then imagine sliding it on your belt to your middle at 12 o'clock - it will now be canted to your left with the butt pointing right. Then imagine sliding it on farther around your belt to the left side at 9 o'clock - it will now have the butt pointed forward and be canted to the rear.

Now if you want to do a left-handed reverse (cavalry) draw it will be perfect on the left side....
Click to expand...


As you say, hold your hand on the right side at 3:00 with
butt pointed back. Point your index finger inward, or to the
left, as the muzzle would be.

Then without changing the configuration of your hand slide
it all the way across 12:00 center and on to the left side.
Now, your index finger should still be pointed back as the
muzzle of the gun would be. Perfect for cross draw.
 
crazyphil said:
As you say, hold your hand on the right side at 3:00 with
butt pointed back. Point your index finger inward, or to the
left, as the muzzle would be.

Then without changing the configuration of your hand slide
it all the way across 12:00 center and on to the left side.
Now, your index finger should still be pointed back as the
muzzle of the gun would be. Perfect for cross draw.
Click to expand...

Luckyphil, you're at it again. It's not a crossdraw holster.

What the OP is looking at is the second earliest of the paddle holster style, Myres' version without metal inside the paddle from the '40s being the first. Inside the paddle is a length of sheet metal; the loop alongside the paddle is absolutely necessary to keep the holster in place while drawing. Later paddles beginning in the '70s with Bianchi and Safariland, aspired to be 'loop free' (stayed in the pants without a loop around the belt) and have stayed that way into the present; using one or more 'barbs' in the paddle to cooperate with the waistband and hold it in. Safariland and Galco and Aker's all-polymer paddles being the best known.
 
rednichols said:
Luckyphil, you're at it again. It's not a crossdraw holster.

What the OP is looking at is the second earliest of the paddle holster style, Myres' version without metal inside the paddle from the '40s being the first. Inside the paddle is a length of sheet metal; the loop alongside the paddle is absolutely necessary to keep the holster in place while drawing. Later paddles beginning in the '70s with Bianchi and Safariland, aspired to be 'loop free' (stayed in the pants without a loop around the belt) and have stayed that way into the present; using one or more 'barbs' in the paddle to cooperate with the waistband and hold it in. Safariland and Galco and Aker's all-polymer paddles being the best known.
Click to expand...


Would that make this holster of a 60's vintage or were these produced far later on after the 'loop free' versions came out?
 
rednichols said:
Luckyphil, you're at it again. It's not a crossdraw holster.

What the OP is looking at is the second earliest of the paddle holster style, Myres' version without metal inside the paddle from the '40s being the first. Inside the paddle is a length of sheet metal; the loop alongside the paddle is absolutely necessary to keep the holster in place while drawing. Later paddles beginning in the '70s with Bianchi and Safariland, aspired to be 'loop free' (stayed in the pants without a loop around the belt) and have stayed that way into the present; using one or more 'barbs' in the paddle to cooperate with the waistband and hold it in. Safariland and Galco and Aker's all-polymer paddles being the best known.
Click to expand...

Red, I make my share of mistakes just like you do, but I don't
think this is one of them If not cross draw it would almost need
to be worn in the appendix area with that forward cant. Much
more logical as a cross-draw.
 
crazyphil said:
As you say, hold your hand on the right side at 3:00 with butt pointed back. Point your index finger inward, or to the
left, as the muzzle would be.

Then without changing the configuration of your hand slide
it all the way across 12:00 center and on to the left side.
Now, your index finger should still be pointed back as the
muzzle of the gun would be. Perfect for cross draw.
Click to expand...

The highlighted part is where you're missing it Phil. Assuming by "butt pointed back" you mean canted to the rear. See the photo below that has been rotated left 90 degrees and you can easily see that when it is on your right hip the butt end of the revolver points back BUT IT IS CANTED FORWARD (barrel angling to the REAR). Walk it around your belt to the other side of your body and you will see that the barrel is angled to the FRONT - the opposite of what you want for a cross draw.
 

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BC38 said:
The highlighted part is where you're missing it Phil. Assuming by "butt pointed back" you mean canted to the rear. See the photo below that has been rotated left 90 degrees and you can easily see that when it is on your right hip the butt end of the revolver points back BUT IT IS CANTED FORWARD (barrel angling to the REAR). Walk it around your belt to the other side of your body and you will see that the barrel is angled to the FRONT - the opposite of what you want for a cross draw.
Click to expand...

Your picture makes it easier to see. I agree. Thank you.
 
antilamr said:
Would that make this holster of a 60's vintage or were these produced far later on after the 'loop free' versions came out?
Click to expand...

Safety Speed Holster, operated by Paul Boren in L.A., was more a creature of the 70s than anything; but surely was in business in the '60s as the heir-apparent to the Jewett Speed Holster company (the clamshell, and Safety Speed is best known for its clamshells for LAPD in the '70s) and Al Northey, who built them for Jewett, died 1960. I visited Paul in 1990 to write up an article about him and his clamshells; and his shop was still making the darned things.

They were a vigorous competitor with their version of the Bianchi 27 followed by a (I think better) approach. Boren invented what we call the 'jacket slot' belt hanger for his breakfronts, which had to be carried high but the Ike jackets still needed to be worn zipped at times.

The paddle of the Safety Speed has a label on its backside; and the language on it was taken directly from Bianchi's warning label of the '70s; notice the reference to trigger shoes which were for target shooting but were giving big troubles when used with holsters. So yours is not earlier than the mid -70s and Tex Shoemaker still had this style in stock when the company closed . . . this year I think; or was it last? My USA agent for gunleather bought all their inventory at that time.
 
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