Probably the best known and most successful holster maker of
all time, John Bianchi, passed away April 20, 2021, at 89 from
complications of Parkinson's disease. I don't recall any mention
in this forum, but forgive me if it's old news.

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In Omnia Paratus

Thanks for posting this. I used quite a few of his holsters and belts over the years. A fine holster maker, he will be missed.

Thats a very long life for someone with Parkinsons.... horrible disease, rip to a great man.

I believe he passed in April, 2001, 20 years ago. Not 2021.

John Bianchi, founder of Temecula business, dies at 89 - The San Diego Union-Tribune

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No school like the old school.

Thanks for the heads up Phil - I hadn't heard. He was a legend, and I almost always used his gear when I had a choice.

Larry

You are correct John. I'm sorry. I guess it really is old news.

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In Omnia Paratus

Phil—easy mistake to make. It is really hard to tell the age of some articles on the internet. The article was probably brought up due to your search/browsing history and it appeared current. I have to double check most.

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No school like the old school.

Funny thing, internet obituary aside, when I looked him up just now, I found an article in the NRA News talking about an interview with him at the 2010 Shot Show...

Larry

What did he have to say?

If you were a police officer you could go out to the factory in Temecula and take a tour through the factory. They would sell you what ever you wanted right there at the factory for a very good price. Bianchi loved police officers. I still have several Bianchi holsters and ammo pouches that must be 30 or 40 years old.
Same with Tex Shoemaker in San Dimas. You could walk up to the back door and tell them what holster you needed. They would come back with the holster and you just gave them a $20 bill.

John is a real pioneer in the gun fraternity and he would come to gun shows with as many as a dozen ( yes, a dozen!) handguns concealed n his person and you could not detect where they were secreted by just looking at him standng there. I spent a lot of time in his gun store in Temecula in yrs gone by. He had an oversize bronze statue made of John Wayne , standing in the store. When he was contmplating that project, I told him to be sure the statue was wearing one of the "Red River" special belt buckles on the gun belt. Wayne had those designed and made up from Mexican silver Pesos as presents for crew and cast members of the film " Red River" starring Wayne & Montgomery Cliff, showing a letter "D" and two curved lines depicting the flowing Red River., so it did. The "D" was for Dunstin (sp?) the character Wayne played in the movie. When his business failed and the store closed, someone acquired that statue, but I don't remember who now. Probably Gene Autry. John has not passed away to my knowledge. Ed.

SORRY, SORRY, SORRY the death of John Bianchi of holster fame has been
greatly exagerated. Red Nichols has reported to me that the John Bianchi
who passed away with Parkinsons, was John Bianchi of holster fame's Dad.
John will be 84 this year.

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In Omnia Paratus

For what its worth, these links say different

American Rifleman | Meeting A Legend: John Bianchi

John Bianchi – The Leather Retailers' and Manufacturers' Journal

It just hit me before you posted—I wondered if is was a father/son or uncle situation where they all had the same name.

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No school like the old school.

Phil, easy fix: just delete your post!

Indeed the story of Mr B's death was reported in 2001 as if he were JB instead. What made me sad was the most one of the girls in the office could say about Mr. B, was that 'he loved to dance'. Really, 90 years on the planet and that's all there is to remember about Mr. B? He appears to have been the investor who launched Bianchi Holster after Neale Perkins kicked JB out of Safari Ltd; which company Perkins turned into the company that we knew as Safariland. I ran across a notice of a dissolution of the two men's partnership, which was soon after the youngest John Bianchi died late '70s. Mr. B did not ever return to church, stating there couldn't be a God if JR could die so young.

Yessir, as Tex used to say, there were three John Bianchis. Mr. B was John J. Bianchi b. 1911 d. 2001 with Parkinsons; his son JB is John E. Bianchi b. 1937 so 84 y/o end of this year, and JB's son was John R. Bianchi b. 1962 d. 1978 a suicide. JB has been known to bill himself as John Bianchi Jr; but because their middle names are different he is instead John E. Bianchi Sr.

All these 'Johns' had nicknames because there were those three plus a designer named John Michler. So he was Little John, J.B., Mr. B., and the youngest aka J.R. The company even marketed a line of grips called JR Grips, made by Mustang, which project was meant to be a building block for JR but he died too young. We actually addressed the four of them this way to avoid confusion!

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The Holstorian

John Bianchi was a police officer when he started selling holsters made on his kitchen table during his spare time.

Another little bit of information that many haven't heard is that John Bianchi served in the US Air Force Reserve for decades, retiring as a brigadier general.

Many admirable accomplishments!

I have so many of his high quality vintage leather holsters (classics models---made in the USA), I even bought his book to learn more about it.

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"Tastes just like chicken"

I bought that book about forty years ago. It's a good one worth reading and that recommendation come from someone with very little interest in holsters.

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GOA FL Dir. & Nat. Spokesman

A holster maker named "Shoemaker"..... gotta love it.

I talked to John B at the SAR show in Phoenix 3 years ago.

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N frame heaven.

This reminds me a scene from I’m Gonna Git You Sucka…Keenan Ivory Wayans…1988

Isaac Hayes packs a little too much heat.

Are we still all in agreement about Elvis???

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Forum consigliere

John Bianchi and me in 2011 at the SHOT show in Las Vegas...

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

It’s ok Phil...you probably saw it on CNN.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Mandela Effect

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GOA FL Dir. & Nat. Spokesman

Is Mr. Galco still alive?

Now you got me thinking I should call my a uncle Mike. And if Kramer went back to making holsters after Seinfeld.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Hopefully he will read this forum and realize how dangerous this design is and cease wearing it, even for photos.

Attached Images

DAFD9BF0-D25A-4A45-941C-AABA46A60081.jpg (43.3 KB, 75 views)

He was a police officer in the town where I grew up.
As mentioned, he started making holsters in the evenings.

wyo-man

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Live free or die

Those pix are fun!

I seriously doubt it.