A Brill for my SAA
- Thread starter Eddie Southgate
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Wyatt Burp
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What a nice Brill. And thanks for the pics showing the inside. That's interesting how it appears partially lined. I think I bought a holster and belt from that same seller on Ebay a couple weeks ago. A guy named Ricky. He's a great seller and his stuff is outstanding.
OP
Eddie Southgate
Member
Thats him . They are his pictures . Bought this for a Colt and a Red River holster made in California for one of my Cimarrons .
Eddie
Nice one Eddie. I considered picking it up, but didn't want to have to buy a SAA to put in it. I hate when I buy holsters I don't already have guns for 
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rednichols
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Nice. This one's from Brill's early period (before 1930). As such, an early Brill will have only a single welt vs the later period that can have up to three. There are many other differences between the two eras. Well done
bmcgilvray
Member
Great job, fetching that one home to your collection. It's good to see it go to a fellow Forum member. When it arrives please post some photos of it with your pistolas in it.
Brill holsters are pretty enchanting. Early or late eras, they work so well for the purpose and were uniformly good looking too.
I think Red would say this is a later one. It fits the 4 3/4-inch Colt Single Action Army. The 1905 vintage Colt .38-40 is a few decades older than this holster. Still, the revolver snuggles into the holster so cozily yet firmly, while the draw is so natural and easy from the holster. It's certain that some intelligent thought went into the designs as well as some skill in the fabrication of Brill holsters, no matter what they were designed to fit.
Brill holsters are pretty enchanting. Early or late eras, they work so well for the purpose and were uniformly good looking too.
I think Red would say this is a later one. It fits the 4 3/4-inch Colt Single Action Army. The 1905 vintage Colt .38-40 is a few decades older than this holster. Still, the revolver snuggles into the holster so cozily yet firmly, while the draw is so natural and easy from the holster. It's certain that some intelligent thought went into the designs as well as some skill in the fabrication of Brill holsters, no matter what they were designed to fit.
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Eddie Southgate
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Nice one Eddie. I considered picking it up, but didn't want to have to buy a SAA to put in it. I hate when I buy holsters I don't already have guns for
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Bought one a month or so ago for a 4" M&P that I don't own . If I can quit buying holsters for a while I will be looking for one to go in it , maybe a nice 32-20 !
Eddie
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Eddie Southgate
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Nice. This one's from Brill's early period (before 1930). As such, an early Brill will have only a single welt vs the later period that can have up to three. There are many other differences between the two eras. Well done
I appreciate the info Red . He has another but the damage on it is too great for my taste . I would not mind knowing some more of those differences if you are so inclined .
Thanks
Eddie
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Eddie Southgate
Member
Great job, fetching that one home to your collection. It's good to see it go to a fellow Forum member. When it arrives please post some photos of it with your pistolas in it.
Brill holsters are pretty enchanting. Early or late eras, they work so well for the purpose and were uniformly good looking too.
I think Red would say this is a later one. It fits the 4 3/4-inch Colt Single Action Army. The 1905 vintage Colt .38-40 is a few decades older than this holster. Still, the revolver snuggles into the holster so cozily yet firmly, while the draw is so natural and easy from the holster. It's certain that some intelligent thought went into the designs as well as some skill in the fabrication of Brill holsters, no matter what they were designed to fit.
Need to get a decent camera so I can post my own pictures . My Colt is a late 1990's 4 3/4" .45 . Eventually want one each in 38-40 and .44 Special in 5 1/2 " but the wife has got me 9 years into a 30 year mortgage on our country house so it will probably be a while .
Eddie
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Eddie, my man. I like the way you think. A friend once told me that money was nothing more than a wrinkled dirty piece of paper, until you turned it into something.
My thinkin' is that anyone who can honestly say they never overpaid for anything has regretted it.
I had that holster on my watch list. If I had a 5 1/2" single action, that ol' holster would probably be livin' here in Grinder's Switch right now. And I bet Eddie knows where Grinder's Switch is. 
Mark
I had that holster on my watch list. If I had a 5 1/2" single action, that ol' holster would probably be livin' here in Grinder's Switch right now.
And I bet Eddie knows where Grinder's Switch is. Mark
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Eddie Southgate
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My thinkin' is that anyone who can honestly say they never overpaid for anything has regretted it.
I had that holster on my watch list. If I had a 5 1/2" single action, that ol' holster would probably be livin' here in Grinder's Switch right now.
Mark
If Eddie remembers right you are not much further from Columbia than I am but you are North and West of it at the crossroads between Nunnelly (N) , Coble (W) , Littlelot (E) and Kimmins (S). Do you by any chance know where Owl Holler is ?
It's gonna have to make do with my 4 3/4" till I can afford a proper 5 1/2" to go in it .Eddie
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Eddie Southgate
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That's the only reason I still work for that nasty ol' stuff , it's good trading fodder . If my wife had more of the stuff I wouldn't even bother with it !
Eddie
What is the username for the seller. Always like looking at quality vintage stuff.
Cory
Cory
rednichols
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Easy:
How to counterfeit a Brill holster.
The title of the thread was 'tongue in cheek' in that today's makers do not correctly emulate a Brill's functional features, apparently believing that they are cosmetic (I guess). They are not cosmetic.
The one used to illustrate shows the distinctions of the 'late' Brills made by N.J. Rabensburg. Yours, when you compare it, has something different in every case; for example, on an unlined one at the outside/front the only obvious one is that there are three finishing stitches at the free end of the welt (at the mouth of the holster) on the late model, and only two (the stitching doesn't reverse direction) on the early ones.
On the backside you'll see the different way the cuff is sewn to the fender; at right on yours you'll note that the end nearest the main seam (at right on a rh holster) could even be machine stitched. But on a late, both ends of the cuff are hand stitched, and both have the reverse sewing that falls off the edge of the cuff where it faces the backside of the holster, then comes back onto it. That's for strength because the cuff is the bottom of the belt loop.
Butch Cassidy's so-called Brill (so called because it IS a Brill but could not have belonged to Butch, who was dead in South America at the moment the holster was invented, and Brill company did not exist) has the single welt, a rivet placed into the welt's free end because the stitching has failed (and so the tip end of the welt is missing, too), does not have the cuff placed with its edges parallel to the fold in the loop, and has its Brill marking on the backside of the fender (assumed, as an image of the mark is pictured amongst images of it but it is not on the cuff). The floral stamping on it is very different from a late Brill after 1930.
rednichols
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And my personal favourite, by footballer George Best:
I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.
Reported in "Best: Decline of the golden boy", BBC News (June 14 2005).
Which he almost topped with:
In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol - it was the worst 20 minutes of my life.
Reported in Ned Sherrin, Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations (2008), p. 153.
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Eddie Southgate
Member
Thanks Red . Same guy has another one that has the cuff held on with three rivets and looks to be placed too high and at a slightly off angle . It has a hole and split on the lower part of the body that looks like it is probably an earlier one . It's cheap for a Brill but I don't see how it could be fixed and look like anything but a fixed torn up Brill. I am slightly tempted though . If I thought it could be shortened and re sewn for a snubby holster I would chance $50 on it .
I appreciate the good info .
Eddie
I appreciate the good info .
Eddie
rednichols
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This one came along with the little Scout I picked up.
You realise that it is a 1911 holster, yes? Brills were only made with the trigger cutout on their auto holster and the very short barrelled DA revolvers.
I had no idea what model it was for, it was just thrown in on the deal for the Scout. I had a sense it wasn't for the Scout but I figured it was a Brill so it would make for a nice addition. I have several 1911s that will look good with the Brill......thanks for the pleasant surprise.
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rednichols
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Yours was made in Brill's late period of the 1930s through the 1950s. And in very handsome condition. Quite valuable in its own right.
A very pleasant surprise, thanks. I learn something new everyday. I also have a SD Myers for my python.
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rednichols
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Myres can be roughly dated, too, by their choice of maker's marks. Much harder though, because Myres was under various owners after Sam's death in '53; and it appears that the name itself is owned by a third party to this very day. If you'd like to show pics we can 'give it a go' for you
. Ultimately, though, a Myres is no more, nor less, valuable for its period of manufacture; instead it will be condition, such as the very, very good condition of your Brill.ADDED: I see the pics now. Myres with the letters 'TEX' in the mark are believed to be from Sam's earliest period (he started making holsters in earnest around 1930) and the patent that is stamped next to the mark was issued in 1936. Both stamps survive to this day in private hands.
One would think it would be that easy! But the earliest Askins version was not of the Threepersons style, and its muzzle was not closed in that manner. And the successor Jordan version also did not have the muzzle closed that way. So I expect it is before the 1960s only.
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Not too long ago I became a proud owner of a Brill thanks to turnerriver.
It was made for S&W M&P with 4" barrel so of course it fits my model 10
just fine. Shown here on thirty dollar gunbelt that I jazzed up a bit with
the 3 piece buckle set. The knife is a Bear and the hat is my Stetson.
It was made for S&W M&P with 4" barrel so of course it fits my model 10
just fine. Shown here on thirty dollar gunbelt that I jazzed up a bit with
the 3 piece buckle set. The knife is a Bear and the hat is my Stetson.
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I will pull out a 1911 and see how it fits, but since the Scout is a downsized version of a SAA I am thinking that the holster might be too small for a full size 1911. Might it fit a smaller semi auto like a 1903 .32 or .380? Later today I will try my 1903 and my 1911 to see which one fits best.....I am now leaning to the smaller 1903.....we shall see. Thanks for the all the info on the Brill. I paid 400 for the gun and the holster was thrown in so I figure I got a pretty good deal on the package.
rednichols
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I'm going to bet on the 1911, by scale. These pics show both pistols. The larger one is from the early Brill period so is styled somewhat differently to yours, which is far more shapely at the welted seam. They are meant to fit quite tightly as their 'claim to fame' for not needing a strap.
The 'hammerless' version is from Brill's late period. The swell (or taper if one thinks that way) is meant to grasp the cuff into position; Rabensburg's later production employs this in all his Brills, for auto, for the DA, and for the SA.
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Welll I have no idea what gun the holster is made for. The 1911 would not even fit so I did not bother to even take a picture. And the 1903 is a strange fit.....with the 1903 seated in there are still a couple of inches left in the holster but the gun won't go any further....so I am at a loss for what it goes to.
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bmcgilvray
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Remington Model 51 perhaps, moralem?
Here's the Model 51 here, but with a Heiser holster.
I happily got along in life with only a single Brill in the leather menagerie for several years and figured on being content with it. Then over a period of less than two years Brills kept popping up almost unbidden, denting the wallet but tickling me pink. Most recent is the holster for the Colt Police Positive Special.
The Smith & Wesson Military & Police 4-inch was the first one. It appears to be nearly new.
Here's the Model 51 here, but with a Heiser holster.
I happily got along in life with only a single Brill in the leather menagerie for several years and figured on being content with it. Then over a period of less than two years Brills kept popping up almost unbidden, denting the wallet but tickling me pink. Most recent is the holster for the Colt Police Positive Special.
The Smith & Wesson Military & Police 4-inch was the first one. It appears to be nearly new.
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