Marcello, that picture of the square is beautiful! That would be a terrific place to relax and have great conversations with friends. Do you have any folks that enjoy guns and gun leather there? Like on the forum, politics can be difficult to discuss in the states, and around my area, college football is King! Beautiful women are an added pleasure.
I just had a thought that made me chuckle to myself. You probably won't get it, but members here in the states will. I just thought about a "Twin Peaks" or "Hooters" coming to your square. Now that I think about it, it doesn't make me chuckle, it makes me cringe!
Larry
Larry
I am becoming more and more convinced that I must come and visit you in America, both for the symposium and to meet you, one by one.
Well, here until a few years ago, let's say until 20 years ago, among friends we had epic arguments talking about power and soccer,
now we only argue about soccer.
Excuse me friends, this was a small aside. Let's get back to us.
I have many friends who are passionate about weapons, few are competent and many are gullible.
Here we have a plethora of collectors of Lugers, Mausers and all those weapons, certainly beautiful but so complicated that they should never have been produced, or rather they would have been fine if shown together with the watch collection and not passed off as deadly military weapons.
J.M. Browning still laughs when he saw who the competitors were at the time.
Regarding gunleather here they have never seen anything, among all the arts where we have had our say, in the processing of leather we really know nothing.
In the nineties I had a gunshop in Rome and given my passion it seemed right to subscribe to American Handgunner to have quality printing in the shop.
Between the beautiful photos of the magazine and the little you saw in some books, gunleather was starting to appear here too.
To the point that when I came to Dallas in 1996 to the Shot Show I combined the business trip with some pleasure trips regarding western culture and gunleather.
In Fort Worth to M.L. Leddy's I spent a fortune on boots, which were then stolen from my house in the countryside.
In Austin downtown from the old historic Capitol Saddlery (Lavaca), now replaced by a bar restaurant, I bought a used saddle in very good condition from Colorado Saddlery and in a CowBoy Butique (cowboy culture, not CowBoy football)out of Dallas various belts from various craftsmen, with breathtaking floral decorations accompanied by various holsters, I distinctly remember some Myres and perhaps some Lawrence whose floral decoration for me is the best seen on a standard production holster.
Back in Rome, proud of the purchases I displayed everything in the shop making a truly beautiful show, with SAA everywhere, beautiful Government a little old and the most beautiful pieces of my S&W collection.
Those beasts of my customers, who as ignorant gullible commented on everything saying that it was all machine printed and that it could not be done by hand. If I could I would have exterminated them.
Now I vent my passion here in the forum which is at the same time a source of knowledge and inspiration, thanks to your participation. I personally enjoy writing and sometimes disturb you to push you to show the world but especially me the wonderful things you have accumulated over the years.
I didn't understand anything about your final story, just like you said.
In any case, what came out seems very cool to me.
Immediately, another gentleman bid $20.
I tentatively bid $25 and……..silence. I won and did a little happy dance 
in my head. I interestedly watched the rest of the auction not really knowing much about the different guns that came up or whether prices were good or bad. I did notice that a kinda young uniformed police officer bought 3-4 revolvers. After it was over, I paid for my holster and got in my truck. As I looked at the holster closely, I turned it over, and on the back was the Triple H Heiser Denver maker's mark and the number 719. I could tell this was done at the factory. I also saw something scratched on the holster. It looked like "SW K22" to me, and I had no idea how it got there, or exactly what it meant.
, came with a King Target Rib attached so I wouldn't put it in my Heiser holster. I also bought a K22 Masterpiece that fit perfectly in the holster soon after. So this holster started my journey into S&W's, and vintage leather floral carved holsters, that I love so much! Over the years I have learned a huge amount from John Witty (turnerriver), Red Nichols (rednichols), and my mentors the late Bobby Thomas (fat tom), and the late Charlie Sides (crsides). I have also made a large number of other internet friends here. You folks are great!
You actually responded with a picture of what my holster should look like, and said you weren't sure what I meant about the cigar shaped thing!
What a newb I was! Of course, I very soon afterwards bought a digital camera and posted a picture and you correctly identified it as a tie down strap. So the cost of the camera was an additional expense like you said above. I've fought the light box expense…..so far.
You know they shrink with age.
