Is an EPS 1930/Austin holster the same as a Brill?

[Malpasowildlifer]

Brills are pretty neat and would like to get some type of reproduction.

I just realized the other day while looking at the website that the EL Paso Saddlery 1930/Austin holster looks very close. Is it the same pretty close?

Does anyone have one for a 1911 or 4" N frame without the safety strap?

If so, how is retention? Is it something you’d want to wear on horseback? Or are there better classic designs?

I'd maybe get hammer thong but definitely not the strap.

Thanks is advance.

 

[rednichols]

EPS' is similar to the Brill but it is not an authentic reproduction; because theirs is based on inadequate research into the Brill formula.

Originally created for the Texas Rangers at Kluge Bros saddlery in Austin in 1905, it is a concealment holster derived from a bulky range holster that had its excess leather trimmed away to create the Kluge Scabbard. Brill bought Kluge Bros to form his own saddlery in 1912.

EPS' is only similar because the belt loop is not in accordance with the formula used by two dozen period makers in Texas. The leather cuff surrounding the holster body is not an ornament on a Brill, it is the lower half of the belt loop tunnel. As such it is affixed parallel to the fold in the fender that then lays behind the holster body, and not askew as on the EPS. For different belt widths, such as a trousers belt that was new in 1905, the cuff is kept in the same location and it is the FOLD that is changed to allow for the varying widths. Brills also are not fully lined, because the lined fender was to protect the pants leg from chafing, not to protect the revolver inside.

It was the discovery of this of this holster made by Brill successor N.J. Rabensburg, that led to the learning that there were two eras for the Brill, of which N.J.'s was the final beginning in the 1930s. The Brill family had better things to do with their time than selling holsters (they were not leatherworkers themselves) and created a vacation/fishing resort on Lake Austin called Brillville that opened after WW2 ended.

 

[BigMuddy]

Look at the Barranti Ranger

Dan

https://isteam.wsimg.com/ip/b69a2e91-b09a-454c-ab5f-8662c7dd0ba9/ols/326_original/:/rs=w:600,h:600

 

[StrawHat]

There are several custom makers on this forum who can build a version. Hopefully one of them will contact you. It is not an easy scabbard to build.

Kevin

 

[rednichols]

Look at the Barranti Ranger

Dan

https://isteam.wsimg.com/ip/b69a2e91-b09a-454c-ab5f-8662c7dd0ba9/ols/326_original/:/rs=w:600,h:600

Mike's is one of the best replicas of the Brill. The EPS is the worst .

 

[Papa Lee]

El Paso Saddlery 1930 Austin Holsters

The El Paso Saddlery 1930 Austin holster was Bobby McNellis's tribute to the A.W. Brill holsters that were popular with Texas Lawmen in the past. I don't believe that they were meant to be an exact duplicate. There are similarities and differences, as Red has pointed out.
Many of the older A.W. Brill holsters were made when men wore narrow belts, and consequently the belt channel on many A.W. Brill holsters is narrower than most belts worn today. Bobby widened the channel for use with wider belts and fully lined them with suede instead of smooth leather on the back. The EPS loop shape was also made more symmetrical. The earlier 1930 Austin EPS holsters had the loop stitched in place similar to the A.W. Brill holsters (but without the hooks), the later 1930 Austin EPS holster loops are riveted. I have owned (and sold) a good many 1930 Austin EPS holsters and never had a complaint about them. I prefer the older stitched versions.
Now the EPS 1930 Austin holster for the 1911 pistols could be considered to be an improvement on the Brill design in one respect, because of the raised blocked interior feature that protects the magazine release button.

 

[Malpasowildlifer]

Copy thanks all