THIS IS CLARINO!

[SG-688]

I prefer the luxury of Corinthian leather.

SG-688, did you ever see a Corfam holster? I never did. Saw Corfam shoes in the Air Force.

I had a couple of pair of Corfam shoes that were low gloss rather than the high shine I think of for Clarino. The appearance was more like normal leather.

Based only on that, the first generation Illinois State Police flap holster for the model 39 by Service Mfg. - which had a low gloss finish - might, maybe have been Corfam. Purely a guess. I had one on loan from a detective who had no need for it. Sadly, he eventually asked for it back so he could turn it in.

 

[crazyphil]

This just in!

In my continuing investigation into Wessonhide, Clarino, and
other imposters of leather used to make holsters, I came across
this information which could be important.

The subject S&W holster is model 32, which is an officer's uniform
holster. The size is 34CL. The 34 is for a K frame such as
model 10 with 4" barrel.

I believe the CL after the 34 means it is made of Clarino. It
looks very much like patent leather.

If it was S&W's practice to put the CL after all the sizes of
holsters made with Clarino, it could be very helpful.

I assume there is someone else as interested in holster minutia
as I am.

 

[GerSan69]

I'm definitely interested. I keep PDFs of all the holster catalogs that you guys post from time to time in a special folder under "Gun stuff" on my computer.
I wish I still had all the different holsters (and guns!) I tried out for a while and traded off for one reason or another over the years. I still have 3 large covered tubs of holsters....one for semis, one for revolvers, and one with holsters that I actually use from time to time. Oh, and then there's the drawer full of holsters in my nightstand for my "EDC" rotation. And a couple spares in the sock drawer. At least I no longer have the duty rig hanging on the bedroom doorknob since I retired....

 

[CH4]

Sorry, only real cops wear leather, sheriffs deputies, state troopers and sailors - perhaps they dig the smell of windex.

 

[crazyphil]

In my opening salvo (#1 above) I mentioned that many advertisers call
the product leather when in reality Wessonhide is not leather. But they
do have the leather welt, so maybe that's a loophole.

One of my Gurus (Red Nichols) told me that cowhide on the inside and a
thin layer of Clarino on the outside is how many makers make those
high glossy law enforcement and military holsters. So, I suppose it's
alright for them to call their holsters leather as well.

I have bought a Wessonhide and what I believe to be a Clarino holster
for further study. Stay tuned.

 

[crazyphil]

The holster I bought, mentioned above in #25, was supposed to be by
Don Hume to fit a 4" K Frame, and in the ad it looked very nice and shiny
so, I thought it might be made with Clarino.

Well it arrived, and first it looked nothing like the holster in the ad. It
was virtually covered with scuffs, and as someone said it is not possible
to do anything about scuffs. Secondly, my Model 10 with 4" barrel would
not even start to go in to the holster. Thirdly, there was nothing on the
holster to indicate it was made by Don Hume. It had some kind of
foreign looking logo and language where we would normally see the
maker mark.


I have bought hundreds of holsters over the years, and can only recall
one incident when I returned one. This one was the second one I am
going to return.

The seller told me the holsters were made by Don Hume for the Saudi
Royal Guard. That's the reason for the logo and language mentioned
above. Seller also offered to send a replacement. I agreed but with
the understanding that the replacement will fit the model 10 4" K frame
and not have the scuffs like the one I returned.

We will see what happens, and of course I will post photos if it's a
keeper.

By the way, I mentioned in #25 that I was also buying a Wessonhide
holster for study. I posted information about it in the thread titled
GET SOME WESSONHIDE. It's a keeper.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Saudi folks?
Awhile back now a guy here in town was buying Mercedes through a Saudi Royal Family contact here in town (rug store employee).
He lived near me, so I told him when he actually got the MB, and he saw my pickup in my driveway -
Just pull in and blow the horn until I came out.
I would love to circle the block in that Mercy-Mercy.
When you see the price, you say that.
Still waiting!
There actually be a actual real Saudi Royal Family story, like an associate of mine got drunked up at a party in Egypt.
A Saudi AF guy accused him of messing with his wife.
My Associate knocked the Saudi off a second story balcony.
He ain’t gonna get no discount cars displaying that kind of behavior!

 

[crazyphil]

I asked my friend and Guru Red Nichols for his opinion about the Brauer
Brothers holster mentioned in #15 above. Here is what he said:

"Phil, Clarino-faced holsters are a kind of reverse-lined holster, so the
perimeter of the holster is stitched, too, not just the welt. So, No, yours
is not Clarino.

It's done by clicking (die cutting) the body of the holster from cowhide
upside-down, the Clarino layer right side up; then gluing them together
and sewing the edges as if one were lining it. Which one is, but the
thin layer is on the outside not the inside.

So look for a very high gloss (because it's intended to be that high gloss
military look) with stitching around the edges."

So, I kept on looking. I have a Don Hume Bulwork model coming that
fills the prescription that Red laid out for me above. Will post photos
when in gets here.

 

[VaTom]

We had issued plain black leather duty gear. Had to buy our own shoes or boots. This was 45 years ago. Bought a pair of Clarino shoes. Burn your feet up as it doesn't breath especially in summer!!! No fancy boots back in the day like now. My boots were black Cocoran jump boots my brother sent me from Germany while stationed there with Army. Kept them for years!

 

[crazyphil]

I asked my friend and Guru Red Nichols for his opinion about the Brauer
Brothers holster mentioned in #15 above. Here is what he said:

"Phil, Clarino-faced holsters are a kind of reverse-lined holster, so the
perimeter of the holster is stitched, too, not just the welt. So, No, yours
is not Clarino.

It's done by clicking (die cutting) the body of the holster from cowhide
upside-down, the Clarino layer right side up; then gluing them together
and sewing the edges as if one were lining it. Which one is, but the
thin layer is on the outside not the inside.

So look for a very high gloss (because it's intended to be that high gloss
military look) with stitching around the edges."

So, I kept on looking. I have a Don Hume Bulwork model coming that
fills the prescription that Red laid out for me above. Will post photos
when in gets here.

I posted photos up in #1 post.

 

[shawn mccarver]

Dehner's of Omaha uses Dehcord in some of its products, which is synthetic, breathable faux leather made by Majilite.

Safariland, of course, uses a synthetic of some kind, and they have a process of layering called Safari-laminate, which supposedly laminates the layers together. Who knows if any of the layers are real leather these days - probably not on most of the items they sell.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I didn’t know that Dehner’s made holsters!
They have made boots for George Patton , Ron Reagan and
Curtiss Hisownself LeMay , among others.

 

[chief38]

I had a Clarino Holster for a 3" model 36 many years ago that came with the gun. It was lined with some sort of white colored lining as well. I think I threw it in the closet temporarily and then tossed it in the garbage a few months later. No regrets.

 

[GerSan69]

Heh. Phil "inspired" me to get one of these, if for no other reason than to have it and show it off.
Brand-new Boston Leather 5003 springer-style for a 2 1/2" K-frame in - what else - Clarino.
$38 + shipping from Cops Plus. They also have a J-frame size. Unfortunately, I believe they only make right-handed.
Actually, with my nickel 19 or nickel 15 snubs, this might have to be my BBQ rig.... after I get a Clarino belt!

 

[texmex]

Texas Highway Patrol is still issued Clarino gear.

 

[rednichols]

I read that Brauer Brothers used clarino in some of their holsters. So I examined this
Brauer Brothers and believe it probably is clarino. It is too perfect, no blems or wrinkle
that you would usually see in real leather. And it smells more like chemicals than
leather.

Phil, if you ever really, really, really want to tell real leather from synthetic, use a lighter. Not for light: synthetics will burn and melt, leather can char but cannot burn; why it's used for welding gloves and aprons. Impractical test for a holster unless you mean to win a high-dollar bet; but very practical for, say, the bottom edge of the backside of a sofa.

 

[shawn mccarver]

I didn’t know that Dehner’s made holsters!
They have made boots for George Patton , Ron Reagan and
Curtiss Hisownself LeMay , among others.

Yes, Dehner's has quite a history.

They have a section on their website, but mostly you have to call and tell them what you want.

They made the "Missouri Style" for decades, and that is what our Missouri State Highway Patrol issued for so long that Dehner's actually changed the fasteners from studs to snaps, the material from calf leather to Dehcord, etc. The holster originally had a leg tie-down that got eliminated in the 1950s or 1960s maybe, and their cartridge box, which looked so ordinary externally, was steel-lined so the cartridges would always fall into the hand when the flap was opened, etc.

All of the leather in this picture is made by Dehner's, but they make many different styles. The MSHP no longer uses Dehner's leather, but the last time I checked, the last old guy who used to make it was still working there, and could re-create the entire set if required.

 

[shawn mccarver]

I read that Brauer Brothers used clarino in some of their holsters. So I examined this
Brauer Brothers and believe it probably is clarino. It is too perfect, no blems or wrinkle
that you would usually see in real leather. And it smells more like chemicals than
leather.

Phil:

I used Brauer Brothers holsters back in the day, and we sold them in the store also. We ordered in lots of the law enforcement stuff, and their clarino was the real deal. It was very high gloss, and they made it in both black and brown clarino. Black for the cops and brown for the deputies.

The holster in #15 is not clarino. Had it been, it would have the luster of the Dehner's stuff in my most recent post.


The Metropolitan Police of St. Louis used Brauer Brothers leather goods until the department finally traded in its last revolvers (Model 64s). Their revolver duty holsters were a flap style holster that snapped off the belt in the same manner as the company's famous snap-off sportsman design.

The Sam Browne belt used by SLMPD was a special type made for SLMPD that was not catalogued. It was 1 3/4 inch (the same as a so called "garrison belt"), and it used the same square buckle as a garrison belt, but it had a wide leather backer behind the buckle in the same way the traditional 2 1/4 inch Sam Browne belt has a leather backer behind its buckle.

The reason for the 1 3/4 inch width of the duty belt was so it could be threaded through the pants belt loops so they did not use a separate pants belt or keepers. It was a neat set-up, and in the last decade or so that they carried revolvers, they SLMPD used black high gloss clarino and it had exactly the same high gloss sheen as we are all used to seeing.

When the SLMPD transitioned over to their Beretta 92D pistol, they went to Gould and Goodrich, referred to by the officers as "G & G" and they began using a more traditional 2 1/4 inch Sam Browne belt with keepers, and they changed to plain black leather (no clarino). Naturally, the flap holster went away also.

I hope that information is of interest to you.

Shawn

 

[Imissedagain]

Acquired this rejected 21 66 holster recently.
That’s a J 63-3 in the supposed K frame holster. ??
Our K frame 17-4 is a bit big for it.

How does patent leather fit into this picture?
USAF Burial Squad out of Castle AFB wore those type shoes in ‘68-‘69. Busy years.

 

[rednichols]

In a related matter, of construction, so-called 'clarino' (it's actually a brand name, like Kleenex, and came to mean 'high gloss' but it came in dull finishes, too) gunleather is/was made by laminating the outer, thin skin to the thicker, malleable layer of cowhide.

This quote from Galco's site, which gratifyingly describes horsehide as an 'exotic' leather (personally I don't describe my own in that material as being of exotic materials), suggest that they are building theirs in that manner:

"Premium horsehide lining"

I.e., with the horsehide on the inside and a thin (I assume) 'other' leather on the outside; which might explain the finish shown as 'havana' on their site:



Certainly the sewing at the mouth and muzzle of the holster suggests a lining (also a way to suspect a 'clarino' construction; no sewing, no lamination, even on a vintage Safariland).

Anyone here have one (a contemporary Galco in horsehide)?