Original?
 

On eBay, looks too "new" to me, but I am NO expert.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...e=STRK:MEWA:IT

BTY this seller has sold a number of these in the past few weeks.

What do you guys think?

Mike, The guy has a lot of good photo's on the listing...It looks authentic period to me. Jerry Burney

In about 30 years, this piece will claim some big bucks. Someone who is a P-38 adict should buy it for his estate.

Tom A.

Mike, A whole load of these late war soft shells were dumped on the market a while back. Most in as new condition. I believe they came out of one of the old "Iron Curtain" countries. Probably stored in a armory warehouse since their capture.

Ron

I just cannot accept the fact that the German war production machine had access to so much good quality leather during 1944, as evidenced by the fact that so many military products at that time were made of ersatz leather. During this critical late war period the production of leather boots practically came to a halt, so why would such valuable leather be squandered on mere holsters? Neither can I accept the story that all this came from some "previously undiscovered" warehouse, because no such depository of Luger holsters has ever been discovered, even though the Luger was also used in great numbers. I don't know if these holsters will pass the smell test or the ultraviolet lamp test, but I wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole.

A reputable Ohio dealer had a slug of these sveral years ago. I bought one, it had never had a pistol in it. This dealer is a noted importer of period military stuff. The ebay holster looks like one of the same lot.

If you note the seller's feedback, he has sold a number of these P38 holsters. All of his customers seem to be happy. I think that some of them are well known to us as collectors. I wouldn't hesitate to buy this P38 holster.

Aaron, Like you, I am a born skeptic. The proof is in the pudding as they say and they look to be period made to German specifications. I too would like to submit a sample to the smell test and an ultraviolet light. From the good photo's provided I can determine with some certainty that this holster was not made recently by a Pakistani. I always have some reservations unless I have the holster in my hands but like George A. I would not hesitate to take a chance on this holster.

On an interesting aside, I am reading Willian Shirer's Berlin Diary, a fascinating book if you are looking for a good read. At any rate, he describes the conditions in Hitler's Germany and says even as early as 1940 there was no leather to get your shoes resoled. He also says that animals(owners) were issued ration cards for feed and fodder. I didn't even dream of this! In 1940 the Germans were very short of many things. I would suspect that all of the leather available went to Military applications.

The P-38 holster under discussion does seem to be made of very fine leather....

Jerry Burney

I have purchased several of the "Russian import" P.38 soft shell holsters. I had a number of vet bring backs already. The former are, in my opinion, absolutely original to WWII and correct.

I believe the reason you don't see the same thing in Luger holsters is the fact that they basically weren't making Luger holsters at the end of the war. The P.38 holsters probably came from factories or supply depots that were overrun by the Russians. Both would have had new materiels on hand.

The import holsters have a slightly different smell but it is not of new leather. I believe the unique odor is because a lot of holsters were stored together. Also notice that the closure stud has been painted black on the inside. Typical of the holsters in question.

Regards, Leon

Don't go too high on bidding this auction.

The folks at FGS have the bml '44 holsters for sale at $ 125...in un-issued condition...

http://www.fgsinc.8m.com/whats_new.html

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by Aaron:
<strong>I just cannot accept the fact that the German war production machine had access to so much good quality leather during 1944, as evidenced by the fact that so many military products at that time were made of ersatz leather. During this critical late war period the production of leather boots practically came to a halt, so why would such valuable leather be squandered on mere holsters? </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Interesting observation from the book "Forgotten Soldier" that I just read yesterday; this is Spring 1944... </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">...However, the cloth of the uniforms was of very inferior quality... The new boots were also markedly inferior, of rough, stiff, 4th quality leather...</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">If boots were poor quality and the troops were walking everywhere, I can't imagine that holsters were of a higher need.

ed