[lugerholsterrepair]

Torquemada...Aaron is quite correct. The reason many are not dyed is, even though the Imperial Army directive was issued, the funds to implement the work were never forthcoming. During this period dye was expensive and armorers were paid a few pfinnigs per piece to do the work. Thats why even though the front was dyed it is common to see the back without a dye job. Emagine how many millions of holsters were affeced by this order?

I believe you have to explore with yourself what kind of collector you want to be. An original holster is one you will be proud to own and to look at. It will also come with a great deal of history attached and that alone is what collecting is all about. A repro will bring you pain and agony every time you pick it up or get a glance at it.

I highly recomend that you save up and find a decent original holster. It will go up in value over the years and when you go to sell it ,it will be worth more than you paid for it.In the meantime it will not bring tears to your eyes whenever you see it. A repro will still be worth $20.00.

I wrote a critique of the CMR holsters in a previous thread. They are considered to be one of the best by some people. I am not one of those people. Read this critique and let me know what you think of repro holsters...

I have made several Luger holsters from scratch and I will be the first to tell you it is a real job to do. To do it right is much harder still. No one in the repro market today does it right as far as I know. Pistols don't fit, thread is cheap cotton instead of linen and the leather can be sharp, stiff and unpleasant to handle. Parts are the wrong size and misplaced...They are basically a botch job made by some poor laborer in Poland or Pakistan or India.There must be many German saddlers rolling in their graves... Anyone who opts for a repro holster just dosen't give a hoot about the Luger collecting hobby.Let me qualify that last statement. There are places where repro parts are justified. Some hard to get and very expensive things. Some things that cannot be found at any price. Some things that are smaller parts and do not affect the whole. Some things you may intend to use in the field that an original would not hold up, such as a Luger Lanyard.

But for the most part a repro Luger holster is a bad idea unless you intend to use it for weekend reinacting and an original would not hold up to rolling in the dirt. A true collector wants a piece of history.

If someone were selling Luger pistols to the same standards as repro holsters there would be quite a few people out there with less eyes and fingers than God issued them. But hey! This is just one mans opinion. Jerry Burney