Luger holster with part pigskin?

[Aaron]

This 1915 holster appears to have a tool pouch made of pigskin. How common is this? (Note to Jerry Burney: This is the holster I told you about a few days ago. It is unmarked except for the date stamp inside the flap.)

[mauro]

Hello Aaron,
it seems very similar to the tool pouch of my 1915 Mars pigskin holster for LP08. Maybe your holster has been made by the same producer (Mars). The production year is the same!
Ciao
Mauro

http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/toolpouch.jpg

[G.T.]

Looks like pebble finshed cowhide to me... look for the little groups of three hair folicals (sp?) on the inside of the pouch, that is normal with pigskin... till...lat'r...GT

[lugerholsterrepair]

G.T. Is correct. this tool pouch is most certainly not pigskin. Pigskin is actually a series of holes where the thick hair was removed and the hole is left. Like G.T. says, the holes are mostly arranged in patterns of three holes close together.
Cowhide is impressed with what is commonly called a pebble grain. I have never been able to understand the reason for this procedure except to think it might be cosmetic or asthetic. The Germans usually did things for a reason but this one escapes me. Quite a few German map cases were made with the pebble grain feature. Must be some reason for it, anyone out there know?

Mauro brings up an interesting point I was discussing with Aaron a day or so ago. 1915 was a period where the pebble grain was seen as well as the inked date stamp. I seem to remember seeing inked date stamps on early Artillery's . Mauro, do you have any impressions about the inked date stamps?

Jerry Burney

[Vlim]

Since the tool pouch can be made from relatively small pieces of leather, I think they just used up cut-off pieces of leather from larger projects to make these.

I remember working holidays at a brush factory, where wooden waste bits were used to manufacture small brush handles.

[mauro]

Hello Jerry,
please find here a photo, maybe not so clear, of the inked date and Regimental stamp of my 1915 pigskin Mars holster.
Let me know your opinion.
Ciao

http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/marsstamp.jpg

[mauro]

Post Scriptum:
Please you can find several pictures of my 1915 holsters in the "holster" page of my web site.

http://lugerlp08.free.fr/

Have a look.
Ciao
Mauro

[lugerholsterrepair]

Mauro, Yes , this is what I remember. Nice photo and an excellent example of a pebble grained tool pouch.

G. van Vlimmeren , This is correct. When making holster bodies there is much leather that is scrap and is useful in making many small parts such as pouches and straps. The difference in thickness is sometimes great though and there are limitations to what can be used. Although, when a large manufacturing process is employed there would be many opportunities to use this leather in such things as horse harness or many of the other things leather was used for in wartime Germany. Jerry Burney

[Pete Ebbink]

Maybe the stamped pebble-grain pieces of leather were used to improve a soldier's grip when his hands or the leather he is trying to grab might be wet from rain/fog/water...(???) Just WAG'ing...

Regards,

Pete <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />

[lugerholsterrepair]

Pete, From an engineering point of view, wouldn't there be less traction on something covered with bumps? Of course a basket ball and a football are made with this type of leather so you may be onto something. There must be some ergonomic or structural reason for this. I know the Germans wouldn't do it for looks. Jerry Burney

[Heinz]

Jerry, the pebble finish would be like treads on a tire, the roughness gives water a place to get out of the way and human hands tend to grip rough surfaces more surely than smooth ones. The friction from the rough surface is mechanical and compensates for the reduced surface area.

regards

[lugerholsterrepair]

Pete, Heinz, There you go! I knew there must be a reason for this...Thanks, Jerry Burney

[John Sabato]

Jerry, Heinz and Pete, I would like to submit the concept that the pebble grain tooling might also have some impact on the life of the flap considering the requirement for flexability and durability... Some thin leather is pretty brittle...Whatyathink?

[lugerholsterrepair]

John, Another interesting point concerning the pebble grained pieces I have observed. I have never seen very thick leather that has had the pebble grain. In almost every case it is thin and soft.

Brittle leather usually becomes that way due to external environmental factors, storage, oil or other chemicals, water and use. I have a holster in my shop where portions of it are as brittle as a hard cookie and will break at the slightest bend. Other portions of it are still soft and supple. Must have been a chemical spill of some sort.

The pebble grain impression takes place on the surface of the leather and somewhat seperates the surface from the underlayment due to the rising of the pebbles or bumps. This seems to make the leather softer than normal because of the seperation of the two layers, breaking the fibers I suppose. I have never really noticed a piece of pebble grain that was brittle, although I am sure there are some just by the law of averages. Jerry Burney