CM Leather - Berryville, Arkansas

[TxShooter]

Has anyone ever dealt with a firm out of Arkansas called CM (Carl Martin) Leather? From what I've seen they mainly produced duty gear for revolvers in the early '80s. I don't know exactly when they folded, but they must've survived into the '90s because I bought a M12 straightdrop duty holster marked "GLOC". Can't tell yet if they cut it for a 17 or 19 sized frame.

Here's a photo of the Clarino "pimpleather" set I just picked up on eBay and the "GLOC" holster. The K frame holster has a longer than normal drop from the belt, and retains the revolver using a hammerthong instead of a thumbbreak or snap-strap.

 

[TxShooter]

Thanks, Steve. I remember your reference to the Oklahoma Straight Drop. You're the only person I've met who's even heard of CM so far.

Would this be the OK Straight Drop? This scan is from a 1976 Hume catalog. I found it interesting that the catalog says it was only made in Clarino, and that they offered a snap-off version that late. I thought D-rings and shoulder straps had died out except for a few state police agencies.

PS, know any good voodoo folks? I checked the eBay seller's page and it turns out she's a self-described witch. I may have to get a curse lifted.

 

[penguin]

Not saying y'all are old, but it's pretty cool that y'all have networked for so long. Especially when it comes to some of these pretty handmade holsters. I don't know if alot of people still do that anymore (make them).

 

[TxShooter]

Old? I'm only 25. Steve probably has socks that've been around longer than I have.

 

[penguin]

lol. Now I feel old! Well, then hats off to you for keeping the handmade holster tradition alive. So many of us bypass that kind of craftsmanship for the newest highspeed low drag stuff.

 

[TxShooter]

James, that's Hume's version of the Jordan River Holster, sans forward cant.

Gotcha. The bit about "metal reinforced body" is what threw me. I thought the Jordan only had metal in the beltloop and shank, and a closed muzzle. That catalog scan is huge...33MB...but it also has cutaway views of several of the holsters.

Re: D rings, I think New York and Missouri still do that too. I've got a pair of ex-Missouri HP Safariland 2955s with D-rings bolted directly to the beltloop. The shoulder straps surprised me since they don't have breakaway attachments. The old "suicide strap" lives on. FWIW, the Clarino took one hell of a beating and was flaked off on the outboard side, probably from doorframes, seatbelt buckles, and everything else. Safariland holsters and accessories are bad enough about cracking at the bends without adding a fragile finish.

Carved rigs: I didn't know that about ASP. I wonder who the supplier was...prison made, maybe? Bart Skelton wrote about having an El Paso carved Sam Browne while a New Mexico trooper; SD Myres also had a carved SB rig in his catalog, and Tex Shoemaker cataloged them into the late '90s.

That "buy your own" thing is alive and well, at least in Texas. My deputy buddy got a Crown Vic, Mossberg 500, jacket, badge, and three shirts. Pants, boots, rig, pistol, flashlights, cuffs....even his duty ammo are all on his own dime. Most grumble about it, but fear the alternative worse: that the department will start issuing equipment and requiring that it be carried. Knowing how cheap the county is, it'd probably be whatever Sigma or Ruger that CDNN had on clearance that week.

 

[TxShooter]

A few years back the black & brown Clarino MHP rigs were all over eBay. Either the supply dried up or the seller disappeared. There was also a bunch of black Clarino from when Illinois swapped their S&W 5904s for Glock 22s. Now about the only stuff turning up on a largescale basis is from the Ohio State Patrol.

Missouri used Gould & Goodrich magpouches. I've got one of their Stinger pouches...talk about a cheesy product. Made for extra-thin leather, I guess to give a broken in feel. In reality it just feels cheap, and I'm glad it was on clearance. It went into the holster box, next to the Safariland double speedloader case I bought then found out it won't fit HKS loaders, just the Comp I and II.

 

[TxShooter]

Judging by the number of orders that the "Fuzzy Bunny Slipper Holsters" got I'd have to agree with you.

Bianchi still seems to make most of their thumbbreak straps on 1911 holsters so that they only fit properly with the hammer down.

Several makers (Bucheimer, in one publicized incident) have offered semiauto holsters that often caused the magazine to release. Safariland and G&G both had trouble with front-unlocking semiauto holsters with wraparound safety straps; the guns could be drawn while still snapped in.