JOHN WAYNE HOLSTER PATTERN

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

I've done a couple of roll-over linings.  They never seem quite as neat as EPS does it, but they do make a very solid and useful holster.

[Slowhand Bob]

I have done a few in the past using suede, much easier than rolling full grain, in much the same manner as we would do a suede lined cuff.  The purpose on the holster was not lining but rather doing a suede fringe that rolled over the top into the holster.  Inside, the suede would end just a hair below the stitch line which secured it while outside the fringe starts just below the stitch line.  I think if I were going to roll full grain leather like this I would use a 2-3oz or no more than a four oz and lightly case it before rolling/molding it over to the inside and sewing/glueing it in as a liner???  The full roll should be even prettier.  Might make an interesting learning project sometime.

[Avidreader]

Outrider
If at all possible, I also would like to obtain one of your patterns for the John Wayne Pattern, this would be for myself, I am strictly a hobbies't  and it would be used for my own firearms.
               Thank You,  Avidreader

[Bill LOGAN]

Curly...good information on this subject...The one thing I have noticed is that the EPS version utilizes a pigskin lining with a "roll over" at the throat of the holster.  Bianchi's version did not have the roll over and was lined with veg tanned leather.  I don't know if anyone has attempted the roll over method..but it is not easy to get it right.

You are also correct...anyone who does not have John Bianchi's book  should definately get one...the book is very well done.  I have also trid to get ahold of a copy of Dennis Adllers newest book but no one seems to have it.

Hello
would have you the réferences of both books
thank you
Bill

[Old Doc]

As mentioned, different folks over the years have claimed to have made the Wayne holster. Many, who make the replicas miss the detail of the shiny rivet in the base of the right billet. The strangest story was told to me by Victor Perez, who worked with Andy Anderson and who, according to him, made the holsters for Harrison Ford and others in the new movie Cowboys and Aliens.
Victor says that he once made a belt for Wayne out of the material they use to make fire hoses, that heavy woven material you used to see hanging on the wall in hotels. He claimed that Wayne was undergoing cancer treatment and that conventional belts made him uncomfortable around the abdomen. Not sure why fire hose would be any more comfortable but that was the story and knowing Victor, he's sticking to it.

[DUKE DEADEYE NUKEM]

Outrider, I really appreciate your generosity my friend.  I would be flattered to receive a set of your patterns and if I can ever offer anything in return, all you need do is ask. 

I would love a set of patterns for these and would insist on paying for them sir. 

[Avidreader]

  outrider, I received the pattern this morning and could not be more thrilled, I get to "Make my own" holster, I appreciate your generosity but would like to pay you for your trouble, quote me a price and I will send it immediately.
                           Thanks Again,    Wes

[DUKE DEADEYE NUKEM]

   .......

[DUKE DEADEYE NUKEM]

Outrider did you get my PM?

[will ghormley]

I enjoyed seein' the rig Curley Cole was talkin' about, all cobbled up and let out as the Duke grew in stature.  It wasn't anything anyone would have bragged about makin', but boy did it have character.

Will

[Cremony]

..he used the El Paso Saddlery style for many of his movies except the last one...in the Shootist (1976) he used a two piece Hunter holster.

Wayne used a 5 1//2 inch Colt 38-40 from 1933 to 1936, he carried this gun in an Ed Bohlin heavily carved two tone gunbelt rig. In 1937 he started wearing a # 714 H. H. Heiser rig that was also heavily carved, and had a silver Bohlin buckle and tip.  This rig was used until Angel and the Badman (1947).

The first movie he used his trademark holster rig in was Hondo (1953), which the Duke used in almost all his subsequent Westerns.  This was a sewed up rough out moneybelt style combined with what we think is a lined skirtless holster. These rigs got darker over the years, as they were oiled, but stayed basically the same.

Prior to Hondo he used several different ones .. I have patterns for both the 5.5" straight drop and for the cross draw...

Actually it did not have a straight drop, but a forward FBI cant which you can see in the films.

These are El Paso Saddlery and I think they are about as close to the originals as anyone ..  and don't forget we want pix.

The problem is we are not sure what the original for the 5 1/2 inch colt really looked like.

I think Jim Lockwood has duplicated several of the original Duke holsters...he may have some info on this.

Jim was Bob Brown's apprentice. Bob Brown was a prop artist who may have made the original Hondo.

EPS claim that they made the holster for The Shootist

It was made for John Wayne to use in the film but at the last minute because he lost so much weight, he could not use it, so another actor in the film wore it. But it was resized for John and it was sent back to him to keep. So it is true that they made the holster for The Shootist.

Screen shot "The Shootist"


Screen shot

...you can definately see that it is indeed a Hunter Two piece.

I checked the link and you are correct as to what they say...however he did not wear that "Duke style" holster in the Shootist....the one I saw in the movie was a Hunter Two piece....EPS makes the one style that the Duke wore from Hondo on.

I whole lot of people make copies but the El Paso is not accurate because none of his filmed rigs used the "roll over" method.

He basically used this rig...made by several makers (including John Bianchi) up until the Shootist, where he switched to the Hunter holster and belt.

John Bianchi

John Bianchi ... helped Wayne match the details and holster butt forward cant angle of the very first rig of unknown maker to this day ... Bianchi made 3000 exact reproduction commemorative sets in the 1980s. Regular production Bianchi Wayne holsters are not exact reproductions of their Wayne model which has a shorter 'drop' and a half back flap.

Gary Hess, John Wayne holster

John Wayne gave his rig to Gary Hess.  I do not know if this was the original Hondo rig.

The rig is obviously hand-made, but no maker's mark could be found. After seeing detailed photos, holstermaker Jim Lockwood of Legends in Leather believed it could have been made by the late Andy Anderson. Eddy Janis of Peacemaker Specialists agreed

The Dukes old rig given to Hess by Wayne, could have been made by Anderson as these experts say, but if it was, it was not the original rig used in Hondo (1953).  Andy Anderson did not move from Arkansas, to Los Angeles until 1958.  Five years after Hondo was filmed.

Bianchi prop holster provided by Stembridge Gun Rental Inc., for John Wayne in Eighteen Movies.

One thing that stood out and is often missed by many copies is the color of the belt, it was definitely a gray tint in the photos, which leads me to think it may have been actual suede rather than a ruff out??

The Bianchi rigs and the original for Wayne are not a money belt, but sewn all the way around both ends without leaving one end open in the traditional money belt style of the 1800s.  The 20 year older production El Paso belts are lighter than their current production and were true money belts.  The belts are not suede which is a very thin and delicate processed leather; it's just "rough side out."  It is made by doubling over one piece of leather with the smooth side in.

Belt from El Dorado (1966) he used his own holster.

There has been much discussion on the "original" duke rig, who made it and where it is. If you look close at the progression of movies, you will note that Wayne extended the belt with a method used on the the old Mattel Fanner Fiftys (the 4 holes and crossing a thong of leather to extend the billit.

This was common practice for the rental companies because a lot of different size actors wore the same props.

On page 136 of John Bianchi's new book there is a picture of the "original" Duke rig.

Please, please can you scan that picture of the original holster and post it for us.  If I was in L.A. I would go up to Autry's and see it in the morning.

I finally wrote to John Bianchi and we discussed it, and he told me that the best guess was that Bob Brown made the original. and was followed by copies by Alfonso, and Bianchi did one in the 1970. At the request of the Duke.

Anderson's partner, Victor Perez, reports that the first rig Andy Anderson made for Wayne was in 1969.  Wm. Brown Holster Co. Tombstone, Arizona says John Wayne's gun belt was actually a non-functional money belt, originally made by the artist Bob Brown of Hollywood. 

Bob Brown of Hollywood

Bob Brown the Leonardo of Leather

If ya don't have a copy of Bianchi's book (and you all should,) let me know and I will post a scan of the rig...

Please, that would be so cool.

..who make the replicas miss the detail of the shiny rivet in the base of the right billet.

Pic?

[Curley Cole]

I forgot about this thread I will try to post a pix from the bianchi book some time today or tomorrow....but ya all should have it...it is a treasure

curley

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre]

As for patterns, our own Will Ghormley has a set at Tandy/Leather Factory called "The Eldorado".

[Curley Cole]

 

I am really sorry for the delay but here is the image I had promised to post. (I took a pix of it because I didn't want to chance breaking the binding of the book on the scanner, so I apoligize for the bit of glare)

It is taken from page 136 of the book on John Bianchi done by Dennis Adler. the picture was of the rig as part of a larger display on the Duke that John had in his museum in Temecula in the 1970s. I saw that display and this rig several times.

It looks very similar to the rig shown above that states was given to Hess.

The provindence of this rig at least in my opinion is absolute. John Bianchi was friends with the Duke and was given the job to make the "final" Duke rig for the Duke and the original commem. rig Bianchi did was very close to that rig. It was not "exact" on porpose
I have known John Bianchi since I was in high school, and like I said before, when he was a Monrovia cop he showed a holster to my mom (while she worked at Winchells...haha) and asked her if she would buy it..She told him it was beautiful but didn't need it..He laffed and said he was planning on starting up a leather biz in his garage...if only I could had been that sucessful..

sorry for the delay in posting this.
curley


BTW: in looking back at the pix provided in this thread, the one shown as "Bianchi prop holster from "Stembridge to John Wayne in Eighteen movies"...that rig is all wrong and the thing that stands out most is how much drop is on the holster. it is way too long.

[Cremony]

It looks very similar to the rig shown above that states was given to Hess.  The provindence of this rig at least in my opinion is absolute.

Thank you Curly for your addition to the John Wayne Hondo holster mystery. 

What does it say on the card.  I suspect museum personal may put a commercial slant on displays worldwide.   How many originals can there be from one movie?

This version looks like a Bianchi holster on what could be the original well-worn gunbelt.

The Hess holster is not sewed at bottom like the holster in the book about Bianchi. Plus the holster looks a little to new and unused to have been the original used in Hondo (1953).

Hess holster non-sewed bottom #1

Hess holster non-sewed bottom #2

The Searchers holster non-sewed bottom #3

[Cremony]

On page 136 of John Bianchi's new book there is a picture of the "original" Duke rig.

Not only does the picture shown have a different shape to the toe, but it shows stitching where no stitching exists on the toe of the Hess rig.

[Slickshot]

I would like to thank everyone for all their posts on the "original" Duke rig...

I learned quite a bit and it is all very interesting to me, as I am a huge John Wayne fan.


Slickshot

[Kid Cavalier]

My favorite legend about JW's gunbelt is that it was given to JW by Yakima Kanut the stuntman after some of JW's early movies.  JW liked how comfortable the rig was and continued to use the same style rig until "The Shootist"

Truth as I understand it is that no one knows the maker of the original. John Bianchi made several replacements for JW over the years. (slight differences in each)

Every holster maker now makes a version of the rig.

This is the one on display at the Autry Museum.  https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KdkcsM_LKUpCUpT3TajqXOkL0RqFtu-Ohej-QgG0zhE?feat=directlink

[Curley Cole]

My favorite legend about JW's gunbelt is that it was given to JW by Yakima Kanut the stuntman after some of JW's early movies.  JW liked how comfortable the rig was and continued to use the same style rig until "The Shootist"

Truth as I understand it is that no one knows the maker of the original. John Bianchi made several replacements for JW over the years. (slight differences in each)

Every holster maker now makes a version of the rig.

This is the one on display at the Autry Museum.  https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KdkcsM_LKUpCUpT3TajqXOkL0RqFtu-Ohej-QgG0zhE?feat=directlink

Thanks Matt for jumping in...I appreciate it. And the rig at the Autry looks very much like the one that was at the Bianchi Museum. And so it goes...

curley

[Slowhand Bob]

Guys, just spotted this and would terribly love to have it BUT, sadly the finances do not include new purchases of wall hangers.  Just in case any of you are into collecting this sort of memorabilia, good luck.   http://www.ebay.com/itm/200806110748?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_5700wt_970