Here’s a holster quiz for ya, trivia fans: Back in 1978, the late great Elmer Keith described somebody’s leather as “… the most comfortable holster I have ever tried for heavy guns.” Whose holster was that? Now, remember Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry” movies of the ’70s and ’80s, when Eastwood’s character Harry Callahan carried a S&W 29 .44 Magnum revolver in a distinctive shoulder holster? Who developed that holster, and still produces the “Original Dirty Harry Shoulder Holster,” for virtually any handgun ever made?
Who was the first to make production shoulder holsters for barrels longer than 6.5" — and then a few years later, for barrel lengths to 12"? Who made the “Master Spy” holster for Roger Moore, playing James Bond in the 1983 movie Octopussy? Who made the first triple-position shoulder holster, the “Mercenary,” which could be detached from its harness and worn on the belt, strongside or crossdraw, and its straps used for restraints or carrying gear? Who made the first all-leather shoulder holster which is 99.9 percent resistant to salt water, river algae, mud, sand, urine, blood and body fluids?
Lawman Leather
A File Full of “Firsts”
The legendary Original Dirty Harry Shoulder Holster, now made for virtually any handgun, any barrel length.
Lawman Leather makes the Original Dirty Harry for all autopistols — from
compact .45’s, to 1911’s, Tactical 9mm’s, to Desert Eagles.
An Original Dirty Harry being stitched with the spring already inserted and
stitch-covered, shaped and tempered to return to true — a puzzling and
nearly impossible task — being stitched by Head of Manufacturing, Jimmy Ardolino.
The answers all contain the names of Jerry Ardolino and Lawman Leather Goods. Jerry, a former Chicago police officer who chronicled his career in the book Extreme Cop, is the holster honcho of Lawman Leather Goods and owner of “The Original Dirty Harry” trademark.
Outside of a very few heavy-duty handgunners, the S&W Model 29 .44 Magnum was almost unknown before the Dirty Harry movies. Over the next decade it became quite possibly the single most recognized handgun in the world. Everybody wanted one; countless fans got ’em — and Jerry gave them something to comfortably carry those cannons in.
Fast Forward
I was learning the history of Lawman Leather just about the same time a pal of mine was wading, crawling and slithering through the storm drain and sewer systems of a major American city. He wasn’t the only human down there, but I’ll bet he was the most heavily armed. No, he wasn’t hunting rats; he was after bigger game. He’s assigned to a special unit who chases very bad guys. A previous assignment had him gettin’ splattered with nasty petrochemicals, and any damage left undone to his gunleather and gear from that job was completed by the foul, viscid corrosive goop of those subterranean sewers.
Here’s the almost indestructible S.T.U. on the cutting table, holding Baldy’s Kimber CDP Pro1911.
“Dude,” he said, “I need, like, titanium gunleather. Any ideas?” I told him about Lawman Leather’s almost indestructible S.T.U. — Severe Tactical Use — shoulder holster. He was doubtful. “And,” he added, “I’m kinda hard to fit, y’know? I’m, umm … big.” The guys in his unit call him “Bald Mountain,” after the slightly larger topographical landform. Check the photos. I assured him Jerry would make something fit. He did.
“Dude, you’re huge!” Jerry, at right, is not a small guy. Bald Mountain,
at left, needs straps big enough for two mules.
Here’s another first: Need a pre-aged classic “spaghetti western” cowboy rig?
The Rio Concho looks like it’s made the cattle drive from Texas to Wyoming more than once.
Lawman’s Founder, Jerry Ardolino drawing a .44 Mag from a brand new
Original Dirty Harry. Behind him are the one’s he wore as a Chicago Cop.
Lawman Leather’s headquarters in Las Vegas isn’t a walk-in business, but Jerry takes a lot of incoming calls himself, and makes time for “special needs” customers. When he heard about Baldy’s right-now special needs, Jerry opened his doors, gave him a tour, and personally fitted him with an S.T.U.
“You carry a gun more than you use it,” Jerry said, “So it’s got to be secure and comfortable.” After Baldy tried to bust it, tear it and eat it, Jerry tortured the leather with flame and acid, and then spiffed it up with straight antibacterial cleanser.
Baldy left as a happy man — or mountain, whatever — confident he had a holster tough enough for any job, even hunting sewer rats. And you can too. And if you have a Model 29, especially a vintage one, well, you gotta’ have an “Original Dirty Harry” shoulder rig for it. Especially if you feel lucky … Don’t you?
For more info: Lawman Leather, (877) 445-2962, www.lawmanleathergoods.com
