Ndhunter1887 Posted July 4, 2020 Share #1 Posted July 4, 2020 I bought this at a flee market today and it looked old and that’s the reason I bought oddly it says (WS) instead of u.s it has a very old look to it so I’m not thinking it is a repop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted July 4, 2020 Share #2 Posted July 4, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Flick Posted July 5, 2020 Share #3 Posted July 5, 2020 N: That is indeed a very odd M1916 holster. It was made by Harpham Brothers so it is of WW2 vintage. The puzzler is the WS mark on the flap. I have never seen that before. I have seen other markings on the flaps of M1916 holsters, mostly related to State Guard or militia formations. I speculate that the WS might refer to Washington State, which formed the Washington State Guard during WW2 to defend the state after the Federalization of the Washington National Guard. That is only a guess, however. Although it is in rough condition it is an interesting piece. Regards, Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ndhunter1887 Posted July 5, 2020 Author Share #4 Posted July 5, 2020 1 hour ago, Charlie Flick said: N: That is indeed a very odd M1916 holster. It was made by Harpham Brothers so it is of WW2 vintage. The puzzler is the WS mark on the flap. I have never seen that before. I have seen other markings on the flaps of M1916 holsters, mostly related to State Guard or militia formations. I speculate that the WS might refer to Washington State, which formed the Washington State Guard during WW2 to defend the state after the Federalization of the Washington National Guard. That is only a guess, however. Although it is in rough condition it is an interesting piece. Regards, Charlie That would make sense I paid 35$ for it the pictures make it look worse than it actually is. It’s pretty decent shape I thought though obviously not anywhere near “nice” I actually almost left it at the flea market Beacuase it did not say U.S glad I didn’t! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ndhunter1887 Posted July 5, 2020 Author Share #5 Posted July 5, 2020 Thanks for the admin moving the forum to the correct place I figured it would be in field gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backtheattack Posted July 7, 2020 Share #6 Posted July 7, 2020 Interesting holster. Great find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustin Posted July 9, 2020 Share #7 Posted July 9, 2020 I have a question: What does the inside of the flap look like? You should see the US from the interior as well. What I'm curious about is that inside the oval looks like it has been monkeyed with, or tooled to some degree. If someone modified the exterior, they probably couldn't remove the reverse impression on the inside of the flap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinb Posted July 10, 2020 Share #8 Posted July 10, 2020 Many holsters still have the reverse US visible inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ndhunter1887 Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share #9 Posted July 10, 2020 Here some pictures of the back, I want faintly make out a oval but no letters this holster has defiantly seen some use! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustin Posted July 10, 2020 Share #10 Posted July 10, 2020 Yup, you can see the "U" in your fist image. Also note the is no indention like you see from the holster Robin posted, the holster in question has been pressed back flat. It is my opinion that the holster in question once had "US" embossed on the flap. At sometime, it was pressed flat and tooled to be that of the "WS". Surely this WS holster was not factory embossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ndhunter1887 Posted July 12, 2020 Author Share #11 Posted July 12, 2020 On 7/10/2020 at 4:10 PM, dustin said: Yup, you can see the "U" in your fist image. Also note the is no indention like you see from the holster Robin posted, the holster in question has been pressed back flat. It is my opinion that the holster in question once had "US" embossed on the flap. At sometime, it was pressed flat and tooled to be that of the "WS". Surely this WS holster was not factory embossed. Well thanks for your help I'd say your right or it as been very very worn so you cant see reverse stamping like the rest of the holster, Just weird to me that someone would take the time to put "ws" on it instead of buying a new holster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinb Posted July 12, 2020 Share #12 Posted July 12, 2020 I suspect that WS are the owners initials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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