Nambu World: Type 14 Holster-JMCH VII

The Type VII holster has a spring-loaded closure strap and black lacquered fittings, usually made of steel. I have two of these holsters. The first one I bought on eBay and is on the left. The second one I got when a purchased a collection of several guns and holsters from a Canadian collector. Both are pretty nice, but not perfect.

Here is the one on the left. You may be able to make out from the shadows that the clamshell flap has been slightly squashed. The inside also shows signs of heavy, long-term pressure, as if it had been stored under something heavy for a long time. Apart from that, though, it is in remarkably good shape.

Here is the back. Note the square shoulder strap rings of black-laquered steel.

A shot of the holster opened to reveal the interior.

This close-up of the strap shows two things. First, note that the central portion of the strap is extra wide, indicating that it houses two springs rather than the usual one. That means a total of four springs (one on each side and two in the middle). Second, the plate on the leather tab at the end of the strap is brass under the lacquer, not the usual steel. This is confirmed by the colour of the metal, the fact it is not attracted to a magnet, and the fact it had small amounts of verigris, which forms when the copper in brass reacts to the acids used to tan the leather.

The markings inside the clamshell flap are faint but still fairly legible. The top line reads from left to right and says sho (short for Showa) 18, i.e. 1943. The 18 is written in a non-standard format with a one above an eight (the normal way is a ten and an eight to represent 18). Below that is the character dai, meaning large in a circle. It is probably an inspection mark. Below that is another inspection mark that is a bit blurry. I think it is either the to or the kyo in Tokyo (the two characters are fairly similar in general profile). I can’t be sure which one it is given the blurriness. On balance I would guess it is kyo because I have other holsters with that marking.

The rivets that hold the closure strap to the clamshell flap are made of steel and have flat heads, rather than the rounded heads on my other holsters.

This is my other Type VII holster. The previous owner applied a high quality leather preservative. This has kept the leather nice and supple, but has also made the colour a bit darker and flatter (i.e. less shiny). I never apply anything to my holsters unless one is ready to fall apart when I get it.

The back of this holster.

The holster open to show the interior. Note the very large, clear markings in the centre of the clamshell.

This shot shows the ammo pouch with the flap open. To the right of it you can also see the pocket for the spare striker (firing pin). The latter seems a bit wider than on other holsters I own.

As with almost all Type 14 holsters, there is a mark in the lower left of the inside of the clamshell flap from the aluminum magazine base.

Here are those markings inside the clamshell flap in close-up. The top two rows read from right to left. The top one with the two large characters says San-yo, the name of a private company that made holsters. I don’t know whether it had any connection to the modern-day Sanyo company that makes electronics. The second row says sho (short for Showa) 17, i.e. 1942. The single character well below the two upper rows is the character saka, as in Osaka. It is an inspection mark.

If you were sharp-eyed, you might have noticed this defect when you looked at the photos of the front and back. Inside the holster there is supposed to be a leather block that separates the pistol from the spare magazine. The block is missing. The fact the stitching is missing from the front and back gives a strong hint of this even before you open the holster.

In this shot of the strap it looks pretty good. Notice it is also a four-spring variant with two springs in the central area of the strap and one on either side.

There is a small problem with the strap, however. A couple of the stiches that hold the bottom flap inside the spring cover have come out, and you have to keep tucking that flap in or it hangs out like this (it would be a very easy repair).

Here is another shot of that spot. If you look very closely you can see four little bumps on the lower loop on the closure tab where the four springs wrap around it.

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Last updated: June 24, 2006. All contents are copyright Teri unless otherwise specified and may not be used elsewhere in any form without prior permission.