Review:
It was recently my good pleasure to examine the work of Dusty Johnson, of the Pleasant Valley Saddle Shop. Johnson is a saddle maker and holster crafter of the highest order, plying his trade from the mountains of Colorado. Every leathermaker worth his stitching needle finds his own niche and Johnson's is "legends of the Wild West," or Hollywood holsters.
His offerings are not replicas of any particular Western star, but rather a blending of the type of rig worn by such as the king of the cowboys, Roy Rogers, and the fast-draw, metal-lined, drop-loop holsters that came out of the shop of Arvo Ojala in the 1950s.
Johnson readily admits he is somewhat flamboyant, as he makes only Buscadero-style rigs with drop-loop holsters and silver spots and will not make a plain rig. His credentials contain the fact that his teachers along the way have been Bob Brown, who made much of the B-Western movie leather during the 1930s and 1940s, Arvo Ojala, who invented the Hollywood drop-loop holster, and the near-legendary John Bianchi.
Those old Western holsters designed by Bob Brown were lightweight and rode rather high. Johnson's rigs combine the ideas of Brown with those of Ojala, as his holsters are metal-lined and ride much lower for an easier draw. Whether finished with basket stamping, geometric patterns or floral carving, Johnson's rigs are extremely eye-appealing. In fact, the rig I had on my desk for several days became the main attraction in my office, after which my wife had to take it to work so all the truck drivers could see it. The rig created a great deal of traffic in her office, also.
Johnson uses one basic design, but the permutations of the embellishments make each rig a truly custom affair. Silver holster buckles, conchos, belt buckles, silver spots and names or initials carried out in silver can all be varied for many possibilities.
Colors run from tan to black to a combination thereof, and every rig is finished with saddle oil for long life, even under hard usage.
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New never used. Size to center hole 38 [ can be used 2 inches smaller or larger.More pictures available.
$260 plus $7 shipping[/ATTACH]
It was recently my good pleasure to examine the work of Dusty Johnson, of the Pleasant Valley Saddle Shop. Johnson is a saddle maker and holster crafter of the highest order, plying his trade from the mountains of Colorado. Every leathermaker worth his stitching needle finds his own niche and Johnson's is "legends of the Wild West," or Hollywood holsters.
His offerings are not replicas of any particular Western star, but rather a blending of the type of rig worn by such as the king of the cowboys, Roy Rogers, and the fast-draw, metal-lined, drop-loop holsters that came out of the shop of Arvo Ojala in the 1950s.
Johnson readily admits he is somewhat flamboyant, as he makes only Buscadero-style rigs with drop-loop holsters and silver spots and will not make a plain rig. His credentials contain the fact that his teachers along the way have been Bob Brown, who made much of the B-Western movie leather during the 1930s and 1940s, Arvo Ojala, who invented the Hollywood drop-loop holster, and the near-legendary John Bianchi.
Those old Western holsters designed by Bob Brown were lightweight and rode rather high. Johnson's rigs combine the ideas of Brown with those of Ojala, as his holsters are metal-lined and ride much lower for an easier draw. Whether finished with basket stamping, geometric patterns or floral carving, Johnson's rigs are extremely eye-appealing. In fact, the rig I had on my desk for several days became the main attraction in my office, after which my wife had to take it to work so all the truck drivers could see it. The rig created a great deal of traffic in her office, also.
Johnson uses one basic design, but the permutations of the embellishments make each rig a truly custom affair. Silver holster buckles, conchos, belt buckles, silver spots and names or initials carried out in silver can all be varied for many possibilities.
Colors run from tan to black to a combination thereof, and every rig is finished with saddle oil for long life, even under hard usage.
**********************************************************
New never used. Size to center hole 38 [ can be used 2 inches smaller or larger.More pictures available.
$260 plus $7 shipping[/ATTACH]