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Hello: I do not post much so most of you are not familiar with who I am, but I thought I might shed some light on Gordon Davis.

I first met Gordon in 1965 when he was working for Bianchi. As a young kid I would go up from San Diego where I was going to college and visit the great holster guys of the era. I would make the circut from Andy Anderson, Arvo Ojala, Alfonso, Bohlin ect. On one of my visits I made it to Bianchi's shop where Gordon was working in the back of the shop on a old green sewing machine. We talked about a single thickness rig for a Colt SA and some weeks later it showed up at my house.

During this time I also bought rigs from Anderson, Ojala but never forgot the meeting with Gordon. In 1966 I became interested in flying as a career and had to sell many of my treasures to finance the flying. One of the items sold was the rig that Gordon made for me. Well it all paid off as I retired as a airline pilot July 30th 2004.

Sometime in the early 80's with most of the kids taken care of I wanted to get back into the holster deal. I was able to make contact with Gordon again and he made me most of the Andy rigs and in the process he became a good friend. It was not that unsual to have a box show up at the house with some kind of Davis rig in it. Gordon would come up with some idea he wanted me to try and out of the goodness of his heart he would send it up to me. I have been to his shop in Hermiston, Oregon and down in Chino Valley, Arizona. I would take a week out and just look and learn from the master. Always had a great time hanging out with Gordon.

During the last years he has had to battle some physical issues. Mostly related to diabetes. With his general health declining Gordon decided to quite the leather business. The good news is that Gordon's health is on the mend and his eyesight is coming back. What is in store for Gordon and his leather art work is still dependent on his recovery. I would not count him out as he is one tough old bird. If he comes back in any form it would be a very small operation. One of a kind, hand sewn items. Im on the list for what ever he does.

Gordon continues to be upbeat and positve. In Dec of 06 I took him to the SASS convention in Las Vegas. He was inducted into the SASS cowboy hall of fame. As a co-founder of SASS he was finally given credit for his participation and contributions to SASS. He had a grin from ear to ear.

Dave Sample and I shared a meal with Gordon the night of his honor and even though he was having trouble seeing and using a walker he still had the Davis smile working for him.

Proud to call him my friend. A kind and honest man for sure. A true artist that will be remembered for some time to come.

Hope this did not bore you but thought some of you would be interested. John.

Thanks for the history and update on Mr. Davis. I have a couple of his pieces and they are great.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
Thunder Ranch THG & UR(x2), Gunsite 250C,
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I love this kind of story! Thanks for sharing.

John,

A lot of us on the east coast had been wondering about Gordon. Thanks for the update.

Gentlemen all.

Rob

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We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. George Orwell

John,

Like others have stated, thanks for the update on Mr. Davis.

My prayers are with him for recovery from his illness.

One of the great master holster makers of our time.

Regards,
John

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NRA Endowment Life Member
I may be big, old, and slow, but so are the ball rounds in my 1911.

Interesting stuff. I wish I could have ridden along on those visits with the various holster makers 40 years ago.

Barry: Yes and what was a real treat was that these holster greats were accessible. You could walk in and talk to them directly. Andy Anderson used to let me sit in the back of his shop and watch him work. It was not that unusual to see many of the hollywood stars of the day walk in and order a rig for a movie or tv series. As I sat quietly observing I was aware that these were indeed special moments. Just as I was aware when crossing the Indian Ocean being taught to operate a B707 by the WW11 guys that this was indeed special stuff. Most of them are gone now but not forgotten by a long shot. John.

PS: For those of you interested in getting any of Anderson's or Gordon's designs contact Dave Cox of Cedar Ridge Saddlery. Phone is 928 637-0111 213 W Lewis Ave Ash Fork, AZ 86320.

When Gordon retired all of the patterns that Andy gave him went to Dave along with all of Gordon's designs. Dave does good work and is a nice guy to boot. He has a small catalog with a lot of the things he does but he will custom make about anything you want. This is not a advertisement but rather a source for you to get what was available during the hay day of hoster making (my opinion). Hope this helps, John

Good stuff... thanks for sharing it.

John, Thanks for sharing that information about Gordon. He's always been a gentleman, and was helpful to me back in the mid 70's. I won't forget that, and always try to pass that on to the new guys in the business.

Gordon, and I had nice conversation a couple of years ago at the Shot Show in Vegas. It was great to see him then. I knew his sight was failing, but it's wonderful to hear that he's on the mend..

Thanks again for sharing.
Lou

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Alessi Holsters, Inc.
You'll never know it's there, until you need it...

Hi John, how 'bout a little up-date on Gordon?
I don't know if he'd remember me from Chino Valley, I'd stop and pester him from time to time.
When he moved up to Askfork also, even though that was a bit out of the road from Chino Valley.
Anyway, if you talk to him tell him Dave & Tim said hello.
Thanks & Best regards,
Tim Brooks
Ravens Keep
Paulden, Az

Tim: Gordon is now living in Tucson. His eyes are getting better all of the time. There is a slim chance that he will be doing some leather work in the future. Sorry to say that we did not make the shot show this year but hope to take Gordon to the one next year.

We speak on the phone quite often and I will be sure to tell him that you say hello. He is always pleased that people remember him. Take care, John.

Great! tell Gordon that Dave is the guy he gave the 38-55 brass to.
Strange, Dave and I were just looking the stuff over yesterday trying to decide where we were going to get some dies.
Best regards,
tb