1920 .30 cal DWM Luger?

[Chickenthief]

Originally Posted by DonVoigt

Perhaps the most telling picture of those posted is that of the muzzle, it should be polished - in the white. Hard to say for sure without seeing it, but yes it may have been re-finished or partially refinished.

There is considerable wear to the blue on the side plate, but the grips straps look "new".

If you are not happy with it, I'd return it; especially if you paid more than $1000 or so.

JMHO.

Huh?
I can asure you that my 1921 (i series) is in original state and it has a blued muzzle. Why would they blue the barrel and then polish the muzzle?

[DonVoigt]

Originally Posted by Chickenthief

Huh?
I can asure you that my 1921 (i series) is in original state and it has a blued muzzle. Why would they blue the barrel and then polish the muzzle?

Why,
because that is just what "they" did.
Perhaps the same reason that the inside of the frame was protected during the rust bluing process?

I don't take pictures of the muzzle of my lugers when documenting them, but a quick look in Still's Weimar Lugers shows several pictures with the muzzle clearly showing polished.
The ones that are not polished are "re-worked" and usually have the 1920 PS added.

Others can weigh in on their observations.

Feel free to post pictures of your 1921 or add a link so we can see it- better yet start a new thread about your question.

[r010159]

Are the reworked versions of this pistol worth anything? I am going to have to field strip the pistol in order to look to see if the inside of the frame has also been blued. I think this would be a good test for a reblue. What do you think? Now I am going to have to figure out how to take it apart. I hope this will not be difficult or messy.

PS I have been looking at a lot of Luger photos. Some have this blue type of tinge to the blueing. What is this about?

Update: I have watched a couple videos on field stripping a Luger. I imagine they all field strp the same way, or at least I hope so.

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by r010159

Are the reworked versions of this pistol worth anything? I am going to have to field strip the pistol in order to look to see if the inside of the frame has also been blued. I think this would be a good test for a reblue. What do you think? Now I am going to have to figure out how to take it apart. I hope this will not be difficult or messy.

PS I have been looking at a lot of Luger photos. Some have this blue type of tinge to the blueing. What is this about?

Update: I have watched a couple videos on field stripping a Luger. I imagine they all field strp the same way, or at least I hope so.

Opening the action and looking inside will give the first clue as to whether internal areas were improperly re-done. Relax, they all break down and reassemble the same!

Everything original produced until mid 1937 should be rust blued and its insides in the white as well as a polished muzzle crown. Rust bluing results in a more bluish tone, hot (salt) bluing's oxides are more black.

[r010159]

Originally Posted by ithacaartist

Opening the action and looking inside will give the first clue as to whether internal areas were improperly re-done. Relax, they all break down and reassemble the same!

[snip]

Great! Now the trigger popped off with now a spring on the table. I looked at the exploded diagram on the technical part of this site and found no spring there. However, I would think that the trigger needs a spring.

It is all in the white inside of the frame and apparently inside of the slide. There is some rust part of way down the "chamber" that the magazine inserts into. Is it possible to reblue the pistol in selective areas? I heard of some bluing technique that way, but not only does it eventually rub off, it also has a peculiar smell to it.

[kurusu]

Originally Posted by r010159

Great! Now the trigger popped off with now a spring on the table. I looked at the exploded diagram on the technical part of this site and found no spring there. However, I would think that the trigger needs a spring.

It is all in the white inside of the frame and apparently inside of the slide. There is some rust part of way down the "chamber" that the magazine inserts into. Is it possible to reblue the pistol in selective areas? I heard of some bluing technique that way, but not only does it eventually rub off, it also has a peculiar smell to it.

The coil spring is placed in a housing on the backside of the trigger and rests against the frame behind the trigger. It's a bit tricky to put back into place, but not really difficult.


160944964_luger-p08-luger-42-1939-german-luger-ww2-p08-luger-luger.jpg

857.jpg

[r010159]

Originally Posted by ithacaartist

[snip]

Everything original produced until mid 1937 should be salt blued and its insides in the white as well as a polished muzzle crown. Salt bluing results in a more bluish tone, hot bluing's oxides are more black.

Mine does not have a blue tinge to it. It apoears to me to be a darker grey-black. Hot bluing process? But the inside of the frame is in the white, so not dipped in a solution. So it must have been rust blued. My concept of color is not that good unless the color is obvious. It may have blue in it, but the darker color may be masking it from my eyes. Maybe the age of the pistol is partly responsible for this? I still do not understand why my muzzle had not been polished. Were some blued and others polished?

It looks like I will have to take better, more details photos. I am going to have to think about how I am going to do this. I do have a tripod somewhere.

UPDATE: I have been carefully using a strong magnifying glass going all over the surfaces of the pistol. First, I want to mention that someone buffed this with wax to protect the finish of this firearm. Interesting. Is it normal under significant magnification for there to be little striation marks? They are horizontal for most of the surfaces, but there are exceptions. The light has to be just right to see them. Are these tooling marks that were applied well after the manufacture of the pistol? Perhaps some jacka** was overzealous in their use of that buffing wheel? Oh oh, the two proof marks are not crisp at all. One has a part of the N is very shallow and the crown definitely looks buffed in. I have seen this type of cleaning on my antique Colt Wells Fargo Pocket from about 1847,

[Chickenthief]

Originally Posted by DonVoigt

Why,
because that is just what "they" did.
Perhaps the same reason that the inside of the frame was protected during the rust bluing process?

I don't take pictures of the muzzle of my lugers when documenting them, but a quick look in Still's Weimar Lugers shows several pictures with the muzzle clearly showing polished.
The ones that are not polished are "re-worked" and usually have the 1920 PS added.

Others can weigh in on their observations.

Feel free to post pictures of your 1921 or add a link so we can see it- better yet start a new thread about your question.

Sorry mate!
You are right and i am wrong.
The aged appearence played a trick on my old eyes and polished looked like worn black.
But polished it is when i googled it under proper light.

Here are 2 pieces of humble pie:

[DonVoigt]

Originally Posted by Chickenthief

Sorry mate!
You are right and i am wrong.
The aged appearence played a trick on my old eyes and polished looked like worn black.
But polished it is when i googled it under proper light.

Here are 2 pieces of humble pie:

Thanks for checking; and the report.

Metal left in the white can and often does darken with age; sometimes to the point of looking black-but it is usually thin and mottled.

JimD,
Lighting- yes, very true- that is why I said it is "hard to tell" from a picture.

[G.T.]

Hi Robert, private mail sent...... best to you, til...lat'r....GT