Aside from the HIDEOUS grips...

[John Sabato]

These grips look fake to me Ed... can you spell F-R-A-N-Z-I-T-E?

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by John Sabato

These grips look fake to me Ed... can you spell F-R-A-N-Z-I-T-E?

I agree. Bbl. tone different from the rest of the gun. Toggle axle retaining pin appears in the white, properly, so it may be original finish, albeit kinda rough.

Franzite = forget it. Over time, they tend to shrink and warp. Warped grips can be flattened out again with gentle warming and forcing them to cool flat. Shrinkage, and you're screwed (At least I haven't figured out how to stretch them back.). This might explain the displacement/BAD fit of the right grip. I scored a couple pairs, cheap, that looked great in the pics--intact with little wear--but when they arrived, found out why they were inexpensive. Not one of the two pairs fits in a stable manner. These were faux-ivory, but I'd expect the same from any Franzite grip; they are ALL old and presumably shrunken. No wonder they are made from other materials, since!

David Parker

[Dick Herman]

In the early 1960s my first Luger is a 1920 commercial that had "stag" Franzite grips and a white plastic mag knob. I thought this was the coolest gun ever. After taking the Luger to the range I realized that the grips would slip and move around when the gun was fired. The grips were quickly replaced with proper wooden grips. A few years ago I found the old Franzite grips that had shrank beyond usage much like the grips displayed on GB.

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by Dick Herman

In the early 1960s my first Luger is a 1920 commercial that had "stag" Franzite grips and a white plastic mag knob. I thought this was the coolest gun ever. After taking the Luger to the range I realized that the grips would slip and move around when the gun was fired. The grips were quickly replaced with proper wooden grips. A few years ago I found the old Franzite grips that had shrank beyond usage much like the grips displayed on GB.

Dick,

I might be able to salvage these Franzite potato chips. I'm gonna try to straighten a couple of them first, then add some extra material in the form of epoxy tinted to match the ivory color, so that they'll snuggle properly into the top and be held securely by the screws. They're not far off, dimension-wise, and this just might work. I wonder, just now, if they could be kept in a sealed container for a time with something in it which would cause the Franzite to swell up when/if the mystery solvent/compound is absorbed. Not a lot of hope for this, though... I just want to have some beater grips that will look halfway decent at a glance, and not slip all around while the gun is shot, saving wear and tear on the originals.

D.P.

[Arizona Slim]

Considering that this pistol is in need of the proper magazine, a decent pair of walnut grips, and it appears to have a mismatched barrel and possibly the extractor I would think it should be priced more in the $600.00 to $650.00 range, just my two cents. Assuming that it functions properly as Jerry pointed out.

Lon