Japanese Mum Luger

[DonVoigt]

I quit studying Japanese when I went over to the "dark side" - i.e. lugers.
But the characters don't make much sense- from the top:
unrecognized
I
so
Type
10
4
Year

so at least part is Type 14 followed by the character for year.

I think they are just characters copied from some where and put onto these two lugers.

Certainly there is no reasonable explanation for putting "Type 14 year" on a luger.
Just a side note, the T 14 was introduced in 1925, not a significant year in luger lore.

JMHO.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by George Anderson

Years ago Doug Smith was asked to go through the shop of a recently deceased Luger "mechanic" near Cincinnati. Among the fellow's stuff, Doug found a Mum die as well as a Spandau die.

I wouldn't doubt it. Both Numrich and Sarco, as well as eBay, have Waffenamp dies for sale. There are likely other dies for faking markings out there.

One of the things that has always puzzled me about fake chamber stamps...The chamber is curved, but the stamps are flat. The chamber markings on Lugers were originally roll-stamped, in a kind of press exerting great pressure.

How to stamp a curved graphic with a flat die???

I know from a popular TV show that a 1911 slide requires a lot of pressure to stamp the letters/numbers on a flat slide. Doing a Luger chamber with a big Mum, or crossed rifles, or a skull would require some kind of fixture to hold and support the Luger barrel extension, and a press of some kind (mechanical or hydraulic). And a way to roll the barrel extension against the flat die.

So how do the warehouse mechanics do it???