http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...light=tomathvl

Take a look at this thread. Ken does refinish work for many dealers on the east coast. I don't know about the finish being rough; I tend to agree with Ron but without a hands on it's difficult to evaluate. If I owned this gun I'd have ken look at it and tell me what he thinks it would cost to refinish. He's very reasonable and does such good work and thats why so many dealers use him.
Tom

Wayne, nice find on the Fat Barrel.

I agree with most of the information that the other members have given you, with the exception of the value of restored vs non-restored. I have several restored guns, it's not that I am looking for them, but I am not as adverse to them as some collectors. I have always thought it better to have a restored piece in the collection than no piece in the collection. Value of restored Lugers are very much in the eye of the beholder, but I have always used the 50% rule, i.e. a gun restored to 100% of original finish should be worth about 50% of current Blue Book 98-100% value. As rarity increases so does the percentage of value. I would place the value of a restored Fat Barrel at $7,500 to 8,000 if it is high quality work and not just a re-blue. I think your gun would be a good candidate for restoration if you can get one of the quality restores to handle it.

Just my two cents, oh and by the way, I recently purchased a restored Fat Barrel for $6,000 because I thought it was under valued.

Thanks,
Bob M.

Bob M Thanks for the insight It will be awhile before I can have it restored anyway, But It will be worth it to have it done i believe. Right now I am just glad to own it.

I with you on that one.

I would say with your recent tresure find it would be a shame not to get it back into first rate shape.

Looking at the photos I'm in agreement that it appears that its the park that is rough and the metal underneth may well be in better than you expect condition.

I have looked at it ander magnification and it is not as pitted as the photos make it appear its mostly on the surface all markings are still crisp even though they look bad in the photos. Can anyone tell me where I can get a clip or at least a repro wood bottom for this? Also I have a holster with this its the brown type with a nuremburg maker.Would this possibly be the original holster that would have come with the pistol?

I picked up a Mec-Gar (made in italy) mag a while back for my shooter and it works great. Take your original along to compare as they make a few differant styles.

LugerDoc is the man for your replacment wood bottom. He posted back on page 1.

Wayne;

I have the name of a guy in Texas that did some restoration work on one of my Navy Lugers. The work he did was excellent, but he didn't know Lugers as well as I thought he did. When I get home I'll send you his contact information you can check with him on availability (it took quite a while to get the work done on the Navy, 6 mos I think). I recommend that you talk with him and then go over each piece of the gun and review what finish you want on it. When he did the Navy he didn't know the 200 sight marking should have been left in the white and not blued. There were also some stampings that had been buffed off that he didn't replace. I was surprized when I had this done that it was not as expensive as I thought it would be. He did a lot of re-contouring on the frame and receiver as it looked like the gun had been buffed and re-blued more than once.

Thanks,
Bob M.

Judging from the quality of the finish that Ken Karsted did on Toms shooter Luger, he woud be worth at least a phone call to see what he could do, how long it would take, and how much it would cost. I do not know how much you paid for it in its present condition, but I do not think you would go far wrong in expending at least $1000-$1500 on a good restoration. I think properly restored, the value would be in the neighborhood of previously stated $6000 - or more.

Ron this is going to be the part that kills you guys, I didnt pay anything for it I got it as a gift.

You're right...I'm dead.:eek: If you have the resources, go for a full-house restoration - you are going to come out waaay ahead. Congratulations. :cheers:

Thank you.

Hey Wayne, what is the current status of this project? Did you ever find someone to restore it? Have you sent it off?

Zamo I havent done anything with it yet. I am taking my time with it. Its in good hands now and to be honest I just dont have 3500 to put into it right now. I have 2 American eagles that need restoration the fat barrel and a 1900 so i am thinking it thru what to do next.

Okay It has been a while But I just boxed up the fat barrel to send off to Ken Karstead on Monday for an evaluation. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

IMO, if bore is excellent, pay $$ to professional restoring it. If not, you can refinish it yourself.

The bore is fine I dont think I will be attempting any home remedies on a pistol this rare!!

Then probably worth it. The final result will be more balanced. Please post us a picture when it's done. Most likely, restorers do it at home as well, but they are experienced and skillful on metals, no doubt.

I will keep the thread updated with the findings and hopefully the restoration

Spoke with Ken today, He recieved the my 1902. He told me that the metal is not in bad shape at all and the only corrosion he could see was a small amount on the barrel, He told me he could have it done in 6 or 7 weeks. I cant wait.

That is good news!
I think the park job might have saved it from any further damage.

Can't wait to see the job Ken is able to do on it.