you can tell if it is real ivory with a red-hot needle...but it's not a popular test... You heat the needle to red hot and touch the underside of the grip in an out of the way place. If it smells like burning hair, it is genuine ivory. If it smells like plastic...that's what it is. The hot needle will not plunge in if it's ivory but if it's plastic be careful, it could penetrate the other side. I just touch it lightly enough to give a spurt of smoke. It's all you need.
Also look carefully..this test may have been done before!
Your first photo's didn't look much like ivory but the second? Maybe. If they are genuine elaphant ivory they might be worth some bucks by themselves. I have to say..the left grip certainly fits well!

I don't think the pistol is worth a great deal...unless you like it yourself. It's a pimped out shooter...likely with some fairly serious problems ...the rear sight is certainly buggered up.
That's if it even shoots. Does the seller indicate it shoots well? The barrel dosen't look kosher to me.

Not something I would be anxious to put in the safe. But to each their own.

Jerry Burney

The longer barrel makes a better shooter. Overall a real mutt that will eliminate a lot of luger buyers. But not all.
But it is interesting. And I'll stick with the $ figues posted earlier.
Is this what you want or do you want a military P08? You need to decide for yourself.
dju

Thanks for all the information, I will let you all know if the transactiion takes place.
Larry

I would like to see a closeup of the front sight from both sides and the muzzle end. It looks rather unusual in the only photo in which it show.

If the grips prove to be genuine ivory, then I think that the OVERALL value of the gun is a bit more... Genuine Ivory grips that have been tastefully fitted (many of them are crudely fitted) would be an item that might please some Luger owner, and when you find them, they sell for several hundred dollars. This pair would obviously fit a DWM frame and might enhance the right pistol.

This pistol is a curiosity, but not a collector. It is a shooter, and commands only a shooter's price. The engraving, really doesn't add much to a mixed-part gun.

If you get the gun for the estimates given here, and it SHOOTS, you haven't done badly for a shooter. If the grips prove to be Ivory and not some man made material, you could sell those and end up with a shooter that costs must less.

That's My $0.02

The barrel muzzle protrudes significantly beyond the front sight and the barrel thickness at the sight is dramatically larger than the balance of the barrel, indicating it is some sort of gunsmith's special, not a factory item.

If I get this pistol for the amount mentioned above, I will be able to take all the pictures needed to try to find just what it is. I should know within the week.

Larry, Think about it...Don't be so quick to say "I do" to an ugly bride!

Jerry Burney

Hey Jerry -

All Lugers are beautiful in the dark.

Ah, but will Larry respect it in the morning?

Which is not necessarily a bad thing...I make a lot of my own barrels from blanks, and I chamber a 9mm Luger to .003"-.004" headspace. Most OEM Lugers I've checked are way beyond that.

I like long barrels. I have long barreled Lugers, long barreled Mausers, a long barrel Lahti, a long barrel S&W 659...Pretty much anything I work on gets a long barrel... :)

If you can get this for a reasonable [read 'shooter'] price, then I think the long barrel is a big plus. The flip rear sight is junk, but the v-notch should be ok for plinking...

The grips are a matter of personal preference. They are a firing-line attention getter, for sure...and they do sort of accentuate the engraving...

It would be an interesting basis for a target Luger... :rolleyes:
Mount a micrometer rear sight on the toggle, higher front sight, drill the trigger for a setscrew... :D

I agree with Jerry a good one to avoid. Bill

Had a nice phone conversation with Larry..He has a couple of Lugers in the safe..He says this one would be for shooting. Says he will keep us updated on what's what!

Good Luck Larry!

Jerry Burney

The grips could be composite ivory, that is, ivory powder mixed with a resin base, like fiberglass. I have a pair of these, they have turned bright yellow. The smoke test smells like resin, and a chip from the inside fractures like one would expect resin to fracture, and is pure white underneath.

--Dwight