It's an exact copy of Hugo Borchardt's C93 toggle lock. ;)

Thanks Mike. I figured Navies (~1904) were probably an exception, 'cause they have checkered toggle lugs. Yours is a first issue, right? Altered or not? Rich's first pic isn't a Navy though. His later description of how it's called "transition" sort of clears it up. A good reminder that design changes didn't necessarily occur simultaneously, or even consistently...

Nice set of photos, Rich!

I had a chance to look at the 1900 AE with the broken toggle lock. Indeed, it is the part attached to the rail. Obviously someone with no knowledge yanked on the toggle knobs and broke it off. So, who could repair this and is it really that pricey? Could spot bluing cover any mars in the finish?
Thanks again

You can buy a 1900 with intact parts for the $1995 you mentioned.

No one has stepped up to say "he" could fix it; that may be a clue as to how difficult it is. Perhaps Thor, lugerman, or lugerdoc-you could contact them and ask.

As to spot bluing- with what? Rust blue will cover it, but there won't be a spot, the receiver will have to be heated enough to remove the piece by melting the silver solder- which will require near red heat and will discolor an inch or more of the receiver- a pretty big spot. It will require some degree of polishing to even out the surface, making the spot even larger.

I don't think a "yank" would break it, more likely just metal fatigue; it is a small,thin part with a groove cut in it, a recipe for failure by stress cracking.

I have a 1900 with the locking ear broken; since it does nothing important I have not considered repairing it. It is not readily apparent when the toggle is open or closed. JMHO.

Exactly. ;)

Not quite, but as yours is broken off, you're excused. :p

It's much more than just a groove. It's actually a machined part with a 90º 'hook' on the top. The 'hook' has a chamfer on the top and the bottom section is squared and fits in a corresponding square slot in the frame rail. Then it is silver-soldered in place.

It has no other function than to keep the toggle from flying open under recoil. It would appear that Georg Luger/DWM conducted enough tests to determine that it was superfluous and was eventually left off.

"Yanking' on the closed toggle is about the only way I can see to break it off. There is no other strain on it. :rolleyes:

The chamfers on the bottom of the toggle piece and the top of the frame piece slide over each other when the toggle closes.

Some pics to illustrate below (taken of my 1900AE). TBLAP has blueprints for the M1900, there may be one for the frame piece. Finding one loose is like finding hen's teeth, as someone remarked lately... ;)

Edit: TBLAP does indeed have the blueprints for all the toggle lock parts as well as the cut in the frame rail. :thumbup:

Here's a resized/negative screen grab of the milled slot in the frame rail. Good luck cleaning all the silver solder out of the slot. :rolleyes:

Second pic is a compilation showing how the two hooks engage. The upper hook (in the toggle knob) is spring loaded so it slides over the frame hook. :)

Toggle Lock
 

I happen to have one of these gizzy wompers. Bought it from Mike Krause years ago to fix a broken one I owned. The gun sold before I attempted to fix it. Pretty intricate machining went into making this little guy. I attempted a photo but all that shows is basic shape.

Now that is interesting! I don't have the skills or tools to do a switch, but I bet Charles Danner could remove a broken lock piece, clean out the slot, and silver-solder the new piece in and spot re-finish the frame... :D

I would also think that a skilled micro-machinist like Olle could mill a frame piece...Maybe a couple...If he had the print [coff, coff]... :rolleyes: ;) :p