Appraising a Luger.....
 

I have a Luger that I inherited some 34 years ago from my father and while I've had a couple guys look at it, they really didn't know the gun. So, I'm looking for someone in the south bay area (San Jose/Sunnyvale or as close as possible) who I can take it to for an opinion on it's worth. The main question I have is has it been re-blued or is the finish original?

The rest of it, I already know. All numbers match, both exterior and interior, except the magazine. The bore is a little rough but fine for shooting. (I plan to put a few rounds through it in the next few weeks.) And the wood grips, though a little dirty, are not soaked through with oil. There is one small missing corner of the left grip at the top/back of the grip where the safety is.

Oh, and it's a 1942 ybf. And I have some of the original communications between the seller (originally in Missouri, as I recall) and my father. He bought it and a box of ammo in 1948 for 35 dollars.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Oh, and I think you guys may get a kick out of the grips my father added. (I have the originals as well.) I always thought he made them, but now I'm not so sure.

With all original parts, in original finish and 95% condition, it would be worth $1400-$1500 to a collector, and more at retail. If the magazine is original and numbered to the gun properly add another 35%-40%. Post some closer detail pictures and we might be able to tell you if it's original finish.

These guns were completely salt blued, and should show something of the surfaces grain and machining in some areas. if the edges are rounded, it is refinished. If they are sharp it might be original.

My first impression is that the frame edges are rounded, and that it has been refinished at some point. If that's true, it is a shooter grade gun, worth $1000 or so. You can also look for any pitting and see if it has been blued over.

As collectors here, we prefer Lugers in their original configuration. That said, your grips are pretty unique.

Your 42 byf Luger was manufactured by Mauser in Oberndorf, Germany in 1942. The serial number includes the suffix letter on the front of the frame under the 4 numeric digits.

Look at sites online like Simpson Ltd. to get an idea of retail / insurance value.

If your gun is all matching, avoid the temptation to fire it. Break a part and the collector and historic value is lost. If you doubt this advice, take a look on this forum for examples of collectable guns damaged this way, and now considered "shooter" grade.

The left grip broke in a place where it's pretty common to break them. Don't replace them if the gun is all matching, and the inside of the grips are properly marked with inspection stamps and possibly the last digits of the serial number. A competent grip restorer like Hugh Clark on this site can repair the damage.

Thanks for your feedback! I was planning to fire it (I've had a couple gunsmiths look at it and pronounce is safe for fire), but I think I'll wait until I've got a better idea if the blueing is original or now. The magazine does not match and the back sides of the original grips are pretty much free of markings, though I think I can just make out some faint depressions that might be the number 42. I plan on doing a rubbing to see if I can confirm that.

I'll attach some more pix. Looking at the various markings under the microscope indicates the edges are nice and sharp. I'll look again at the various edges to see if they're more rounded than sharp, but I sure would like to find someone knowledgeable in my area to get their opinion.

Here's some more pix:

Here's a couple more pix:

And:

I have never seen a sear bar spring a red color like that but it goes well with the grips!
Appears to be a reblue to me.

Tom

Re-blued. Notice the lack of paint in the safety printing? It looks like a very nice Luger, and one that I'd like as a shooter (with different grips), but it has been refinished.
dju

Thanks for the feedback. If you zoom in on one of the earlier pix, there is color in the safety printing. 'Least it appears so to me.

where can i get grips like that :evilgrin:

Moderator says - if you want to be mean, do it somewhere else

He says he has the original grips.

Yep, I've got the original grips. I still think the grips are interesting because they're a variant of what are called "sweetheart grips". Back in the day, Lugers were fairly common so modifying them wasn't a big deal.

Edges are very rounded so looks refinished. I would value it at $800 because of that. Krausewerk in San Mateo is the local Luger expert.

Thanks for the feedback. I plan on contacting Krausewerk next week.

I can't help but to add a comment about the name you have selected; as the Name: Eugene doesn't have a very positive reputation on the Luger Forums - I think.
Jack

Reblued.

??

California vs Pennsylvania for location. not very fair to whack somebody on their choice of a fairly common name...

What??

I am my father's son. Eugene was my fathers name and he served honorably in WWII, landing in the south of France in the first wave to hit the beach. He fought the Germans until he was wounded and couldn't fight anymore. There's nothing wrong with his name and anyone who has a problem with it isn't worth paying attention to.

SOE:
There is a Russian Luger restorer in PA that goes by Eugene, actually he is Yefgeny (sp?) AKA Lugerman. Some members don't like him because his sense of time is different than ours (he says it wil be ready in 6 weeks, turns into 6 years...), but I've always had satisfactory dealings with him.
No offense intended to you, or your Dad.
Welcome aboard.
dju

Let me add my welcome too MARTIN. We are grateful for your Dad's service... I am sure no offense was intended.

My Dad was just a couple of waves behind yours... but he managed to make it until January 1945 before a German machinegun interrupted his powerwalk from Utah beach to Berlin... He only made it as far as Winterberg and spent the next few months till the war's end in the hospital.

(NAME FIXED!)

Hi Jack,

I also welcome you to the forum, and respect and am thankful for your father's service.

From the other pictures posted, I am also sure that it has been refinished. So... the good news is that you really don't have anything serious to lose by firing it.

Pick some normal power (never +P or NATO or surplus 9mm that might be a machine gun round) ammunition. The most common Winchester white box 115gn or 124gn 9mm Luger ammo should work fine.

These late Mauser Lugers have excellent metallurgy and were very precision made. My shooter Luger is a 1941 mismatch that performs well. These are fun to shoot.

1942 was the last year of German military Luger manufacture in Oberndorf. After that, the plant went over to making P.38 pistols.

SOE
You have every reason to be proud of your father Eugene. I am sure that the statement made by Cap was not meant in a negative manner. Welcome to the forum and it's great for you to keep your father's memory alive. We thank him for his service. They truly are the Greatest Generation. Bill

I am curious about the makeup of the striped grip material.

Are the grips made of laminated plastic strips that contains each color, or is the color just paint in stripes on the inside of the grips?

If he purchased the gun in 1948, obviously the grips were not trench art... I have never seen anything like these grips before... very unusual...

Martin
Welcome to the luger forum.
I noticed your dads luger on the Cal-guns forum. Knew the gents on this forum would enjoy seeing it. Glad you posted it here as well.
Bob

Thanks all for your kind remarks. (FYI, my name's not Jack. Just for the record, don'cha know.)

In picking my user name, I figured that since it was my father's gun, that I'd just go by sonofeugene and keep some annonymity that way. Interesting that this other Eugene fellow is Russian. My father's parents were from Russia. They got the hell out of there around 1919 as the revolution spread then they fled further and further west. They finally settled in Sacramento, CA where my father was born. My grandfather, who was named Vasilly and later took the name William, I only have one faint memory of. My grandmother lived until I was in my mid 20's so I have plenty memories of her and her fairly thick Russian accent.

The grips are made of individual stripes of translucent but also colored plastic. I'm going to guess early colored Plexiglass. The back side of the grips are painted with a somewhat metallic silver paint which is likely what gives the yellow stripes a bit of a gold look to them. And yes, they're very unique. I thought about putting the original grips back on the gun, but my father went to a lot of trouble to make them so I've decided they'll stay. Especially if it's a shooter as it seems like it will be. (I'll be paying Krausewerks in San Mateo a visit in the near future.)

I did some exhausting seaches on the internet regarding sweetheart grips as well as colored gun grips and found nothing like the grips on my dad's Luger. I think it's safe to say they're one of a kind. Well made, too. And to make sure I don't damage them with some gun cleaning solvent, etc., I remove them when cleaning the gun.

I have another pistol of his (well, two actually) that has the more traditional sweetheart grips on them. He had a photo of his kid sister under one of the clear grips and it's possible that he made them while he was in Europe because I've got a military paper saying it and the 1934 Beretta are legal war trophies. The pistol with the sweetheart grips is a WWI Izarra in 7.65mm that my father said he'd never fire 'cause he was afraid the thing would blow up on him. In checking the gun's background, it was made by one of the better Spanish makers so it may be OK to fire after a thorough going over, but I have no plans to do so. It was one of the guns made for the French during WWI so I figure he picked it up while he was in France. And the Beretta he may have picked up just before the invasion of the south of France because his unit was stationed there in Italy in preparation for the invasion.

Thanks again for all your feedback and after I get an expert to look at the gun in person, I'll let you all know what they said. And I'm thinking he'll likely say what you guys have been saying.

Cheers!

BTW, Martin (in case you didn't know, anyone can learn a member's first name simply by clicking on the username and selecting "public profile". I should have checked before responding. Fixed my post above...

Your last name, however, is available only to moderators and admins... and will never be made public, neither will your email address unless you publish it publicly in a message thread... many do, but most do not.

'Forgot about that. :) That name came from my maternal grandfather. His father was also a Martin and was, at various times, police chief of Gettysburg and marshall of Escondido. 'Wish I had his service revolver.

Thanks for sharing
 

Sonofeugene- thanks for sharing the photos and stories about your father's WWII service & pistol. I'll bet your Luger will be a fine shooter- enjoy! Bill

Martin
Here is a link to some pics of my luger with "sweetheart grips"
Not as colorful as yours.:rockon:
Bob



http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...ght=sweetheart

Welcome to the forum Martin, and thanks for your Fathers service in the war.

Very nice!

The only thing I have any concern about with respect to firing it is that the magazine seems a little sticky as the follower nears the top. And there's some buggering of the top edge of the magazine as well. It does hold rounds just fine, so I guess the only way to find out if it works is to take it to the range. However, if one of you gentlemen could look at the earlier photo I posted where the top of the magazine can be seen, and give me your opinion (based on that photo, of course) of whether or not the magazine may or may not be a problem, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

Try to find a Mec Gar magazine. Everyone has been out of stock but maybe you can find a used one. Check with G.T on this forum. They are supposed to start shipping them again soon.
I will be shooting some guns including my Luger at the Livermore range on Sunday and if you want to show up at 10am I will be glad to look over the pistol and let you use one of my mags to try it out.
You could also send the mag to G.T for rebuilding with a new spring. But even if you do that an aftermarket mag is what you want for shooting.

Thanks for the offer, but I can't make it. But, yea, I thought I might get a mag from Mec Gar. Good authentic ones are pricey and I just don't see the point.

Martin, the magazine problem may also be the mag follower dragging on the inside of the home made grips. There should be a channel on the inside of the grips where the magazine follower buttom travels. Check it for drag marks. Uf any are present, gentle sanding and buffing of the channel may solve your problem.

Doug raises a good point. Take the grips off and cycle the mag. in and out a few times. Does the problem go away?
dju

To further add; The photo of the top of the magazine does make it look like the lips are a bit buggered. I would send this magazine to G.T. here on the site for an expert reshaping and contouring of the mag lips for proper functioning.

Doug has a good eye. The rear lips appear splayed apart as far as the front, sides look wavy and bent at the top. This is a recipe for misfeed.

I noticed the drag with the magazine out, so the grips would seem to be a non-issue. And the grips have the appropriate reliefs on the back side just like the originals.

If it turns out to be a shooter, I'll likely just get a couple Mec Gar magazines and be done with it. Though maybe I might have someone rework the original mag. Thanks again!