My first Luger... G date
 

Just got my first Luger. Thoughts?

All matching except magazine. The grips are not numbered which seems to be the case for "some" Lugers of this date. However, the grips fit perfectly and are in great shape... albeit one grip is just a tad loose. Not refinished (assured from a reputable seller and I trust him). Bore is very nice. Very satisfied with this purchased.

Been a member of this forum for 6 years and finally posted a message yesterday. I've been lurking for a looong time soaking up information which led to this purchase.

Thanks and take care, Matt

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Welcome to our Luger Forum.
Congratulations on your first Luger, it's a nice Mauser although from some pictures it looks refinished.

Regards.

+ 1

Toggle ducktail 'slap' area of frame shows no wear at all. Nice job, though. :thumbup:

How 'bout a pic of the toggle and the chamber date/"G"??? :)

I also agree on a good refinished/restoration job:
1 the straw parts looks too good to be original
2 looks (as Rich pointed out) unfired. And that doesn't exist in a military Luger.

I'm afraid I must agree with refinish, good job, but just too "soft"; and with perfect straw-highly
suspect. I'm always wary of any dealer who "assures" me of anything!

How about a picture of the inside frame, with the upper removed from it?

Perfect grips and not numbered and don't fit exactly = replaced in my book.

Absolutely refinished. As others have pointed out, not a bad effort, but soft edges, fuzzy proofs and overall look tell the story.

Could not agree more. Restored/refinished. Bill

Definitely appreciate the feedback guys! This is why I'm here. Here are more pics.

More...

I fear that this G date Luger is just too nice to be original....sorry. Whoever did the work is quite good. That is one nice looking Luger. I would love to have it in my safe.....enjoy!!

Yes, the pin in the toggle is blue - a sure sign of rebluing.

Would still like to see the inside of the frame, and see how good a job they did keeping it
"in the white".

Inside pic

Inside grip pic

Don meant the inside with the top removed. But at least the magazine well is in the white, as it should be.

We can also see it was reblued over some pitting in the area where the grip contacts the grip frame.

Bottom line. It was refinished, but it's a nice job. I also wouldn't mind owning it.

Now, if it was a good deal or not, depends on the price you paid for it.

For the sake of sheer laziness, would someone talk thru the top stamps for me.

Yes,
If you could be a little more specific- which post number or picture?

One thread up
"Six variations of the G date luger"

I'm not familiar with the "G date." My Luger has a simple 1936 at the top (will get back home tomorrow to see what else is up there). The G is illustrated in post 14. Also what does the "42" mean, and of course any other marks.

While my impression is also that it has been restored (which I consider a grade above refinished, since the work paid attention to keeping edges sharp and correct), the unusually deep color could relate to flash being used in the photography. It would make it easier to judge the finish if the photos were not taken with flash.

Take them in shaded, indirect sunlight outdoors. Use a tripod and use the closeup setting of your digital camera. Size them to about 1080 pixels across on the long axis, then post them as jpegs.

It's a very nicely done Luger. It would be interesting to see if it's in Ted's database as his work.

Marc

Top of the frame

Good point on the photos. These are taken with my iPhone.

G = secret code for the year 1935
because the treaty of Versailles restricted arms manufacturing in post WWI Germany
S/42 is more code and deceit, only the firm of Simson & co were permitted to produce military P08,
The "S/" in S/42 was an attempt to fool inspectors, while the "42" was code for Mauser

Restored/ refinished, I don't know but in my opinion "originality" isn't something that can be restored, and once it's lost or altered it is for ever and you can't brig it back.
Nobody can really fool who knows what to look for with any sort of restoration.
I'd rather look at or own a truly original pistol in bad conditions than one that's been expertly restored.
Nowadays honest and original Lugers are more and more hard to find, while I think that to own a nicely restored piece one only has to pay the requested price.
The best candidates for a professional restoration should be Lugers that have already been compromised or altered to some extent.
IMHO.

There were no inspectors in Nazi Germany, in fact the IMKK left in the late 1920's; the treaty was repudiated and breached when Hitler re-militarized the Rhineland in the early '30s.

The "G" was not "secret", way too many people new about it to be secret.:D
Simson was nationalized in 1927 or '29.

But the G and S/42 were codes for sure.

Matt, I don't know much about refinishing, restorations or collectability. But I do know what I like and I really like your new Luger. A primo BBQ gun for sure. I'd love to have it for such. Nice acquisition. I am sure you will enjoy it.

Well I'm in the camp of "Anyone who would leave a Luger on the shelf and not shoot it has no self respect at all." I guess that's why I don't by "primo" versions of any old gun.

Yes, refinished for sure, but appears very well done.

Fred

Don, Alan, and others -

I'm convinced this Luger is refinished because of the complete lack of wear, the straw condition, left grip doesn't fit, no halos, etc - but I don't notice any soft edges - what soft areas are you guys seeing?

- Geo

Is that hold open spring blued?!

- Geo

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't the inner "ears" of the frame be in the white, as well, and not blued?

I'm sure they should, but these to me look blued.

The inspection and proof marking on the left chamber are soft,
and the whole pistol is too uniform in finish/polish-I see none of the usual finishing/tooling marks that are different from one area to another.

I agree that great care and minimal work was done to this one, but the edges are not sharp, and the stamping s are very slightly dished-JMHO.

If you paid for an original finish luger I would ask for a refund. Maybe make an offer on a restored one. If your dealer is not really into lugers I can see why he said original. But if he is honest he / she will make this good. Bill

First off I want to say thanks to everybody on the quick education.

I did return the Luger and get my money back. Bill's last post was right.

thanks again everyone!

Matt