Value of reblued Luger
 

I have a friend who wishes to sell his Luger. It is a DWM 1916 standard Luger with an excellent bore and no matching magazine. It was professionally reblued (blue black not rust blued). What would a fair ballpark price for this?

Is it all matching? Are the edges sharp and crisp? Are the proofs/numbers/markings sharp and crisp?

Pics would certainly help. :)

Depends, could be $300 or $800; or somewhere in between.
But it has to "shoot" to be worth that. JMHO.

I do not have photos, but the bluing is very well done and I am familiar with the person who did this as he did one of my guns and does excellent work. The Luger does have all matching numbers and all stampings and markings are still sharp. Overall the reblued gun is around 95%+

Doesn't really matter, reblued = shooter; not collectible anymore(sometimes are truly rare piece with be an exception).

That said, some folks like pretty, shiny pistols.
Value is in the eye of the buyer. :cheers:

If a 'collector' did not have that particular variation of Luger, it might be worth slightly more than a shooter as a 'placeholder'. Until the 'collector' could obtain an unmolested specimen of that variation.

IMO, it's not so much the re-bluing that devalues it so drastically - it's the ham-handed buffing the snot out of it!!! :grr: It's not supposed to be smooth and shiny! They're military issue! It should have tool marks and a dull finish! A smoothed, buffed Luger is an embarrassment :(

/rant

Thank you for your replies gentlemen. I am looking for a 'shooter' Luger. I have several all original Lugers of my own, but frown upon shooting them for fear of breaking an original part on an all matching Luger. I have enjoyed shooting other Lugers in the past and just wanted to experience that again with my own Luger. Thanks!

Without pics there's really no way to tell. :(

Any restoration would kill the value of the pistol.
Some pictures would certainly help, and as some people say, without pictures is a bit like getting a haircut over the phone by a blind person.

I am looking for a 'shooter' Luger. Actually a 1916 Luger is a poor choice for a shooter. Mauser made some very important changes to Luger's that should be considered when choosing s "shooter" . Look into it.

I may be in the "minority" but I'm not at all convinced that Mauser made any "important" changes to their production. Folks talk about "metallurgy", and the names and specs put out by Mauser sound impressive- but are not that much different from DWM materials.
JMHO.

Depending on the date on the Mauser luger, it could be 18 or 26 years "newer" than the 1916 DWM, and have had a much shorter and "easier" service life. :evilgrin::cheers:

Don, I am not talking about "metallurgy". German steel was the best in the World. Herr Krupp pioneered it.



But lets enter into some of the modifications and see..Take a look at the extractor...compare a Mauser to a 1916. Mauser beefed up the hook that holds it in place. Failure of the extractor is a serious stoppage. The Swiss went even further than Mauser and completely encircled the hook for extreme reliability. Evidence of these changes indicates it was a problem on WW1 Luger's.

Then just put a Mauser extractor in the 1916.
I've not had an extractor fail, but if it did- as you say it is a real show stopper.

Will a Swiss extractor fit an German luger? As you say the circle is much "stronger"- and probably easier to make.

Jeeze..you some kind of crazed Luger mechanic? (rhetorical question alert!) There are a few other important changes you are ignoring...But yes, you could start changing out parts. Mauser actually did that initially on a lot of Police guns.


Good question..I don't know.

Yes, crazed(or crazy) or just curious.:D

I'd like to know what the other important changes are when you get time to list them.

Some folks suggest changing the entire toggle train for shooting, if one wishes to preserve the original from any chance of damage.

But then that is the reason to have a "shooter".:cheers:

Time? It's Sunday! I get double time or triple..I forget which. Fluted firing pin..Mauser hump. Gas escape hole...probably some other stuff I have forgotten.

Ok,
-fluted firing pin was introduced and ordered by the Reichswehr in 1930 and retrofitted to many earlier lugers. So was not a Mauser improvement.(Pistole Parabellum, green, p-1074).

-Mauser hump- may have solved one of the rare problems that must have happened due to wear or ?? A malfunction that I have also never experienced, but makes sense-kind of like belt and suspenders. Mauser first added the hump, then substituted a longer flat back frame, found it caused a problem with the tail of the toggle striking it, and went back to the hump. Kreighoff used the longer flat frame for all production per Pistole Parabellum.

-Mauser did not add a gas escape hole, the Finn's did.

Numbering of the rear toggle axle was also introduced by Reichswehr or police armorers , not Mauser.

Luger minutiae, I have too much time I guess! :D
Thanks for taking the overtime to answer! :cheers:

Geeze..if you know so much about it why are you asking me? But good to know...Thanks!

Don's just anal about details. If you ask him what time it is, he'll tell you how to build a clock. :rolleyes: :eek: :thumbup:

I'm anal too, it's all my Mother's fault, I was toilet trained too early. Too late to do anything about it now I guess.
Norm

Jerry,
You said "Mauser improvements" ; I just wondered what you thought they were; since I don't "collect" Mauser lugers, I thought I might learn something. You did remind me about the extractor difference. The hump I never thought of as an improvement - but it is.

In other cases they were not improvements by Mauser.

Rich is correct, I just don't like general statements or repetition of "common" knowledge.
Where the info is available, I like to know what/where it is.

I believe a 1916 DWM luger can be an excellent choice for a shooter.
I see extractors and ejectors as expendable and replaceable parts in a shooter; along with springs and grips. JMO. This does not mean that a Mauser luger is not a good choice, but it is often a more expensive choice- due to the "Nazi" and/or WWII mystique that seems to command a premium.

Norm, thanks for your comment- nice to know I'm not the only "one". :)

I agree with Don and Norm. The Japanese 'Mum' Luger discussion (and Totenkopf, and Russian Contract, and Spandau) discussions fascinate me, since so many dismiss them as fantasies when there are actual early photographs of them. From way before it was profitable or collectible or anyone even gave a rats' ass about them. :D

I also like to know about design changes and the tooling changes required. Changes are done to make something safer, or cheaper, or manufacture quicker, or eliminate waste (time or materials). I can always benefit from knowing how to do the job (any job) more efficiently. :thumbup:

We get toilet trained at an early age and then in old age forget all about it. Bill

I believe a 1916 DWM luger can be an excellent choice for a shooter.
I see extractors and ejectors as expendable and replaceable parts in a shooter; along with springs and grips.



I have a half dozen WW1 shooters. I also have also experienced 100% of my breakage on them. Expense? Extractors, ejectors, bolts..all kind of spendy saying nothing about traveling to a range for several hours of shooting only to have expensive parts fly off. THEN if you are NOT a Luger mechanic..you have another expensive trip to a gunsmith.

I guess really one could say a late Swiss might be the best shooter..less likely to break. But Luger's DO break and WW1 Luger's in my experience break a LOT more frequently that most people think.

You would think an "anal" person could see the logic of my position! Course I ain't blaming the Author of my days. I own it all.

That, may work... Or be a total headache.:D Seen it happen.

I count myself fortunate to have not "broken" any luger parts(all I shoot are WWI or Weimar vintage-since I don't collect Mauser lugers); well except the one breech block that was entirely my fault when "experimenting"- and it is fixed now.

That was trying to make a .32 acp luger(just to see if I could) and I let the headspace get way to "long".:o Even my .45 conversion on a normal WWI P08 didn't break any parts.

I have found broken or missing parts in luger pistols I have bought though.

My range trips are successful, since I always take at least two shooter lugers and maybe a third- and usually a fourth of something else- since 4 pistols fit into my shooting box. Along with several magazines and more than one brand of ammo. That must me the result of anality.

If you have a spare, one usually never breaks a part!
Murphy's law in reverse.:evilgrin:

Early German steel was crap. Consistancy was lacking and hardness was all over the place.

In the early years, Mauser bought its steel from Sheffield because they considered German steel to be unsuitable for their use.

In the 1930s metallurgy greatly improved. Mausers from the 1930s utilize better steel, better heat treating and thus improved reliability over WW1 era P08s.

Krieghoffs are probably similar in regards to metallurgy. But if one is looking for a reliable and affordable shooter, a Krieghoff is not really an option.

Yikes!:eek:
Yet, somehow, DWM and Erfurt managed to produce over 1 million lugers by 1918; many of which survive today with their matching parts after 100 years.
Perhaps "German steel was crap" is a little overstated?:cheers: