Krieghoff P 59
 

I would like tp share with you Krieghoff P 59 with its two matching cannons; one chambered in 9mm at 100mm in length; the second chambered in 7.65 in 150mm length. Additionally it has two matching magazines.

First, a little history as I know it. P 59 was acquired by a collector friend of mine who specializes in Broomhandles and has some of the finest in existence. He acquired P 59 in the very early 80's while buying, with a partner, a collection of Broomhandles and Lugers. At the end of the purchase, he was offered P59 because his partner had a virtually matching firearm except the chamberings were the exact opposite: the 9mm was 150mm and the 7.65mm was 100mm.

We had been doing shows together for a great time as our backgrounds are extraordinarily similiar, when he showed up with P 59 and offered it to me as the sole Luger in his collection. It had been in his safe since he put it there upon acquisition nearly 30 years ago. Of course, my response once I was able to speak again, was in the affirmative. It isn't everyday that a mint Luger is offered one; and to be a Krieghoff with matching cannons and mags put me into a headspin!

So I now will allow the gun to speak for itself, adding only needed description. Credit must go to Jerry Burney, who took these images and talked me into doing a presentation to The Forum.

P 59
 

P 59

Heavens to Betsy...that is going to cause some palpitations in the community! Can't wait to see the excitement this treasure will generate.

Ron

If I could just concentrate, this would be a breeze; but trying to get rid of this flu has my keyboard sizzling! I'll try to get some images posted tonight.

Jack

P 59
 

P 59

P59
 

P59

P 59
 

P 59

You all have my sincere apologies for the poor presentation of this fine firearm. I am having a hell of a time getting my images resized and re-contented to appropriately fit The Forum. I now need to call on support or reshoot the entire shoot in lower definition.

Anybody willing to help, please contact me at home on Monday at your convenience. Otherwise, I won't be able to share this with all.

Jack Hiles
Mesa, AZ
480 219 6676

P59
 

Last chance tonight

Hi Jack,

Send me your big files...I can resize for you and post them up...

pebbink@pacbell.net

P 59
 

P 59 bolt face showing virtually no wear and a minimal brass trail on the extractor.

P 59
 

P 59 9mm in 100mm length canon. This view shows the underside or the rail with a plug that appears to fill a hole for the rivet used to install the sear safety on a police gun. It is unnoticable from the top side and only seen after intense scrutiny on the bottom.

P 59
 

Police eagle on the bottom of matching magazine by Schmeisser. Found the eagle listed in Sam Costanzo's book page 79

P 59
 

Note the machining mark at the top of the lug. It appears as if it drilled a hole beyond spec before finishing the lug track

P 59
 

Serial number on the front of the frame at the trigger guard with NO leg on the P. Germany export stamp and correct numbering of take down lever.

P 59
 

Safety and left rear of frame showing the Krieghoff contour.

P 59
 

Witness marking on the 9mm 100mm long fork

P 59
 

Witness marking on the 7.65mm 150mm long fork

P 59
 

Threaded hole on inside of grip. Both grips had two threaded holes to facilitate removal of the grip from its mold. All 4 are as new on P 59

P 59
 

Note the champhered inside radius on the toggle knob inherent to Krieghoffs.

P 59
 

The bolt face of the 9mm breech block shows no wear and again has a minimal line of brass from test firing.

P 59
 

Geladen on 9mm breech block.

P 59
 

Rear underside of 9mm fork shows (5) Q's and another inspection mark of "D" quite plainly

P 59
 

Fluted 9mm firing pin. The 7.65mm pin is not fluted, but has a relief hole drilled in the bottom side of the breech bolt to vent downward.

P 59
 

Note the absence of any wear from toggle travel at the rear of the canon.

P 59
 

Note the difference in the bottom of the breech blocks. The 9mm has no vent hole and the 7.65 is vented downward.

P 59
 

Right side view of frame.

P 59
 

Left side of frame

Thanks for bearing with me while I learned to post a Pictoral to The Forum. Some of the images aren't exactly what I wanted, but I tryed to get the character of the firearm across to you.

Jerry and I took many other shots in great detail. If anybody has any interest in other areas not shown here, please feel free to ask.

Please accept my apologies for such a lengthy post, but I just figured out how to do this on my own, didn't figure out how to shrink the images down like Mr Dunkle does, nor add more than one image per post. Give me time and I'll get it down. Anyway I am happy to share this piece of history with The Forum.

Jack Hiles
Mesa AZ

Jack, outstanding presentation!


Jerry's camera sure takes nice close ups!

Ed

Ed,

Thanks for the mention but Jerry's painstaking skill at holster repair is evident in his photography also.

Jack

Please don't apologize for the long post. I enjoyed every pic, and wouldn't mind if you posted more! What a find.

Jack,

Can you post detailed, close-up and in-focus photo of the proof/staming on the right side of the receiver and the inscription on the left side panel...?

Thanks...

While you're at it ... the make and model of your camera!

Pete, here is the best I have right now. If you want anything more, I will shoot it tomorrow.

Right side of 7.65mm 150mm long barrel showing 5-point star rejection stamp

P 59
 

Right side of 9mm 100mm long barrel. Note the rare WaA66 proof mark. Keep in mind that this canon has the hole(s) filled in on the left side rail where the police sear safety was installed or meant to be installed at one time.

P 59
 

Left side plate: (with dust! I could have been a bit cleaner!)

The camera used for these images is unfortunately NLA. Ellie Burney found one online and grabbed it up. She said it was better than the new camera she purchased to replace her old camera of the same model. It is a Fuji Finepix S602 zoom. Good stuff; along with Jerry's meticulous attention to detail.

Take a look at the images on my post about my 1900 AE dovetailed rear site, I used my Sony DSC-W5 which is commonly available at discount at Staples. I am very pleased with the images I have captured with it. I also am very happy with my previous Canon pocket digital.

The key to ANY image is light; which is all the camera is catching. My first year of professional motorsports photography, I was awarded the second highest honor and it was totally due to the abundant light and how I planned to capture the light.

Jack Hiles
Mesa AZ

Hi Jack,

I know next to nothing about production HK lugers (having a sole S-code in my collection...) and 100% less about the P-series HK's...however...I would ask these questions :

1. Is the shallow bevel of the holes in the toggle knobs appropriate ?

Here is a photo John. D posted of his P183 commercial HK back on 10-22-03 in the HK luger section on the Forum :

http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload...d_p_code_3.jpg

2. I thought the 5-point HK rejection stars were stamped. Your photo appears to show an engraved star that is not symetrical in the width of the engraving. Should the star be stamped or engraved to be proper ?

Here is a photo John. D posted of his P183 commercial HK back on 10-22-03 in the HK luger section on the Forum :


http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload...d_p_code_2.jpg

And his side inscription in detail :


http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload...d_p_code_1.jpg


3. What is the WaA66 stamping all about...?

Waiting for John D. or Tom A. to contribute...

Hello Jack,

While I am not an expert with Krieghoff Lugers, your Luger gives me 'bad vibes', and it could be restored. Firstly, something appears strange with the sideplate and, secondly, the straw is inconsistent on the various parts. I would like to hear the opinions from members on this forum who have more knowledge than I on the subject of Krieghoff Lugers.

If my observations or opinions are incorrect, I apologize for making a bad judgement. I am aware that some members are shy with giving constructive criticisms to Lugers which belong to fellow collectors, however, if you are asking for the opinions of collectors on this forum, try to keep an open mind without becoming angry or disappointed.

Albert