SN Match
 

I picked up a 1939 S/42 with a mismatched locking bolt lever. What
is the impact on the value of the pistol? The trigger, safety lever have been reblued(?). Overall the pistol looks good. Bought it as a shooter and plan to have Thor restore it. What do you think? I will be "upside down" after the restore but wanted a "new" Luger. Thank you for any comments.

Hi Zeke... Welcome to the Lugerforum if no one has done that yet...

The small parts of your military Luger should be blue and not strawed. Mauser factory discontinued the strawing of small parts for military production in 1937 when then switched from rust blue to hot salt blue to save money...

In collector circles the guns is reduced in value by about 20 percent if it has any parts that are not original to the gun... Unless the finish of the pistol is really worn, I would post photos of the gun and let some of the experts comment on whether or not you should refinish it... if that is your decision, you can't go wrong with Thor doing the refinish... He is top notch... and well worth the wait... Your gun should make a fine shooter... since the Mauser guns were made with the latest metallurgy available during the military production...

Show us some photos please!

John:

Thanks fo the welcome and reply!. I didn't know about the straw/blueing change. I just assumed all Lugers had trigger, safety, etc., strawed. I'm still very new at this! This is my 2nd Luger and I'm sure there are others I will acquire in the future. Any idea how many Lugers were ever manufactured and survived? Just curious. I'll try to get some photos posted.

Finally had the chance to add some photos (after my trip to Ajo, AZ):
Hope I'm doing this right!
Note the right grip is broken.

Sorry! I'll try this again with the correct file name:
http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/dsc00198_copy1.jpg
http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/dsc00199.jpg
http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/dsc00200.jpg
http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/dsc00202.jpg
http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/dsc00203.jpg
http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/dsc00207.jpg
http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/dsc00209.jpg

Zeke, your plan was the same as mine...get a cheapish shooter and have it made beautiful like Thor can do. While I have no idea what the pros here think of your gun, I think it is very presentable. Yeah I know the grips could be better, but I like it a lot.

BTW, I was told that Mauser stopped the strawing/rust bluing about s/n 1500t in mid 37.

Hi Zeke,

Just to give you an idea of the looks of a refreshed S/42:

http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/150bside.jpg

If you compare it to yours, you'll see that your S/42 is in a pretty nice condition. It's a difficult decision and I personally don't know what to suggest. Both refenishing states have their own charm.

The grips are Nill Grips, very good replacement grips.

The S/42 is my regular shooter, reworked by Frankiona, Germany a couple of years ago. It's a very late 1937 version.

Model 12 & G van, thanks for your input! At this point, I plan to use Thor restoration services although the weapon I have looks quite well compared to some I have seen. The photos I've seen of Thor's work makes a pistol look beautiful if that word can be used to describe a handgun. In the meantime, if I acquire another, less appealing Luger, I'll restore it and keep the S/42 as is. G van, your refreshed pistol looks excellent!

I am a big fan of Thor's and have several Lugers refurbished by him, and certainly don't want to cause him to lose any business. That said, why in the world would you want to have this Luger refinished? From the pictures, it appears to have an excellent original finish. It would be a shame to destroy the collector value by refinishing it.

As for the grips, if you can supply a better pic of the right grip, I may be able to determine if I can repair it. If not repairable, I can supply you with a pair of repaired originals at a reasonable cost. Also, GT of this forum has a couple pair of excellent grips on ebay right now.

Grip
 

Hugh:

Thanks for the input! I will post a picture of the grip in question. Also will post one or two additional pictures. The locking bolt lever does not have the same sn as the base pistol does.

http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/dsc00287.jpg
http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/dsc00289.jpg
http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/dsc00292.jpg
http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/dsc00295.jpg

Note rust on grip frame. Otherwise, no rust on pistol.

Zeke,

The rust on the grip frame is normal for guns that a previous owner carried in his sweaty hand (probably in the heat of battle), and put away without cleaning. A pad of 0000 steel wool and some WD40 or Kroil will clean it up to look better.

It appears that the grips do not fit flush against the frame at the bottom, this is probably what caused the grip to split. A little sandpapering in the right spots will make them fit flush. I can repair and rechecker both grips for $55 including return P&I if you so desire.

Hugh

Hugh:

What address, etc do I send the grips to? I've seen comments about your work on this forum and looks like your the person to do the job! Can I assume the 0000 steel wool and WD-40 do not degrade to blueing, what's left of it? Oh, How do I remove the grips without further damaging?

Zeke,

WD40 or Kroil will not harm the original bluing.

To remove the grips, first remove the grip screws. Then push one grip out with your finger inserted into the empty magazine opening at the bottom of the grip. After removing this grip push the other grip out from the inside.

Send the grips and a check for $55 to:

Hugh Clark
Box 598
Devers, Tx 77538

Turnaround is running 3-4 weeks at present.

I agree with Hugh. Find one in rougher condition to restore, if you want a like new looking shooter. TH

Thanks, I value your input as I am new to this subject. I'd like to find a shooter in rough condition that Thor could renew. So far the pistols I've seen, even ones you could consider rough cost above $500. Since I paid $600 for the Luger in this thread, I assume I could get a rough pistol for $300 or less?

Hi Zeke,

welcome to the forum. I don't want to throw a money wench into your plans but looking at the photo of the right side of your trigger it looks like it has a crown over letter stamp on it? If it does it means the trigger came off of a Erfurt WWI luger and is a replacement part. I might be seeing things but just wanted you to check.

Bob M.

Zeke,
You lucked out getting a very nice Luger for only $600, even considering the mismatch locking bolt. The good news is that it is too nice to restore. The bad news is that you will need to spend nearly that much to get a rough one to restore (unless you get lucky again - a $300 Luger is pretty much history). Anyway, congratulations, you did very well.
P.S. I think the marking on the right side of the trigger that Bob is seeing is just built up crud or light rust.

I must be going blind, I don't see any kind of marking on the right side of the trigger in that photo, a little grime at the edge of the cutaway but nothing else. Where am I supposed to be looking?

Looking closely at the trigger, I scraped off some dirt/oil with a tooth pick and nothing is there. Actually, if I clean the pistol up, use some 0000 and WD40 on the grip frame, I believe this luger wiill be near the 1916 DWM I recently acquired. The more I think about it and discuss with you folks, it looks like the proper thing to do is leave it alone. I do need to have Herb work his magic on the grips.