First Attempt at Strawing
 

I've been learning various finish techniques - rust blueing, temper bluieing and strawing.

I had a 1923 DWM Commercial that had been previously hot blued sometime in it's past, and all parts were blued. So I decided to experiment with strawing.

Dug around the web for information, but probably the most concise instructions for the DIY'er came from PoliceLuger on this forum - much appreciated!

This attempt came out slightly darker than I wanted, almost golden brown. I may re-do it later. I found it is difficult to see just when to remove the heat. Just having instructions on paper isn't enough, it still takes skill and practice.

-- Dan

A pic

Not bad at all for your first try. You are right in saying that it takes skill and practice, I've done about 5 Lugers so far and each one takes different times, I guess it is due to the different hardness of the steel bewtween the differernt models. I tried fire bluing a couple of weeks ago on two grip screws, they came out great till I put oil on them then they turned a little too dark, I'll try it again soon.

Don't monkey around too much with this stuff...look what happened to Herb! :D ;) :bigbye:

Hi Dan,

Great results for just starting out...

If I am not mistaken, I think the DWM folks applied some blueing solution to the checkered section of the TD lever and magazine release button and to the grooves in the thumb safety lever after strawing to darken those tectured areas...

Pete...where did you hear such, how would one blue the deep area of TD and safety and not touch the straw....I am very interested in finding out the truth here....and Revolvr, thanks for the kind words, glad I could help but remember the cost for the instructions were a Coke!

Howard, when I do those parts I remove the old bluing with 1500 grit sandpaper and don't touch the knurling on the TD and mag release. After they are strawed those parts are still dark. If you dip them to remove the bluing you can't do that.

Hi Howard...

I think Herb has the sequence right and I was wrong...but the area is darkened, nevertheless...is it not ?

But on original lugers, I do see those patterned areas as darkened...I do not think this is just age...as I think it would go grey (if only strawed...) and not the darkened blue...

Here is a photo from a Simpson LTD offering...compare it to the result's Dan got with his 1st. strawing attemps...

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

In looking at various photographs of Lugers, I think the darkness of the checkered areas is partly due to the strawing process and partly due to lighting.

When I look at original finish Lugers, the strawed parts usually appear completely strawed though the checkered areas appear darker, especially the mag release.

A lot of this is due to the lighting and photography. I offer three examples, the first from Joe Salter, the second is my Luger in natural light with a bright background, and the third is my Luger again on a dark background with a flash.

In the right lighting my mag release looks almost black. With the flash on a dark background it looks bright gold.

Now on a dark background close up with a flash.

Now, same weapon, natural lighting, brighter background.

Its years for rust/dirt/stain and what else, after 30 years of doing this I take the deep checkered/groved areas and with a small Dremel wire wheel brush clean out these areas prior to straw....comes out beautiful...but then Herb everything I do comes out nice:)...they were never blued prior to straw, but some old storys never die.

Howard, the only ones I do this to are the shooters that someone else has reblued, including the parts that should be straw. So far I haven't had the opportunity to try it with an originally finished part.

Try it with a re-blue, works nice

This photo of one of Dan Metz' lugers sure looks like it has bluing in the checkering...


http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/metz_no_14_2.jpg

OK Pete, first why would one take the steep/time to blue the area inside the deep recesses of the checkered part, clean the blue of the areas that were over worked/splashed with blue solution and then straw it....I bet that if you took the safety lever off the gun the back would be just as straw color as the front, but what you are looking at are the raised points that are smaller/thinner than the mass of the lever body and took on a darker color before the heaver/thicker mass of the lever reached the straw color....so it got darker faster