Refinishing/Restoring 41 byf
 

Hi All,

I recently purchased my first P08, a 41 byf black widow. It does not have matching numbers (parts from two guns - barrel, receiver, and sear bar all from one gun, everything else from another). The finish has heavy wear, with a small nick in the barrel, but no real rust except a light patina on the backstrap. It's also missing the locking bar spring. The mag appears to be after-market. The bore is in good shape. The price was good and what I really wanted was a shooter.

So, my question is, are there any real drawbacks to having this gun refinished/restored? I assume it doesn't have much value as a collector piece. And if refinishing is a good idea, does anyone have suggestions of who to send it to? Even if the gun isn't worth that much, I'm a bit picky about who works on my toys, and I'd prefer someone who not only can do good finishing work, but who specializes in Lugers.

Thor is the one. Do a search on this site and you can get his website link and see some of the things he has done.

Thanks, I'll look him up.

I agree that Thor is the luger restoration specialist, but question putting an additional $500 or so into a mismatched shooter. You may want to check around locally for prices on a hot-dip reblue which may look more like a new S&W than an original luger, but should also be "pretty". TH PS: I have orig quality PO8 TD lever springs available @$25 postpaid. TH