Chrome\Nickel 1912 Erfurt, First Luger.
 

I have been wanting a Luger for a number of years now, and on the rare occasion I found one it was out of my price range, but a few days ago one was posted on a local gun board so I jumped on it. That probably wasn't the most rational decision in hindsight. I want a Luger as a shooter, but i'd also like it to look nice. This one has some issues with the chrome/Nickel (not sure which), and the rifling in the barrel is pretty worn and pitted. I paid $450 for it and that may have been too much, but I'm curious what the rest of you think, and whether or not it's worth saving and/or restoring or should I just cut my losses and pass it on to someone else that may enjoy it as is.

All the numbers match except for the Mag (1965) and Right grip (33). It locks up fairly well though it may need a new spring, and the hold open works fine. The safety lever is very loose though, and the grips are a tad as well. Also there seems to be a small pin missing below the takedown lever, is it possible to find a replacement for that?

Just checked with a Chrome shop and a Gunsmith, and apparently the gun is neither chrome or nickel, it is bare metal that has been polished, so that aleviates the issues of stripping, but mean that the poor markings are not chrome filled they are rubbed down.

Dennis, The pin you are missing beneathe the takedown lever is actually the spring that holds the lever in place, keeping it from rotating down when fireing. If it rotates down the sideplate will likely fall off. Try contacting Luger Doc AKA Tom Heller. He will likely have one for you.
You could keep it as its polished..and shoot the pistol..a somewhat worn bore is not going to affect it much..or you could have it blued if you don't like the look of the polished steel. A cheap salt blue is good enough for a shooter. I wouldn't put too much into it..it will always remain a shooter.
Spend your money on a good sound 90% blued pistol. If you plan to shoot it don't worry about all matching..and the price that goes along with that.

Jerry Burney

It's *all* polished??? Even under the grips, inside the magwell??? Inside the grip frame??? I can understand it being de-blued, or stripped, but there are places I can see in the pics where it would be hard to buff/polish without rounding the edges...and they don't look that rounded...

If it's bare metal, there has to be rust on it somewhere...Do you see any???

It's all silver but there are pinpoints of corrosion here and there. Inside it is silver but not polished shiny. Basically the thing looks like Polished Stainless on the outside and stainless on the inside. Nothing look overly rounded from polishing but I dont know how sharp the edges should be. I guess i could rub a bluing pen on a discrete spot to see if it works, that should tell me if it is in fact bare metal or coated in some way.

Or you could do 100 pushups, handle the pistol for a couple minutes, and let it sit for a day or two...that'll tell you if it is bare metal... :D

the ole "sweat test"........
 

..

Well I cleaned a section of the frame from under the grip with some hoppe's and then a little polish, and ran my blueing pen over it. The blueing seems to work. The one thing I don't know is what the pen would do to the surface if it were nickel or chrome. So now I get to worry about it rusting.

If it really is bare metal, then it is a prime candidate for bluing... :)

So now I get to worry about it rusting.

Nah..Just oil it liberally every month or so and store it in a cotton sock in your safe. It shouldn't rust with even minimal oilings. Unless you live on the coast of Oregon or Florida...


Jerry Burney

Washington state on the Puget Sound. Just have a few weeks until my Gunsmith's blueing guy is back up and running. Of coure my Gunsmith wants to get it from me, so I told him if he can find me a nice blue'd shooter in good condition with strong rifling in 9mm i'd trade him. He was on the phone calling people before I got out the door, I think he has an addiction.

Oh, don't blame him.
Lugers are highly addictive. You'll see, believe me.;)

Can anyone tell me approximately what this Luger is worth? Both now and after I have it blued? I tried several times to get pics of the right frame stamps but the polished surface doesn't work with my camera, they seem to be the same as other 191X Erfurts I have seen. They are c/C c/(illegible) c/R and the Eagle. I really appreciate all the help so far from this forum.

No matter what you do to it..it will always be a shooter with the original finish gone forever. So, $600 max. If you spend $200-500 on a blue job you will be throwing away money you could spend on a better Luger. That's providing you are a collector and want a better Luger.
Use this one as is..shoot the devil out of it.