SS Walther P38
 

Yep found another odd one in the bottom of my gunsafes. Yep another odd one, all satinless steel Walther P1 9mm, hard to get the pics right on this one, marked left side of slide walther banner, p1, carl walther, wafenbri/ulm/do , looks like any other p1 but in stainless. pretty sure i got it at one of the houston gunshows some years ago, only one i have ever seen. anyone else?

Never seen one, but looks pretty nice! :thumbup:

Never heard there was stainless P38.... satin nickle plated? How do you know it's stainless steel?

Pretty sure its brushed nickel or plated, as the majority of the P1s have alloy frames.

nope it's stainless

one thing is the weight, i own a couple of p1's you pick this one up and you know the instant you do it is all steel, and under the grip i did a bit of filing to be sure, it is stainless.

You should post these photos over at http://p38forum.com/.
I'm sure the folks there would be fascinated and may be able to provide more info about its origins.

will do, there is a p38 forum?. who would have thunk it/lol. taking it tommorow to a gun show. let some p38 guru's look at it, thanks

Yes Dan,

Irv Reichert hosts an outstanding forum that is focused on Walther P.38 and PPK/PP pistols.

The grips look too nice to be military issue, and the lanyard loop is missing.

How is the serial numbering done on this pistol? What parts are numbered?

Marc

There's more than one... ;)

http://www.waltherforums.com/forum/

one sold in the original box on Gunbroker a while back for 1800.00....very cool and very rare, it seems

I'm just learning about the P38's but as I recall the barrel, frame, slide, and the block underneath the barrel are all numbered. My AC43 has proofed acceptance stamps on the mags but no numbers.
dju

sold for 1800???? who would have thunk it/lol. yes, it's marked p1, an walther banner, nothing about it military, the gun appeared to be unfired when i got it, there is only the serial number on the left side of the frame, not a clue how the lanyard loop came to be missing

today i took the ss p38 to a gun show and one of the dealers there is a p38 collector saw it. he said he has seen one or two others in ss ,but they are very rare. we ended up trading , my ss p38 for two french manurhin p1's with extra mags and holsters and some boot, the blued one does not have import marks, grey finished or phosphate one does. I think i did ok, as these as good shooters and these look to be in good condition

I find it a bit odd that the grey one has a miltary inspection mark on a french p1, but who knows . Not even sure what the finish is, but i like it.

the dealer had nearly a dozen p1's i chose these two over the others ,condition and bores are very good, should make good shooters.

Your call of course, but Manhurins are a dime a dozen....that SS Walther is neat!

Yeah I would have kept yours.

oh well, i like what i got, or at least for now, it was not a even trade and the extra boot will buy alot of ammo, Manhurin's may not be as good as walthers, but firing will tell. won't be the first time i should have kept what i had.

The French started P38 production on Walther's equipment right after the war, (if I recall , the original Walther factory was going to end up in the Soviet zone in territory we had to turn back over to them as per the Potsdam conference. They were super pissed to find that we had stripped every significant German industry of its files/records and machinery prior to turning over the physical establishment). The French started initial production using parts from German wartime manufacture, that's why you find a German acceptance stamp on this gun. This would also explain the finish; German last-ditch P38 pistols had a phosphate finish. Collectors call them "Grey Ghosts". They also had phosphated pressed steel grips.
I'm also not sure I would have made the trade, but if you are happy, that's all that matters.