Flat Spring
 

A friend of mine inherited a 1914 Luger originally belonging to a WWI vet/uncle of his not long ago. Another friend recommended he not fire it as there is a "flat spring" in the gun that might break. Anyone ever heard of this? Would this be the firing pin release? The "gun is loaded" indicator on top? Is there an easy fix?

Eggman

First of all welcome from the other side of the Atlantic, and I hope you'll enjoy being part of this Luger forum.

I assume by flat spring you mean perhaps the so called "Schliessfeder alter Art" the flat riband type mainspring that in the New Model 1900/06 was replaced by a coil spring, in which case I would agree that the former was surely more easy to breake, especially if not used for a while.
My two bob.

Cheers.

The Old Model Luger used a 2-leaf flat mainspring and it can frequently be found with one leaf broken. Tom Heller has rebuilt flat mainsprings periodically, and there is a seller on eBay who sells NOS flat 2-piece mainsprings occasionally. (You can find his eBay listing by doing a Search here for mainsprings). ;)

Welcome, Eggman,

The flat mainspring was phased out long before 1914, which makes me wonder what the situation is with this gun.

It would be a good idea to remove the right grip so that the type of spring can be determined. The friend's friend might not be correct about this particular pistol.

The ejector is a "flat spring" although we don't usually think of it as a spring.

THANKS GUYS! Been a while since I've been on here. I'm always amazed at how incredibly smart/informed folks on this forum are. I've got the guy pulling the grips - probably today. If coil is in there shooting commences not later than this summer. If by chance there is a flat spring (the guy suggesting this was not a hard core Luger man) we'll likely look at building a suitable replacement.

Eggman

Please let us now, it takes 20 seconds to remove one grip and see if that gun has got a spring coil or a spring leaf... don't keep us on tenderhooks... :rolleyes:

... and some close up pictures of it wouldn't hurt...

If it's your first time, I suggest removing the right grip. It's too easy to knock a chip of the left grip under the safety arm if you're clumsy taking the grip off.

Here are two Navy lugers, one flat mainspring and one coil (hidden a bit behind the grip safety).

Yeah I got the "right grip" to him on time - I knew this once. Anyway there is a nice coil spring in there so he is on the road to nirvana. His camera is just now arriving back from India - he expects a chance to provide photos later next week.
A correction, it was captured by his uncle in the Huertgen forest alright, but during the WWII Bulge battle. The guy was recalled for Korea and carried the thing thru that conflict.
He's expressed concern about ammo - I pointed out the common availability of 9mm Luger. What's the chance it's some other caliber???
More to follow.

Odds are it's 9mm, though 7.65 mm/.30 Luger is a possibility. Pencil test! A standard pencil will plunk to the bottom of a 9mm bore with no resistance. A .30 Luger barrel will be a snug fit. (Don't use the end with the metal collar.)

9mm--Military, almost all Police, some commercial.

.30 Luger--mostly commercial and contract guns. The Swiss used this caliber from 1900 until the Parabellum was replaced as their standard sidearm.