A Mystery Craftsman Among Us!
 

If you go to the new Member Gallery pages from the homepage of this site:

http://www.lugerforum.com

-- you will find a new photo album that illustrates an American Eagle Luger and an Ideal Stock. What is different about this Luger/stock combination is that the stock is BRAND NEW. Here is a sample from that album just to whet your appetite...

http://gallery.rennlist.com/lugeralb...AW06.sized.jpg

It was painstakingly created by the hands of a master craftsman who is a member of this forum. He created it because he decided he would never be able to own the genuine article to accompany his American Eagle (which he also refinished himself)... The creation of this masterpiece has taken several months...

I have been privileged to follow the creation of this completely unique Luger accessory from the outset... The owner of a genuine Ideal Stock generously permitted this craftsman to possess his prized piece during the recreation effort... He too shall remain nameless, at least for the present.

The Creator of this new Ideal Stock and I thought it would be interesting if the membership tried to guess who he is. I will reveal a new hint every couple of days until his identity is made public...

The membership is invited to present their guesses in this thread...

Good Luck to all! [img]smile.gif[/img]

P.S. NO, the stock is not for sale! [img]frown.gif[/img]

Does he live in Arizona?

And it is really nice, a beaut!

Let me save you some time... he lives east of the Mississippi River...

Well, that eliminates two machinist guys I know, so now I'm stumped... [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

Well,
First of all I'd like to tell Mr. X that his work is very VERY good!!!

Second of all,
John Give us our first hint!!!

Regards,Brandon

Nice try Brandon... the first hint was that he doesn't live west of the Mississippi! [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

You know You're not making this easy!!!

... [img]biggrin.gif[/img] , Brandon

Why do I see "This page cannot be displayed" when I click on the website?

Sorry all,

That is because my fast fingers mistyped the URL... try the link now that I have corrected my error...

My guess is that it wasn't me. Does this make mine the first correct guess?

Is his initials A.B. ?

Is his first name Tommy?

John, Nice metal work, but the leather is too dark & soft to be mistaken for an original. Do the arms open up like an original? If I knew the maker, I'd never tell. Tom H.

Truly magnificent craftsmanship. Now, how does the maker keep it from being passed off as an original after he is long dead and buried? Hate to be a party pooper but I feel that mine is a legit question.

Tom A,
Who has been stung by a forum member's idea of making a copy of something.. and YOU know who I am talking about! I consider you owe me $400 but whats money among friends? Only money; honor is far more important.

Maybe Schwob has something to do with this nice recreation

Alain,
I was thinking the exact same thing!!!

Hey who has "The Shadow"'s e-mail address Maybe he knows!

... [img]biggrin.gif[/img] ,Brandon

Martz?

Tom A,

QUOTE]Now, how does the maker keep it from being passed off as an original after he is long dead and buried? Hate to be a party pooper but I feel that mine is a legit question.[/QUOTE]

You have posed a very good question, and as you stated, a totally legitimate question.

I feel that this craftsman fulfilled his obligation to assure that it will not be â??passed off as an original after he is long dead and buriedâ?�. This individual has crafted a truly outstanding piece of work, and to his credit (God bless him) he has incorporated a number of subtle (and a couple of not so subtle) differences from the original in his recreation to assist future collectors from such subterfuge.

I appreciate the need to be honest, but it is the responsibility of the purchaser to do his â??homeworkâ?� before buying anything of relative rarity. If in the future, as now, an individual obtains a reproduction or an outright â??fakeâ?� without doing the necessary research to authenticate it, then he will be a graduate of the â??school of hard knocksâ?�. All of us long time collectors have been stung (myself included, several times) and sometimes that is the best teacher.

If an individual expects to be â??spoon fedâ?� all the pitfalls of collecting, then he/she is either indifferent to the intricacies of the hobby, or not sufficiently motivated to do the research necessary not to be bamboozled. Several members of this Forum have sought the advice of others, and thus have avoided being taken. That is what everyone should do. A warning to all collectors, if you swim with sharks, donâ??t bleed.

Tom, your point is well taken, you are not a party pooper. I hope your caution is heeded.

So far, the ONLY correct answer regarding the responsible personalities was made by Alain. schwob was the benefactor who allowed his original Ideal Stock to be measured and examined for the creation of this NEW masterpiece.

Ron Wood is also correct in his supposition that there are some distinct differences that will always allow future owners of this one-of-a-kind Luger accessory to know that they possess a copy and not an original...

Tom Armstrong's comments are right on target and these sentiments were considered during the construction of this stock. The 'body' of the holster was constructed from a leather coat that was purchased at a second hand store to give the leather it that aged look... It is much softer than the type of leather from which the original's were created, but still looks good.

Tom H. - Yes, the stock is fully functional-the 'trombone' is exactly like the original. The finish photographs well, but could easily be distinguished from an original.

All the rest of you are not even close with your guesses about who this craftsman is... this is turning into quite a mystery. I would have thought at least one of you might have guessed by now. There will be a new hint later today about his identity...

Feel free to ask other questions about the construction... I am sure the owner will provide me with the answers to any question you might ask via email, since he is watching the guessing game from lurk mode.

Just to set the record straight here... It wasn't ME... <img src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="[hiha]" />