Old vs new
 

Why did DWM change from a pretty dish to a round one? A 1902 Fat Barrel vs 1906 French Contract~~

One might well ask "Why did Coca Cola switch from their iconic bottle (believe it or not, inspired by Mae West's figure), to the can". It's called progress.
Norm

Norm, I like the old coke and Norma Jean~ I'm a Romantic! I would bet that most like the old! I would welcome a survey of our luger crew! believe the old provides a better grip!

The push button on the toggle was no longer needed when the switch from flat spring to coil spring provided tension to keep toggle from bending out of position.

Way easier to machine, thus quicker and "cheaper"; also easier to use.
The scalloped toggle is pretty, but hurts your fingers if it is on a coil spring luger! JMHO.

Thank You! But Where did the pretty strawed toggle bar go?

What toggle bar? The vertical strawed piece is part of the toggle lock that was eliminated with the New Model with the flat toggle knobs...the lock was found to be unnecessary. The horizontal strawed piece is the ejector and remained in production as strawed until shortly after the salt blue finish was adopted by Mauser near the beginning of WWII.