41 BYF fantastic find
 

Happy to share this BYF41, I’m now it’s caretaker. As a watchmaker ( always fit the parts to the watch, never the watch to the parts ) I’m always amazed at the condition of some wartime firearms . Was it a commanding officer’s desk drawer find ? The barrels end still has its original bluing which I think usually was rubbed off when holster carried? Hoping for thoughts and comments from those that have way more experience and knowledge than me.

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It is a beautiful looking rig. My only concern would be and I may be completely wrong here, but I was under the impression that the muzzle end (crown) of the barrel was always in the white.

That is only the case in rust blued guns. These were processed in hot tanks, so everything was blued.

Congratulations on your Mauser made Luger.

A number of pistols came back from the war theater in very high condition. They are reasonably rare, and so command justified prices.

Don't assume any association with officers, who rarely selected these large and relatively heavy pistols for their sidearms. They typically chose private purchase pistols like the Walther PP/PPK, Mauser M1914 / HsC and similar pocket pistols which were lighter and adequate for their needs.

These military contract pistols typically went to soldiers that needed them. Some were captured quickly, some even before issue. Some never made it out of the factory in Oberndorf.

The rule I heard from a well known collector years ago was, "the higher the rank of the German, the smaller the pistol he carried".

Nice pick up. I have one exactly like it.

Mauser88 fantastic , any pictures? These in this condition are rare and unfortunately their storied histories are lost of how and why the vet got it..,

As mentioned above, officers were not normally issued Lugers. There were tools for the enlisted and NCOs. All paratroopers were issued Lugers for a tactical reason, but they were Krieghoff made.

Nice looking '41 Mauser full rig

Indeed a nice piece, curious what kind of watches do you make/repair ?

Thanks for asking , I’m a journeyman watchmaker, specializing in turn of the century size 16 and 18 pocket watches. Railroad 16 size , 5 and 6 position adjusted. Also high end , Rolex, Piaget, Patel Philippe etc, . Normal grades became easier after that training

Some of my pocket watches
 

1895 18 size Hamilton second year of mfg. and two Railroad watches, 23 jewel motor barrel and the beautifully crafted Howard RR . Appreciate the handwork of the Lugers and earlier P.38’s