Loading tool question
 

I have WW1 1918 Erfurt P08 that I would like to match up with the correct loading tool. I have had the gun for awhile and obtained a loading tool for it. It is marked with a crown over the letter D. Today, I saw the person I purchased the gun from and he sold me the tool that he said came with the gun and holster (the holster was sold to someone else). I expected the two tools to be the same but there not. The one I just bought has a crown and what looks to be a U with two horizontal lines on each side of the vertical part of the letter and a 45 degree line from the lower left part of the letter. Anyone know which is correct? Any help would be greatly appreciated. :confused:
Bernie

Hi Bernie,

Can you post a photo or take a scan with a flat-bed scanner...?

Regards,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />

These are the two pictures of the loading tools. This is the first time I am posting pictures here so I hope this works.
Bernie

<a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/picture_0254.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/picture_0254.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a>

<a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/picture_0255.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/picture_0255.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a>

The photos are not close enough for me to read the old style lettering, but their were over 10 different inspectors markings used on these Imperial(Erfurt) tools and any of them may have been issued with a holster by the various Army clothing depots with a holster, and ended up with any luger then in use. Only collectors are interested in matching up the tool markings with those on the pistol, whether it be Imperial or WaAed. Th

Here they are bigger;

http://home.comcast.net/~weimar_poli...ure_0254ed.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~weimar_poli...ure_0255ed.jpg

Thank you Mr. Tinker for making the pictures larger. Is there any way to know which inspector used these markings? Does it make any difference which tool went with which Erfurt? Like I said, I am trying to match the correct one, if there is such a tool, with my 1918 Erfurt.
Bernie

Well, as Tom said, I think that there is a very good chance that either is accuarate. American and other collectors are the ones that try to match them perfectly.

Ed

Hi Bernie,

To add to Tom's and Ed's replies; it may be difficult to know exactly which Erfurt inspector was assigned to a fraktur letter stamp and for how long. Not sure if such Erfurt factory records survived over the years.

Here is a link to some Fraktur characters, for your info :

http://www.writingsystems.net/langua...manfraktur.htm

Based on your photos, the thickness of the metal of your two tools, and the aging apparent on both of your tools...I, too, think yours are authentic...IMHO.

Regards,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />

Bernie, Your upper photo tool is accepted with a fraktur "V" and the lower with a "D". It is thought that these letters were the first initial of the inspector's last name, similar to the Swiss system of a cross over the military inspector's initial. In cases were the was more than one inspector working with the same last initial, the newer man will have a "rocker" (a curved line under the initial) added. Since this is just a theory, I haven't researched if this acceptance mark moved with the inspector to inspecting other products (pistols, rifles, tools, etc.) as did the WaA numbered during the WW2 period. Since there were a lot fewer WaAs used in WW2 than Imperial inspector's marks, I believe that in WW2 the WaA was that of the office of the head inspector and only used for final inspection of critical parts and that his subinspectors used other symbols (numbers as found inside grips, letters such as intertwined RW on late Mauser PO8s & HSCs, or other obsolete dies around the plant eg: Portugese triangle in a circle on the rear frame of many post WW1 M1910 Mauser pistols and the Brazilian B in a circle on some German military Mauser 98 rifles. TH

I would like to thank all of you that posted a responce to my question, it is a great help to me. I am new to collecting P08s and find this board very good and helpful, I hope I will be able to help someone else soon. Thanks
Bernie