"BLACK WIDOW" LUGER
 

i need help, i have a luger given to me by my father in law. the markings are 41 near the barrel, byf on the slide, serial number appears to be 35 ( i have seen other lugers with a 4 digit seria number where the 35 is), all other markings are inspectors stamps. all parts are stamped 35 also, including the magazine. he took it as a war prize, he thinks in italy.i will post pictures as soon as i figure out how. any info will be appreciated.

NAVSNIPER,

Welcome to the Lugerforum!

Congratulations on receiving such a wonderful gift from your father-in-law...

You have correctly identified your Luger as the type known as the "black widow" which is not really anything but a marketing ploy by a large Luger dealer... It is so named because it is completely blued, including the small parts which prior to 1937 had been "strawed"...

The gun was made by Mauser (whose code in 1941 was byf)... It is an excellent Luger being the last original production with the finest of materials and production methods. It is not a rare piece, but to collectors condition is everything... Do you have any accessories that came with the gun? Holsters, Magazines, tools, etc. ? These would increase the value to a collector, but if I were you I would never sell it since it has family history...

A tutorial for posting photos is the top entry in the Site Help & Feedback forum...

May I ask what outfit your father-in-law served with while fighting in Italy? My Dad served there with the 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a "Black Widow" also supposed to have black grips?

That is correct. Black bakelite grips with a border...

This photo compares an original left grip with a modern reproduction copy...

http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfuploa...arebwgrips.jpg

John,
Thanks for using my pic of the BW grips. It is nice to know that something I contributed back on the old Luger Forum is still around and can be helpful to the newcomers.

SteveM

Steve,

I don't throw ANYTHING away :D ... especially photos that can be used to educate the new folks... thanks again for your contribution.

My photo library is getting rather large... it won't fit on less than 5 CD's... I think I will have to get me one of those DVD writers 4.7 GB...

Now if I only had the time to organize them 18,000 plus files! <img border="0" alt="[ouch]" title="" src="graemlins/c.gif" />