Hi mrerick, thank you for your post, it is very informative. However, I would like to know a little bit more about the pistol before I begin to restore it. Hopefuly, it seems to me, all the info I would need is within this forum.
Once more, I must say it's a shame it was stored inproperly, because, I remember, other then for its usage in the WW2, the pistol was conserved properly for a long time - since 1945. Unfortunately as the Independance war started here in Croatia (1990) the pistol was taken out from the closet, all greased up and shiny, i remember quite vividly. It was ment to be used for our family protection if need be. Thank God, we didn't have to use it.
However, unconserved, stored in humid basement it rusted.
You can imagine, this gun is so much more then a collectors item to me, so I will try my best not to ruin it restoring it.
As for the condition of the gun, other than outher surface rust, I must say again it is, fortunately, in good condition.
The mechanism is flawless, the barell too. I will disassemble it once more and check for matching part numbers. I know for sure that it was not serviced after the war, and since it was then (in 1945) a new gun, I doubt any part was changed while with its original owner or later during the WW2.
Regarding the grip plates, they are not in very good shape it seems to me, especially the left one - it looks partialy melted. Also I'm not sure it is made of bakelite, because it is softer then i would expected form bakelite, also, if I remember correctly, bakelite does not melt. What do you think?
Do you have some tips how to clean checkered (grip) surface of the rear toggle link (and similar)? I've tried thoothbrush dipped in oil with results you can see in the picture - it is still brown - the whole gun was like that when I've found it. (And smelly too :>))
The magazine itself is not of the same serial number like the pistol, and it's lower part is made of alluminium, not plastic, so I think my grandfather or even the original owner exchanged the magazine. (I've seen some pictures of the "black widow" with black plastic magazine.) What do you think?
Ad finally, do you think there might be some records of the gun's history surviving the ww2 aftermath, regarding the person the gun was issued to? It would be interested to know whose it was originally.
Thank you!
Also I have a holster and some bullets, some even from the WW2.
I will take pictures of disassembly and other parts and post it here if it is OK with you.
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