LugerForum Discussion Forums - View Single Post - For Luger Ken Death's Head Luger Pic (EOM)

Ron Wood · 03-23-2002, 09:26 PM

Tom

You may very well be right. But, I don't think it is either very rare or phony. Both Kenyon and Still state that DWM produced Lugers in late 1913 with a stock lug. Still goes on to say that some 1914 DWMs are also found without a stock lug. Having said that, I am not at all certain that my Luger began life with a stock lug. It has been "rode hard and put up wet". It had profuse pitting that was probably wire brushed, then both the barrel/receiver and frame were dip blued. As I said in the previous posting, I had heard at one time that a clutch of these "re-worked" Lugers had come in from Austria in the late 1960's. This one just happened to have a Death Head on it. The barrel and frame serial numbers match but it is a very low number, 1612 without a letter suffix, so unless it was the start of the 1914 production, that number doesn't seem likely. The font and size of the frame number looks like it goes with the barrel, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't re-numbered. Now, about that "phony" lable. Phony to me means a deliberate attempt to fake or decieve. Even in 1970, a reasonably sound Luger with two boxes of ammo, a fairly decent Luger holster (I don't even remember what kind it was!) and an WWI Iron Cross and an Ehrenkreuz on a ribbon bar for $100 doesn't sound like I was being ripped off with a fake. Even if it is a "phony" 1913 DWM with a stock lug, that stigma does not extend to the Death Head marking. I have had the gun looked at by a number of folks, including Klaus Shad who contributed to Jan Still's write-up on the Death Head Luger, and all agreed that it was an authentic Death Head. Bottom line, if you consider it a "phony", it is MY PHONEY and I'm keeping it, 'cause I like it and I think it is real.

03-23-2002, 09:26 PM	#7
Ron Wood Moderator 2010 LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Santa Teresa New Mexico just outside of the West Texas town of El Paso Posts: 7,051 Thanks: 1,119 Thanked 5,287 Times in 1,728 Posts	Phony??!! Tom You may very well be right. But, I don't think it is either very rare or phony. Both Kenyon and Still state that DWM produced Lugers in late 1913 with a stock lug. Still goes on to say that some 1914 DWMs are also found without a stock lug. Having said that, I am not at all certain that my Luger began life with a stock lug. It has been "rode hard and put up wet". It had profuse pitting that was probably wire brushed, then both the barrel/receiver and frame were dip blued. As I said in the previous posting, I had heard at one time that a clutch of these "re-worked" Lugers had come in from Austria in the late 1960's. This one just happened to have a Death Head on it. The barrel and frame serial numbers match but it is a very low number, 1612 without a letter suffix, so unless it was the start of the 1914 production, that number doesn't seem likely. The font and size of the frame number looks like it goes with the barrel, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't re-numbered. Now, about that "phony" lable. Phony to me means a deliberate attempt to fake or decieve. Even in 1970, a reasonably sound Luger with two boxes of ammo, a fairly decent Luger holster (I don't even remember what kind it was!) and an WWI Iron Cross and an Ehrenkreuz on a ribbon bar for $100 doesn't sound like I was being ripped off with a fake. Even if it is a "phony" 1913 DWM with a stock lug, that stigma does not extend to the Death Head marking. I have had the gun looked at by a number of folks, including Klaus Shad who contributed to Jan Still's write-up on the Death Head Luger, and all agreed that it was an authentic Death Head. Bottom line, if you consider it a "phony", it is MY PHONEY and I'm keeping it, 'cause I like it and I think it is real.