Re: What is Staw?
Erik,
The "Straw" on a Luger is refering to the yellowish, or goldish color on the small parts of a Luger as the takedown lever, mag release, safety lever, ejector, etc. This "straw" color comes from the heat treatment of that particular part and is very fragile to wear. Sunlight and rubbing will wear it off quickly. This was used on all Lugers up to mid/late 1937, and all commercial Lugers.
The percent of "straw" is the same as the percent of blue, an indicator of how much of the yellowish color is still left on the part. When the color is gone, the section of the part is plain steel color.
Can the "straw" be restored, YES it can! It can be done at home, but is difficult to get the proper color and texture of the metal. The best way to restore the "straw" is from the Forums own Ted Green, or best known as "Thor". Thor does a remarkeable job of restoration on the straw color which looks original to the pistol. He can also do a complete restoration of a Luger, P.38, PP/PPK and other German pistols. When his work is completed, it looks like it just came from the factory. Thor only does a restoration on a shooter grade Luger as he will not destroy the value of a collectible pistol. Get in touch with him and he can provide more information.
marvin
|