Hi Rich! About 20 years ago, I was wondering the very same thing....Soooo, I took samples of about a dozen different stocks, and sent them to the department of Agriculture to be analyzed, a service which was free at that time.. As they ranged in color from blond to brown to blood red... I expected the results to be very diverse and fascinating....but, the reality of it was they all came back as European walnut...
... I personally think, after pursuing this very same wood for 30 plus years, that the wood used for Lugers was picked and bought just like free lance walnut buyers do it now... People travel around selecting certain trees that are either being harvested, or to be harvested in the future, and buy them one off.... One guy, one region, same type of tree every time.... one big walnut tree will make a lot of parts... add to this, at that time, there were still trees in higher elevations, and cold climates that grew extremely dense with little figure. With that, you have the best stock available for years to come... Steamed red beech wood was a second choice, I think the only reason was appearance, as they both work the same... anything other then this would surprise me.... High, cold, dense, walnut!!!!! Best of the best... probably almost completely gone by 1918....
.....best to you, til...lat'r....GT
