The production cost was the only reason for the new design of the pistol. When the Waffenfabrik Bern (W+F) started to produce their Model 1900/06 the price per pistol was up the 400 Swiss Francs. During the years they brought down the price to 225 Swiss Francs, which was still very expensive.
Therefore studies have been conducted at the end of the 1920s, how the Model 1900/06 could be produced cheaper. Four main points have been proposed by the W+F:
1. omit the grip safety
2. delivery of 2 instead of 3 magazines per pistol
3. omit the lanyard ring
4. plastic grips instead of wood grips.
It was decided to implement all these points with the exception of point 1. Together with the other well-known external simplifications the W+F could bring down the price to 160 Swiss Francs per pistol.
The responsible engineer for the redesign of the pistol was Adolf Furrer, the acting Director of the W+F.
Alexander
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