Man, what a terrific discussion!!. I have been trying to find a reference to something else that I read about the Borchardt. But I can't find it so I will have to improvise.
I read someplace that the Borchardt was tested by some government. Because of the differences in loads of different ammunition manufacturers of that period, there had to be factory representatives at the testings to adjust the main spring to accomodate the pistol to the ammo. This discouraged many buyers and made the pistol a curio even in its own time.
Tom A, I respectfully agree with you that an expert grey beard should help a newbie on the purchase of Lugers. But these experts are not often available. I have some local Luger collectors who I use to help me eliminate emotion. But, in no way would they know about a Borchardt, Kreighoff, 1902 carbine, 1906 Russian and other comparatively rare Lugers. I have also seen Shattuck, Simpson, Doug Smith and others make mistakes. I try to be not too hard on them because there is an awful lot to know and to judge authenticity.
When I stand in a gun show, the quality of both you and Ron Wood just isn't available. I once emailed you about a 1904 navy that was available and you offered some invaluable advise and I am truly thankful to you regarding the wise advise you gave me. I recently emailed Ron about some M2 Portuguese Lugers that I recently purchased. Fortunately, he had some pictures to help him advise me. He settled some questions that I had and I am very thankful to him for it. But sometimes even someone who has some knowledge stands alone when a decision needs to be made. Sometimes the only thing a guy has are the books to go by. Even though they too are sometimes in error.
Big Norm
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