Quote:
Originally Posted by Zorba
I have never handled a dished toggle Luger - BUT - it seems to me that they're dished backwards to what would provide an optimum grip. (???)
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From "Instructions for the Long Pistol 08 with Insertable Drum Magazine" Berlin 1917. English Translation by John Baum.
(Me: Yes, some of the sentence structure is a little odd because of using as much direct translation as possible.)
Page 5.
Loading the Pistol
"Hold of the Grip with the left hand,
Muzzle pointed down!
"Pull back the Breech to its full limit position. Index and middle fingers of the right hand hereby grasp the fork shaped knee link; the thumb is supported against the strike base {
above the lanyard loop}".
More instructions followed.
Page 23 Table V shows a picture of this with a drum magazine inserted.
So instead of pinching the knurled part of the toggle between the thumb and index finger (like I did before reading this manual) I now hook my index and middle fingers over and on the sides of the toggle.
This really makes more sense. In battlefield conditions where the hands are wet (water or blood), muddy, etc. and you have lost your fine motor skills because of the adrenalin, using this method would be less likely to slip.
Using this method, the "dish" would be correct. Note the knurling on the front of the dish to help your fingers grip. The later designed knuckles also have knurling on the forward face. I'll admit I cannot explain the reason for knurling on the outside faces of the knuckle, but would assume that just gives the pinching option in case it is ever needed for some reason - broken or missing index or middle finger for instance. Doesn't hurt anything and in the fog of war, I suspect the more options the better.