[Eugen]

While on a road trip I stopped at a gun shop and saw a rather minty 1941 byf Luger P.08 with brown non-wooden grips. The shop owner claimed the grips were brown bakelite, but admitted he was no Luger expert. (Sorry I failed to think about taking photo of the gun before I got back on the road.) I say non-wood as they were not wood, and did not have the shiny appearance of real or good repo bakelite. The grips were in great shape but had a matte or rather flat dull brown color. I never saw anything like them.

Did Mauser put brown bakelite grips on 1941 Lugers? If they were real, wouldn't they have the same shine/appearance as the black versions, but be brown in color?

I questioned the originality of the grips, but he maintained his assertion that they were original to the gun. He was not familiar with the hot pin test. However, i was more curious about the grips originality than interested in buying it. So no pin test. I have never laid eyes on Luger brown bakelite. He was asking $1,500 for it (mag did not match but seemed period correct).

Thanks for whatever help you can offer to help quench my curiosity. It's really been bugging me all day.