[John Sabato]

Gentlemen, (and Ladies if there are any following this discussion),

Allow me to comment on this and the previous discussion. It has been my experience that where no facts can be proven beyond a doubt, that often speculation and theories by the learned men and women that are part of this forum become the catalyst that prompts research that frequently (but not always) results in provenance... Which is our united goal, to discover what we don't know about Lugers.

That is the healthy part of our intellectual discussions on the history of our favorite pistol and it's variants... and it is the reason I am part of this group.

My job (as admin), and the job of our moderators is to monitor those discussions and watch for signs that emotions are getting the best of the participants and then try and prevent chaos or disorder... Believe me, this is NOT an exact science... Printed (or in this case displayed) words often do not convey the real tone of the message that they represent and it is easy to misinterpret the "tone" of the message and feel like feathers are getting ruffled over a disagreement of opinion.

As all of the admin and moderator staff here are volunteers and are not compensated for their services (other than the knowledge that they obtain by reading the wisdom and learned experiences of others), I find that it probably pays more dividends in forum tranquility and productivity to err on the side of good sense, than to stand back and let a discussion get out of hand, to a point where egos and emotions begin to rule...

I value the friendship of each and every one of you. We are all brothers in the fraternity of Lugers, and only seek the truth for the betterment of all. Sometimes, we will never know the truth... when that is true, then the best guesses can often be conflicting in their views.

All that said, I want to thank Ed Tinker for putting a lid on an active discussion that even now after reading back through it, appears to have been moving toward being adverserial rather than productive.

I request that all particpants take a long breath... take a break and read back through the discussion tomorrow... I have the greatest respect for the collective wisdom of both Albert and Randy who have spent years in this area of collecting... We have some facts and some speculation that can arrive at more than one conclusion and we need not convince one another of the validity of our choice... although doing so is mighty satisfying to one's ego.

I submit that we can continue this discussion in our usual tactful and mannerful ways so that no feathers get ruffled and no relevant facts get ignored. Our opinions may never change, but at least we have a choice...

God bless you all... have a great weekend, and see you back here next week.