A recent discussion has gelled some of my questions about witness marks. This can be found in the Navy Luger section, entitled "A Learning Experience..." I am starting a new thread here because I want to follow up a particular topic which is not limited to Navy Lugers, and because the previous discussion was already two pages deep.
Whatever the original purpose for witness marks, it may be that they are diagnostic of a Luger's condition and authenticity, and this is the avenue I wish to explore--how reliable are witness marks as a deteminer of authenticity, and what can they tell us about our Lugers? Are they useful as an indicator of originality of a barrel mated to its proper receiver?
In order to completely understand what they may tell us, we need to know something about the witness marks themselves. Does anyone actually know at what stage of manufacture witness marks were applied, and what purpose they serve? When a Luger was rebarrelled as part of an armory repair or an official reconditioning, was it a practice to strike new witness marks? I am looking for documented answers here, or first-hand knowledge or anecdotal evidence. Speculation or WAG are interesting but ultimately not satisfying.
Without actually trying to answer my own questions, I have seen witness marks which make me question their originality, but am not confident of drawing conclusions. The illustration presents a selection of witness marks. I am curious to know what conclusions about the Lugers they mark anyone might draw from them. Observe critically, and comment candidly.
I have presented only witness marks in these examples, in order to focus attention on them removed from the context of other markings. I have other questions about Luger re-barreling, and will identify some of these more fully as examples then.
Examples 04 and 07 are the witness marks which started this train of thought.
--Dwight
