It seems like this issue has come up before. I was real mad when I made my post then and I still am. I got many Emails on the subject both pro and con. The last time I brought up this subject there was tremendous hostility among forum members and I got my share of it via Emails. I feel vindicated but definately not happy. I am not gloating. I am sad.
Has anyone noticed the counterfeit proof marks on repro artillery stocks on the internet? There is a stock attaching iron for sale on Ebay that, I THINK, was previously posted with the repro wood part attached that had a counterfeit proof mark. I THINK that I remember the serial number in the iron, but I am not sure. But this is not the first time that I have noticed it.
Hasn't anybody noticed repro artillery holsters where the salespeople said they would put any date you wanted on it? I haven't seen a artillery repro rear sight yet, but I am sure that they are out there. The same goes for the adjustible front sight for an artillery.
People got mad at me when I mentioned that I had heard rumors about a guy in Cincinatti and another in Florida who had all the dies to create counterfeit Kreighoffs. They also got mad at me when I mentioned the big name dealers who would rub a refinished Luger with a leather belt to give that "holster wear" look. Are we going to quit buying Weimar Era Lugers? These Lugers are notorious for cannibalizing parts from other Lugers.
Are we mad at Mike Krause of Krausewerke 1906 .45 cal fame who wanted to reproduce the exact replicas of that Luger until he found out that he would be involved in trademark infringement by putting DWM on the toggle?
Are we going to punish the quality artists who do excellent work only restoring a Luger to its original finish with no alterations? I am not jumping on Ted Green (Thor) for his refinishing work. From pictures that I have seen, he does good work. I have only phyically seen one Luger that he has done but I did not see the "before" on that particular gun so it would wrong for me to make a broad generalization. I have had four lugers out of the some 40 that I own, restored by another restorer. None of these guns where otherwise altered. All of these guns were 50% or less blue with zero straw. When I put these guns on the table, people ask me if they have been restored. I reply,'If you have to ask then ...'.
OK, I have laid my sins on the table. I consider myself a collector and I think that I have a good collection of quality original as well as refinished Lugers. But where do we draw the line on cottage industry Lugers? Surely, those of us that have big investments in Lugers would hate to see the market value of our prizes destroyed by counterfeits. But this is a fine forum with its 1400 or so members, many whom we all respect as experts in our hobby. We are going to have to draw up some sort of scale, bylaws or something which constitutes the difference between a valuable collector luger, an inexpensive shooter and junk. If we can not tell the difference between a counterfeit navy rear sight and an original. If we can not tell the difference between a quality restoration, a lovingly cared for for years treasure and a piece of junk produced by a poverty stricken counterfeit tool and die person who doesn't want to get honest work, then our hobby is doomed.
Big Norm <img border="0" alt="[soapbox]" title="" src="graemlins/soapbox.gif" />