John, Vlim, (and Howard), thanks.
I set out to get a different color, but the one I accidentally got is O.K. and pretty much correct...except that they blued theirs after tempering.
Maybe if I had a computer regulated heat treatment box, I could have nailed that strawing temp which must have slipped past me, to quickly to see it.
I was pretty pleased that the whole rather delicate exercise worked so well, fixing my tension problem without breaking the original part. Those things would be a bear to manufacture today, like the rest of the gun.
As I tinker with these Lugers, I ponder how truly amazing it is that the design was such a giant leap beyond the first generation semiautos, the C96 Broomhandle and Borchardt, and in such a short time span. Old Georg was a true genius, like his American contemporary, John Browning.
These guns are slick, strong, functional, handle great, and can digest the latest high power 9mm ammo...over 100 years after they were designed. That must be a record...as with the K98 action.
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