[ithacaartist]

Welcome, John,

Field stripping for cleaning is a basic skill you should have, although not shooting a collectible Luger in such great condition is something ordinarily to be considered in order to avoid risk of damaging the pistol, and thus its collectible value.

YouTube videos will demonstrate how easy the process really is, so I agree that watching a few will sufficiently inform you how to do it safely and effectively. For a Luger tha--such as yours--has a hold-open, I use a different technique to relieve the pressure on the takedown lever, allowing it to turn. Insert an empty mag and lock the action back. Then remove the mag, turn the lever, and draw the toggle knobs back and release in a controlled way to unlock the action to continue the disassembly. I've always found the concept of shoving the muzzle against something a little sketchy. Earlier Lugers' muzzles are "in the white," but ones made and salt blued after 1936 have blued muzzles, and shoving them against anything risks finish loss, although admittedly not a lot.

The left grip is another tricky area due to the potential for chipping off the portion on its upper right, behind the thumb safety lever. After raising the grip scale just enough to do so, gently rotate it around the lever's shaft until it clears. Others suspect that incautious removal of the grip causes the "million dollar chip," but I think that shooting a Luger with loose grips is just as likely a cause, if not more so. I think there's room for confusion as to the source of the damage, and that in may cases, the chip/loose piece is discovered when removing the grip, after it's been cracked off while shooting.

A grip that has shrunk with age can allow some of the force of the recoil impulse to find its way to the vulnerable area of the grip, and the safety lever's shaft will be driven back against the tiny bit of wood that sticks up behind it while shooting if the shrinkage is enough to allow it. Therefore, make sure at the very least that the left grip is rock solid, and that there is a tiny bit of clearance between the safety lever's shaft and the wood behind it.