[Edward Tinker]

Continued from above for Tom Armstrong:

Take the bamboo skewer and dig into the marking and try to dislodge any foreign matter that is present. Examine it as described previously. Then take your light and loupe and look â??intoâ? not â??atâ? the markings. The inside of the marking should be almost â??in the whiteâ? with oxidation turning the surface mottled gray at the bottom of the strike. If this area is blued or shiny, the gun has been reblued or the marking has been engraved. Be sure to smell the metal at the unit mark; any trace of copper sulfate odor-the smell is very similar to that produced by hair permanent wave chemicals-is a red flag that cold blue has been applied to darken new or â??refreshedâ? property markings. Examine all other external markings carefully. Factory applied proofs and part serial numbers were put on before the piece was blued, so they should be under the finish; likewise, these markings were machine applied, so there should be an exact sameness for the font of each number and alignment of dates. Carefully examine each separate digit and compare digit-by-digit all of the numbers on the gun. Crown Ms should be crisp and aligned precisely. Any sign of shine in these markings is almost certain evidence that they have been added as engraving as in out right fake or â??freshenedâ?. In either case, this is a problem.

Disassemble the piece, and carefully examine its interior. You are looking again for consistency with the rest of the piece. The interior surfaces of the trigger well, frame rails and magazine well should be â??in the whiteâ? and there should be traces of dried oil and grease in nooks and crannies. Using another bamboo skewer, repeat the process for extracting and examining some of this old crud. Dismount the toggle train and disassemble the bolt. Examine the components carefully under magnification for uniformity of metal finish; wear patterns and any unusual appearance. Look at the bolt face. It should show some minor pinpoint, almost microscopic, pitting around the firing pin aperture and the bamboo skewer should reveal crud under the extractor lip. All of the pins in the toggle train should show evidence of nitre bluing and are unnumbered. The underside of the toggle should have the same number in the same font as the serials present elsewhere on the piece. The receiver lug should likewise be numbered. The left side of the toggle axel pin should have a flange that fits precisely into a groove around the toggle axel pin channel on the left side of the barrel extension ears. This flange is noticeably larger in circumference than a standard Luger toggle axel pin.

Take a small amount of the degreasing solvent on a cotton swab and degrease several areas, each about .5 inches by .25 inch on the exterior barrel and frame. When the solvent has evaporated and the metal surface is dry and completely free of oil, take another cotton swab and slightly moisten it with the semi chrome metal polish. Run the swab across the degreased areas with just enough pressure to ensure good contact. Move the swab in a single direction for no more than a half-inch. Examine the tip of the swab. It should show a slightly pinkish to brownish cast. This discoloration is the result of microscopic rust particles that have formed over time and are virtually invisible individually. If you cannot find this on the guns exterior, it is almost a certainty that the piece has been refinished. Caution: a few very clever people have found a way to â??artificiallyâ? age finishes via chemical application. This can be spotted, but is difficult and requires a very close examination. The give away in these cases is that the artificially â??agedâ? finish is not consistent with the rest of the shiny new appearing pistol. Additionally, careful examination of such artificially oxidized finishes will generally reveal a number of other inconsistencies, which will not be detailed here lest the information be misused. Suffice it to say, if you have rigorously followed the process to this point, an artificially aged finish is not going to convince you that a gun is righteous; you will have picked up too many other red flags by now.

Examine the inside of the barrel. You are looking for 6 lands and 6 groves that make a one half turn in the length of the barrel. Start at either the six oâ??clock or twelve oâ??clock position and follow the grove to the muzzle. The six will end at twelve at the muzzle and vice-versa for the twelve. Examine the extractor recess cut. It should evidence wear from metal-to-metal contact when the bolt was cycled during the pistolâ??s service life. Also use a skewer to scrape residue from the corners. If this area is pristine, be suspicious of chemical cleaning.

Reassemble the pistol being careful to re-apply oil to any areas you have degreased and take a break. You have been focusing on many different and difficult to see pieces for a while. About this time, I normally fix myself an adult beverage and go to my library to consult reference books to validate and verify any assumptions I made and clarify any gray areas where I simply did not remember a point. I then review my notes carefully, as I have found that a note made early in the examination process may be clarified or mitigated by something found and noted later. I consider the â??storyâ? this piece is trying to tell from the sum of its parts and try to identify a reasonable hypothesis for any anomaly encountered. My purpose is not to rationalize purchasing the piece; rather I am trying to ensure that should I reject the piece, I am doing so based on a well-founded reason consistent with the total picture, rather than a single irregularity.

When I am convinced I know the piece and can render an expert opinion on it, I call my evil twin Navy collector and discuss the piece in detail. He challenges my assumptions, makes me justify my conclusions and quickly points out any logic flaws which may have crept in to my thinking. We agree 100% so far on each piece acquired, but should we ever disagree, first will be digital photos via the internet followed by overnighting the piece to him for hands on evaluation. I strongly recommend this â??second opinionâ? approach for obvious reasons.

In closing, I would like say that this was largely written from memory as I am miles away from home station and my notes/references, so feel free to correct anything that is FUBAR. I would also solicit from readers any additional items to be added to this process as well as any substantive critique of the approach. Be candid and straight forward. Please state clearly what part is to be examined, what the observer should be looking for and expecting to find, why the expected results are what they are and any noted signs and symptoms of fakery, boosting and enhancement.

TaTa for now