JohnD,
thank you for your comments. I sincerely apreciate them. Krieghoffs are a different breed of Luger and should be taken from a different viewpoint. They are also very expensive and so expert opinion should be sought. I have buddies who collect Lugers in Michigan but they have limitations when it comes to HK's. I value your opinion, but you are not physically available to me. Doug Smith is also a long way from me but I will be going to the OGCA meeting in a few weeks and I will be able to have him physically see the weapon. He is a collector s well as a dealer who has seen many Lugers pass through his hands, so his opinion will be worth while. (Take it from me, he is not afraid to be blunt with his opinion).
Your comment about my having what I call a lazy crown over "N" (horizontal) refers to another 'P' code that I have with a side inscription (serial #P792). I talked to you over the forum about that gun on a much earlier post. I also made a stupid comment on the GB HK post saying that that gun differred from my side inscripted HK in that respects. A little more studying of the books told me that I should have kept my mouth shut. My new HK has an upright Eagle over 'N' in the same locations as the HK that was sold by GunBroker. Very nice and crisp stamping with plumbs around the edges.
My side inscripted HK has a lightly stamped three pointed star on the right side near the front of the frame. It looks like it should be a five pointed star but was poorly located when lightly stamped. My new HK has a nicely stamped and crisp five pointed start in the same area. No plumb around the edges though.
The locking bolt on my new HK does not look like it was hand ground. its so poorly done that it looks almost like a grinding wheel did it. That sort of sprung my 'alert' antenna upwards. But the strawing is good on that part. As I have said many times, I focus first on the locking bolt on a Luger to tell if the gun has been restrawed. The size and the irregular shape of this part makes it difficult for an amateur to maintain the flatness of the surface. This is gradually becoming the only thing that bothers me about this gun. The GB HK looked like the surface of the locking bolt was slightly rounded.
The first three serial numbers (P1259) on the ront of the frame of my new HK are aligned with the 'P' higher than the numbers. The last number (9) is not punched as deeply and is slighly smaller and, therefore, it cannot be perfectly aligned. All numbers appear to be of the German style. The serial numbers on the side have been whittened but the '9' looks slightly misaligned and appears to be stamped at a different time. Hard to tell because of the whittening.
The more I talk, the more I feel that this gun is, otherwise, all original. If it is, then this is one of the few truely minty Lugers that I have seen. But I have seen some exceptionally, excellent restored Lugers. So I will be listening up when Doug comments about the bluing, which cannot be shown very well in a picture. Doug had a 'mint' fat barrel that he bought at Rock Island and that is the only true, verified 'mint' Luger that I have ever seen. It is tough to say that a Luger is 'mint' (especially an HK). But there is just no wear on my new HK! And it scares me.
Next, we will have to talk about a proper magazine. But I'll save that for when I get a camera. Gee, I hate to bring up the camera issue again. I just know what Ed's going to say
Big Norm
