1940 TT-33 With a Nice Patina

[Wilhelm]

Today, I filled a hole in my collection by bringing home a 1940 TT-33! I like WWII firearms with patina, not new looking. I figure that if it went through the war, it should show that it went through the war. That way, you know it actually helped make History instead of just passing through it. Well, this one shows that it likely did its part for both Motherland and Fatherland! For me, it has to be matching too so that I know everything was in the same place doing the same thing at the same time. I do make exceptions for magazines...which is good because the magazine is the only thing not matching on this one. Most of what's left of the finish on this pistol has turned a nice blotchy brown with some hints of blue and some bare steel mixed in too. For me, it's the perfect TT-33, embodying the harsh nature of life on the front lines. It probably served on the Eastern Front with both the Soviets and Germans then moved across Europe in German hands to se action on the Western Front before finally being captured by an American. Of course, that's a guess but it's a logical one. Anywho, here are a few pictures.

Left side showing the hardening line in the slide just above the front of the slide release:




Right side showing the hardening line passing throught the ejection port:




The back strap is almost bare steel:




The front strap is pretty much bare too:




When this pistol was new in 1940, it most likely had a deep fire blue look to it. That's long gone but traces still remain as seen on the barrel bushing:




Rear of slide looking well worn:




Serial number, Tula star and date on frame:



Someone was working on the firing pin retaining pin at some point. It was obviously done long ago.


Same information on the top of the slide:




The left bakelite grip has the "CCCP" logo properly aligned:




But the right one has its logo upside down :



Ivan was a little lax with the molds sometimes I guess. The grips only fit one way and cannot be turned over so it's most definitely a manufacturing error.


A Soviet automatic pistol collection is easy because you only need two:





The Makarov is import marked as being Bulgarian but it's actually Izhevsk made. It's what's known as a "Russian sneak" because it came in with a bunch of true Bulgarian pistols from Bulgaria. PW arms marked them all as Bulgarian regardless of actual origin.


So, that's my worn in and beat up TT-33. To a true collector, it's junk because it's so worn. To me, it's Schweet!!

[alanint]

Nice pistol. One wonders who messed with the firing pin retainer so inexpertly.

[Wilhelm]

I matches the general wear so it was done a long time ago. That's ok.