BYF With Phosphate Finish

Sieger · 08-23-2003, 10:56 PM

Hello Everybody:

Almost 40 years ago, the husband of one of my Mon's best friends showed my Dad and I a BYF 42 Luger that had a green phosphate finish. He claimed that his brothers had given him both a Luger and a P-38 as souvenirs after the war (he was too young to serve).

Was this pistol originally finished in phosphate, or was it an after market job?

Sieger

Doubs · 08-24-2003, 12:09 AM

Sieger, toward the end of production some Mauser Lugers were given a phosphate (parkerized) finish and some of the byf 42 Lugers sold to Portugal were so finished. While the Portugese byf 42 Lugers are the only ones I've heard of being parkerized, it's also possible that some parkerized Lugers were issued to the German Army. Perhaps someone else has more positive information about that.

John Sabato · 08-25-2003, 10:55 AM

Sieger,

Bob Adams has such a phosphate finish Portuguese Luger for sale on his website... Since I didn't have time to request permission to use his photo here, I have provided the just the link to Bob's photo...

http://www.adamsguns.com/925.jpg

BTW, Bob's asking price for this gun is $1295...

Perhaps one of the Mauser Luger experts will venture an opinion on the question posed by Doubs about parkerized Lugers possibly being issued to the German Army...

Frank · 08-25-2003, 12:18 PM

John, I'm with Doubs. The only "parkerized" Lugers I know are some of the Portuguese (and maybe some Bulgarian) Contract Pistols.

FWIW, I bought an all matching Portuguese from Adams and it turned out the hold open lever was not matched. He did refund my bucks, but for the first business deal with him I was disappointed.

Dwight Gruber · 08-25-2003, 10:18 PM

Finnish Lugers come phosphate finished (Parkerization is a trademarked process) as well.

--Dwight

Doubs · 08-25-2003, 10:27 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Dwight Gruber:
Finnish Lugers come phosphate finished (Parkerization is a trademarked process) as well.
--Dwight<hr /></blockquote>While Finnish Lugers may be found with a phosphate finish, is there any evidence that they were originally made that way? The Portugese byf 42 Lugers with phosphate finish left the factory that way while Finnish Lugers were acquired at a time when rust blue was the standard. I'd be very surprised to learn that any Finnish Luger with a phosphate finish wasn't refinished. (Too many "finishes" in this one!)

Dwight Gruber · 08-25-2003, 11:50 PM

Finnish Lugers underwent frequent arsenal rework, much as did Dutch Lugers. I am under the impression that the phosphate finish on Finnish Lugers is a rework characteristic.

As far as a "standard" finish is concerned, a WAG might be that salt blue remained "standard", and the phosphate finish was specified by the Portuguese in the purchase contract.

--Dwight

Doubs · 08-26-2003, 01:01 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Dwight Gruber:
As far as a "standard" finish is concerned, a WAG might be that salt blue remained "standard", and the phosphate finish was specified by the Portuguese in the purchase contract. --Dwight<hr /></blockquote>No argument from me on the salt blue "standard" at the time when the Portugese byf 42 Lugers were made. Indeed, Portugese byf Lugers are found with both types of finish (salt blue and phosphate) but "standard" in 1923 when the Finnish contract was being filled by DWM was rust blue. Perhaps my first post wasn't clear to that effect but that's what I meant to say.

Frank H · 08-26-2003, 05:57 PM

Go to ALL P-08 Commerical Lugers: date 7-9-2003 Parkerized/1942/Portugal. Good answer from Lugerdoc-I purchased one of these with holster and tools for 1350 from a fellow who bought it from a dealer in Canada 25 years ago. You just don't see much information on these-I thought it was unique and for the price couldn't pass it up. It is rather an ugly duckling! But still a Luger!

John Sabato · 08-26-2003, 06:03 PM

How about some nice photos of your ugly duckling Dr. Frank?

We would all appreciate seeing it.

08-23-2003, 10:56 PM	#1
Sieger User Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: New York, NY Posts: 1,579 Thanks: 2,154 Thanked 402 Times in 251 Posts	BYF With Phosphate Finish Hello Everybody: Almost 40 years ago, the husband of one of my Mon's best friends showed my Dad and I a BYF 42 Luger that had a green phosphate finish. He claimed that his brothers had given him both a Luger and a P-38 as souvenirs after the war (he was too young to serve). Was this pistol originally finished in phosphate, or was it an after market job? Sieger

08-25-2003, 10:55 AM	#3
John Sabato Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Capital of the Free World Posts: 10,156 Thanks: 3,003 Thanked 2,309 Times in 1,098 Posts	Sieger, Bob Adams has such a phosphate finish Portuguese Luger for sale on his website... Since I didn't have time to request permission to use his photo here, I have provided the just the link to Bob's photo... http://www.adamsguns.com/925.jpg BTW, Bob's asking price for this gun is $1295... Perhaps one of the Mauser Luger experts will venture an opinion on the question posed by Doubs about parkerized Lugers possibly being issued to the German Army... __________________ regards, -John S "...We hold these truths to be self-evident that ALL men are created EQUAL *and are endowed by their Creator* with certain UNALIENABLE* rights, and among these are life, LIBERTY, and the pursuit of happiness..."*

08-25-2003, 10:27 PM	#6
Doubs User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Byron, Georgia Posts: 1,742 Thanks: 826 Thanked 1,788 Times in 590 Posts	</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by Dwight Gruber: <strong>Finnish Lugers come phosphate finished (Parkerization is a trademarked process) as well. --Dwight</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">While Finnish Lugers may be found with a phosphate finish, is there any evidence that they were originally made that way? The Portugese byf 42 Lugers with phosphate finish left the factory that way while Finnish Lugers were acquired at a time when rust blue was the standard. I'd be very surprised to learn that any Finnish Luger with a phosphate finish wasn't refinished. (Too many "finishes" in this one!)

08-26-2003, 01:01 AM	#8
Doubs User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Byron, Georgia Posts: 1,742 Thanks: 826 Thanked 1,788 Times in 590 Posts	</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by Dwight Gruber: <strong>As far as a "standard" finish is concerned, a WAG might be that salt blue remained "standard", and the phosphate finish was specified by the Portuguese in the purchase contract. --Dwight</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">No argument from me on the salt blue "standard" at the time when the Portugese byf 42 Lugers were made. Indeed, Portugese byf Lugers are found with both types of finish (salt blue and phosphate) but "standard" in 1923 when the Finnish contract was being filled by DWM was rust blue. Perhaps my first post wasn't clear to that effect but that's what I meant to say.

08-26-2003, 06:03 PM	#10
John Sabato Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Capital of the Free World Posts: 10,156 Thanks: 3,003 Thanked 2,309 Times in 1,098 Posts	How about some nice photos of your ugly duckling Dr. Frank? We would all appreciate seeing it. __________________ regards, -John S "...We hold these truths to be self-evident that ALL men are created EQUAL *and are endowed by their Creator* with certain UNALIENABLE* rights, and among these are life, LIBERTY, and the pursuit of happiness..."*

08-24-2003, 12:09 AM	#2
Doubs User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Byron, Georgia Posts: 1,742 Thanks: 826 Thanked 1,788 Times in 590 Posts	Sieger, toward the end of production some Mauser Lugers were given a phosphate (parkerized) finish and some of the byf 42 Lugers sold to Portugal were so finished. While the Portugese byf 42 Lugers are the only ones I've heard of being parkerized, it's also possible that some parkerized Lugers were issued to the German Army. Perhaps someone else has more positive information about that.

08-25-2003, 12:18 PM	#4
Frank RIP Patron LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Hot & Dry PHX, AZ Posts: 2,078 Thanks: 24 Thanked 164 Times in 87 Posts	John, I'm with Doubs. The only "parkerized" Lugers I know are some of the Portuguese (and maybe some Bulgarian) Contract Pistols. FWIW, I bought an all matching Portuguese from Adams and it turned out the hold open lever was not matched. He did refund my bucks, but for the first business deal with him I was disappointed.

08-25-2003, 10:18 PM	#5
Dwight Gruber User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,908 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1,330 Times in 435 Posts	Finnish Lugers come phosphate finished (Parkerization is a trademarked process) as well. --Dwight

08-25-2003, 11:50 PM	#7
Dwight Gruber User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,908 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1,330 Times in 435 Posts	Finnish Lugers underwent frequent arsenal rework, much as did Dutch Lugers. I am under the impression that the phosphate finish on Finnish Lugers is a rework characteristic. As far as a "standard" finish is concerned, a WAG might be that salt blue remained "standard", and the phosphate finish was specified by the Portuguese in the purchase contract. --Dwight

08-26-2003, 05:57 PM	#9
Frank H User Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: N. FL Posts: 90 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Go to ALL P-08 Commerical Lugers: date 7-9-2003 Parkerized/1942/Portugal. Good answer from Lugerdoc-I purchased one of these with holster and tools for 1350 from a fellow who bought it from a dealer in Canada 25 years ago. You just don't see much information on these-I thought it was unique and for the price couldn't pass it up. It is rather an ugly duckling! But still a Luger!

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