Question

Now I know that this will not apply to many of you but here goes.


What is the most commonly neglected thing about a Luger?


Mike

[BILL]

Commonly neglected..well, if it gets any range time it is probably too little lubrication after it is cleaned. I only think this because it is such a close tolerance pistol. I feel like Curly when he said "I try really hard to think, but nothing happens".

[Hugh]

I would say putting it away still cocked. How many of you release the sear before putting your Luger away after a shooting session?

[Thor]

Every time, and easy does it! showing this to a prospective client today! He LOVED Doks Luger and Wombat Rust blued DWM inprogress! Ted

Good answers guys, and close too.


It's appears that many otherwise pristine Lugers have firing pins, firing pin springs and the firing pin bore in the breechblock clogged with dried lubricant/rust.


I noticed this while checking out some new pistols I received from 3 different sources. The pistols are all very nice to mint pistols except it appears that other than looking to see if the firing pin matched no further attention was given to this area of the pistol.

One 99% pistol in particular had a very fouled firing pin though the pistol appears to have been fired very little and has a mirror bright bore. In another ten years it wouldn't have suprised me if this pistol's firing pin had rusted in place. I'm not sure that it is rust as there was no damage to the parts and the brown stuff cleaned out completely, but it sure looks like rust. Maybe it's just old grease.

Three out of six pistols were like this.

Since these are collector grade pistols that are never shot you would never get an indication that things aren't copesetic with the firing pin unless you actually take the things out.

While I'm sure none of you neglect anything on your Lugers it appears that not everyone is so careful.


Mike

[Marvin]

I agee that the most commonly neglected item on Lugers is lubrication and leaving the pistol cocked. The first thing I check when looking at a Luger is to see if it is cocked (safety) and then I ask the seller if I can take it apart to check it out.


In the past couple of weeks I was looking for a nice 1941 Luger with wood grips and I went to Charlotte, NC to look at one that was supposed to be nice. When I got there and looked at the pistol it was a beauty! When I took it apart, the first thing I noticed was the link pin was matched, then looked at the holdopen, not matching, then the firing pin did not match. Bummer for such a nice pistol to be mis-matched. Last week I found another from a dealer friend of mine and it was all matching in 97%+ condition. When I got the rig, it was all matching and nicer than the other one; I was pleased with the purchase.


Now with that said, the inside of the pistol was heavly coated with a cosmoline like grease. It was terror to clean this out. One area in particular was the firing pin and the breechblock. I made sure that this was cleaned particularly well because I wante to make sure there were no problems when I fired the pistol. A heavy coat of grease in hidden areas will cause the pistol to malfuntion. I guess there are two areas in lublication, too little or too much. I did fire the pistol yesterday and it was nice without any "hiccups" at all with 2 magazines fired. I also like to shoot the K98k rifle and with the number of surplus rifles on the market, one of the most common questions on the mauser rifle Forums is that the rifle does not fire the cartrige on the first hit. This is normally a failure to clean the cosmoline out of the bolt, firing pin and spring. The cosmoline slows the force of the firing pin to point it will not strike with enough force to fire the round.


Before firing a pistol, make sure it is clean and lightly lubricated. Wipe off any excess lubicants, and when finished, clean it good and lubricate it for the next firing session and rust prevention.


Marvin

[BILL]

Excellent question and thread. I am sure that most collectors (and shooters) have some kind of regular maintenance schedule for just these issues. It is good to point out, though, since whenever we are buying/appraising a pistol (for ourselves or others) the seller may not have noticed these things. I am sure there are the 'heirloom' pistols that have been in the closet for the last 30 years that have not seen the light of day. When buying from an unknown source you have to ask to take it down on the spot or you may regret it tremendously. What would you do if the seller at a gunshow said "No, I would prefer you didn't fool around with it". How would you react?

That's a good question.

I work both sides of gunshow tables from time to time.

When there are alot of items on the table or if things are busy it can be too much trouble to take pistols apart.


First off, the buyer needs to be serious.


I someone wants to take my pistol apart I will do it for him.


If I want someone to let me see what is in his pistol I will ask him to take it apart or ask if he will let me do it.


If it's a pistol I'm looking at and the answer is NO, no taking it apart....well okay. I'll show the guy that I am seriously interested in his pistol but everything depends on everything being correct. If the answer is still no then something isn't right and I'll move along.


Mike

[Marvin]

Mike,


This is the best way to inspect a pistol as you stated. If I DON"T know the seller, I will ask him if I can take the pistol apart, or preferably I would rather he take it apart and let me inspect the interior parts. I don't want to be accused of damaging someones elses goods! So far, I have never been denied the disassembly of a pistol I am serious about wheather the dealer or I take it apart.


If the dealer is busy, he will hold the pistol until I come back and he is freed up for us to take a look.


Marvin

Reference Bill's response. I've been told that compared to other pistols, Lugers need little in the way of lubrication, ie. a light coat on moving parts will do. Also that no oil or lube should be used inside the breechblock where the firing pin sits. Have I been told wrong?

[Marvin]

Roger,


I feel you are correc that most firearms are probably over-lubricated. All that is needed is just a very thin film which can withstand the sliding pressure and this is little on a firearm. I do heavily lubricate my pistols inside, but this is for the ones I do not fire (Ted can confirm this). If I decide to fire one, I will disassemble it and remove the grease, then LIGHTLY lubricate the sliding parts with a genreal purpose military lubricant. LSA is very good if used sparingly. If you are going to be in an environment where dust and dirt are blowing around, remove as much lubicant as possible as it does attract dirt and that is BAD! In North Afrika, the Germans would use no lubicant and wrap the pistol in cloth to keep as much dirt out as possible.


As to the breechblock, I use a light wipe of synthetic grease on the firing pin. The amount is almost no noticeable until you feel the part. The synthetic lubricant I use is not available anymore, but I did use it when in the Army on my rifle bolt. This stuff is great, it is not effected by heat, cold, or water, it just works! I sure wish I could find more, you guys would go crazy over this stuff in a Luger.


Marvin

[Thor]

The firing pin should be very lightly lubricated, at the front side and back side areas. The vents in the front are so the pin will hit hard (some say for gas blow back if the case fails) if too much grease is in the breech block firing pin "tunnel" a little is preferred to a lot! BIS SPAETER! ~ Thorboy~

[ViggoG]

Slightly off thread --

My experience while working at NASA

PRODUCING EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT AND

SPACECRAFT PARTS included much machining

of new and exotic materials.

We experienced severs and consistant

seizing of stainless steel parts when

lubricated with silicone oils and greases


I for one never use silicone on any moving

stainless steel parts.


I would suggest caution with the new stainless

firearms on the market !!!!


ViggoG

For Lugers that are never fired I just use Clenzoil on everything.


For pistols that do get fired I use CLP and the LP that Breakfree makes.


I don't think grease should be used on a firing pin, I use only a very light coat of CLP or LP. In fact, I don't see anywhere on a Luger where there should be grease, just oil.


Mike

[Thor]

I put no grease on mine either, just clenzoil. Thor

[Marvin]

Mike,


I agree about grease for a pistol which is fired, but the synthetic grease I have is a different "animal" and was used my myself in Vietnam. I had it shipped from home to use on my weapons and it never failed me. With the conditions there, this lubricant was the greatest I have ever found. It is just a shame it is not available anymore.


Marvin