Took the 1913 to an expert...IMPORTANT Strawing question

MyUserName · 06-20-2012, 12:20 AM

Important to me anyways!

Remember my 1913 bringback? ---> Link

I took my Luger to a gun shop to determine whether or not the blueing was original, or if it had been re-blued.

The shop appraiser was pretty incredulous concerning how well the weapon looked, and immediately thought that it had been re-blued. But he could not find any evidence proving that it had been re-blued. He disassembled the weapon, checking the bore like I asked him to (excellent condition). He looked for traces of grinding, or anywhere that the proofs or serial numbers or engravings were not sharp (it had been explained to me that this was an indicator of the weapon having been ground down to re-blue.

It was interesting to me as I watched him go over the weapon again and again, as e did not want to believe that it was still wearing it's original blueing.

Finally he let out a "aha!" He pointed out the strawing on center toggle link, or more accurately, the lack of strawing on the center toggle link. He said that it was supposed to be strawed, but that it wasn't, therefore the blueing was new. At the same time, he mentioned that it was the most impressive job he had seen.

I was bummed of course because it meant that I now did not have what I hoped I did, a really pristine luger, all original from 1913.

As soon as I returned home I started looking to see if in fact, the center toggle link is supposed to be strawed.

I looked at two sites, one is by Ted's Luger Strawing Service (a restorer that often goes by the screen name THOR). At his website I found that some of his restore jobs has the strawing on the center toggle link, and others don't.

Here are TWO 1915 DWMs---no strawing LINK and LINK

Here is a 1917 DWM --- no strawing LINK

Here is a double date 1918/1920 DWM----with strawing LINK

Here is another double date 1917/1920 DWM----with strawing LINK

My conclusion...the double dates have strawing on the center toggle, non double dated lugers have no strawing.

Part two http://www.lugerman.com is another site that offers professional blueing service for lugers.

Here is a restore he did on a 1917 DWM, and again... no blueing on the center toggle LINK

1910 DWM Luger no blueing on the center toggle LINK

1914 DWM Luger no blueing on the center toggle LINK

So... what do you guys think?

06-20-2012, 12:20 AM	#1
MyUserName User Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 20 Thanks: 7 Thanked 8 Times in 2 Posts	Took the 1913 to an expert...IMPORTANT Strawing question Important to me anyways! Remember my 1913 bringback? ---> Link I took my Luger to a gun shop to determine whether or not the blueing was original, or if it had been re-blued. The shop appraiser was pretty incredulous concerning how well the weapon looked, and immediately thought that it had been re-blued. But he could not find any evidence proving that it had been re-blued. He disassembled the weapon, checking the bore like I asked him to (excellent condition). He looked for traces of grinding, or anywhere that the proofs or serial numbers or engravings were not sharp (it had been explained to me that this was an indicator of the weapon having been ground down to re-blue. It was interesting to me as I watched him go over the weapon again and again, as e did not want to believe that it was still wearing it's original blueing. Finally he let out a "aha!" He pointed out the strawing on center toggle link, or more accurately, the lack of strawing on the center toggle link. He said that it was supposed to be strawed, but that it wasn't, therefore the blueing was new. At the same time, he mentioned that it was the most impressive job he had seen. I was bummed of course because it meant that I now did not have what I hoped I did, a really pristine luger, all original from 1913. As soon as I returned home I started looking to see if in fact, the center toggle link is supposed to be strawed. I looked at two sites, one is by Ted's Luger Strawing Service (a restorer that often goes by the screen name THOR). At his website I found that some of his restore jobs has the strawing on the center toggle link, and others don't. Here are TWO 1915 DWMs---no strawing LINK and LINK Here is a 1917 DWM --- no strawing LINK Here is a double date 1918/1920 DWM----with strawing LINK Here is another double date 1917/1920 DWM----with strawing LINK My conclusion...the double dates have strawing on the center toggle, non double dated lugers have no strawing. Part two http://www.lugerman.com is another site that offers professional blueing service for lugers. Here is a restore he did on a 1917 DWM, and again... no blueing on the center toggle LINK 1910 DWM Luger no blueing on the center toggle LINK 1914 DWM Luger no blueing on the center toggle LINK So... what do you guys think?