Original "Black Widow" Luger Grips - a photo study

John Sabato · 03-26-2002, 10:21 AM

There has been much discussion about the appearance and construction of the black bakelite grips that were used on so called "Black Widow" Mauser Lugers...

These photographs are of both sides of the grips that came on my byf 41 coded Luger that is shown in the Owners's Corner. I had the pistol refinished, but the grips are untouched as they came on the pistol.

I purchased this pistol in the 1970's from the GI who captured it and brought it home from WW2. The capture story accompanies the photos of the Luger under my name in the Owner's Corner.

It had not been modified while he owned it, and not fired except right after he got home when he showed it to his family and friends. It sat undisturbed for most of it's life, in storage on the top shelf of his bedroom closet. Knowing this history I believe it fair to assume that these are the original grips that were installed on this Luger at the Mauser factory. For those of you who have a Black Widow Luger and are curious if your grips are of the original type or are reproductions, these photos should be some help.

None of the reproduction plastic grips that I have seen in my life even remotely look like the originals when you get up close. The checkering is always inferior, frequently much coarser, and/or the material the grips are made of is obviously modern plastic and not the same as these that are made of bakelite... Original grips are hard, and shiney in appearance.

The original grips have threaded holes on the interior surface that happens to be the same thread as the grip screws and many here on the Lugerforum believe that this was done to have a place to put the screws so you don't lose them during cleaning. Some have speculated that these threaded holes were also used to remove the grips from the mold in the manufacturing process... I am not aware thateither of these theories has been substantiated in print such as in a German field manual or manufacturers documentation.

If you download the photos and examine them under high magnification in a graphics viewer program such as Paint Shop Pro ( www.jasc.com ) these photos are high resolution and you can see excellent detail...

Due to the large size (about 500K each) of these images I was unable to upload them to the Lugerforum server so they are hosted elsewhere, at least for now. Perhaps Dok will move them to the Lugerforum Server with my explanation as an addition to the FAQ under general information.

For your viewing pleasure, click on this link to see the grips... (Be prepared to wait for the long download)

regards,

John Sabato

Black Widow Grips - Detailed Photos Click Here!

03-26-2002, 10:21 AM	#1
John Sabato Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Capital of the Free World Posts: 10,152 Thanks: 3,003 Thanked 2,304 Times in 1,096 Posts	Original "Black Widow" Luger Grips - a photo study There has been much discussion about the appearance and construction of the black bakelite grips that were used on so called "Black Widow" Mauser Lugers... These photographs are of both sides of the grips that came on my byf 41 coded Luger that is shown in the Owners's Corner. I had the pistol refinished, but the grips are untouched as they came on the pistol. I purchased this pistol in the 1970's from the GI who captured it and brought it home from WW2. The capture story accompanies the photos of the Luger under my name in the Owner's Corner. It had not been modified while he owned it, and not fired except right after he got home when he showed it to his family and friends. It sat undisturbed for most of it's life, in storage on the top shelf of his bedroom closet. Knowing this history I believe it fair to assume that these are the original grips that were installed on this Luger at the Mauser factory. For those of you who have a Black Widow Luger and are curious if your grips are of the original type or are reproductions, these photos should be some help. None of the reproduction plastic grips that I have seen in my life even remotely look like the originals when you get up close. The checkering is always inferior, frequently much coarser, and/or the material the grips are made of is obviously modern plastic and not the same as these that are made of bakelite... Original grips are hard, and shiney in appearance. The original grips have threaded holes on the interior surface that happens to be the same thread as the grip screws and many here on the Lugerforum believe that this was done to have a place to put the screws so you don't lose them during cleaning. Some have speculated that these threaded holes were also used to remove the grips from the mold in the manufacturing process... I am not aware thateither of these theories has been substantiated in print such as in a German field manual or manufacturers documentation. If you download the photos and examine them under high magnification in a graphics viewer program such as Paint Shop Pro ( www.jasc.com ) these photos are high resolution and you can see excellent detail... Due to the large size (about 500K each) of these images I was unable to upload them to the Lugerforum server so they are hosted elsewhere, at least for now. Perhaps Dok will move them to the Lugerforum Server with my explanation as an addition to the FAQ under general information. For your viewing pleasure, click on this link to see the grips... (Be prepared to wait for the long download) regards, John Sabato Black Widow Grips - Detailed Photos Click Here!