Forensic Exam

[Navy]

Presents a Naval Model P-08 purporting to be a post W.W.I import to the USA. Exam conducted using 10X Loupe, 3X glas and OTT light.

Left Side External:
No date under front sight block. Exterior blue shows microscopic pits under the blue. Straw is 98-99% coverage but color is very light. Crown Ms are well struck and crisp. They are blued internal to the stamping. Magazine release button is different; something I have never encountered: The checkering does not extend to the edge of the button on 3 of four quadrants. It is off by a single row of checkering in these quadrants. Grip panel is excellent old DWM quality walnut with tight checkering and not a diamond missing or flat. Exquisite wood with a beautiful dark stripe in the grain. Sear bar is numbered and halo is present.

External right side.
Minor pin prick pitting abeam sight ramp and 1" rearward and another about 1.5" forward of juncture of barrel and frame. Some very slight metal erosion at front of the frame. Minor pin point pits at top margin of grip panel. Metal striation pattern from polishing is consistent with exemplar known to be original.

Sideplate.
Edge wear to high points and margin of island. Reverse side is correct. Metal polishing marks are properly vertical on the large field of the plate and horizontal above the island, feathering together and disappearing at the upper right corner of the island.

Bottom.
Minor metal erosion at butt toe and and some minor dings and dents at magazine well mouth.

Internal.
Grip to metal contact has resulted in visible pitting. Some is under the bluing; some is clearly penetrating the blue from the top. All internal parts are numbered as they should be. A very small section in the corner of the inside butt heel is still in the white. Witness marks align perfectly and present no evidence of ever being disturbed. Bore is dirty and has a very little frost. Grip panels are serialed to the gun and have several other stamps and inspector's marks.

Markings.
Barrel is marked longitudinally GERMANY in caps; marking is haloed. Barrel SN and proof are clear and crisp, blued internal to the metal strike. All serial number fonts are the same in size and appearance. The frame has numerous alphabetic stamps on the back strap edges where it contacts the grip panel.

Magazine.
Concentric ring wooden plug. Shows evidence of having serial number and Crown M proof removed. Tube is high quality nickle plate marked GERMANY on long axis.

Other notes.
No scent of coppersulfate; two areas on barrel and frame passed semi-chrome swab test.

Assessment: This piece is as it purports to be. It was a military issue piece that probably saw some service (hence the metal loss, dings and pits, bore frost) but was reconditioned for sale/export. The reconditioning was done most likely by the Berlin factory of BIKW, based on the metal polishing striations being exactly as an original finish should appear. The magazine release button checkering is somewhat problematic; one assumes that the post war standards we somewhat lowered perhaps due to economic imperatives (Use what is available)or a decline in craftsmanship as the "old hands" became pensioners or were layed off when production ceased in 1918. The semi-chrome test is convincing evidence that this piece has a very old finish, and the pits being both under and on top of the bluing substantiates that the finish is not the original one. This is perfectly logical and to be expected in a piece of this type.

Conclusion:
A righteous post war export P-08 Navy. Would upload about 15-20 pix but the instructions provided are not compatible with my AOL browser.