New FAQ - Update suggestions and Corrections Thread

[sheepherder]

A quick edited quote from S&G's TBLAP on Böhler barrels, and the marks on some 1913-14 Luger barrels, and a pic of mine...

(Question) What is the Bö stamp on some 1913-14 Luger barrels and what does the number represent?
(Answer) [paragraph below]

No mention was made in the notes or the marking instructions of the practice of marking the barrel, both at the blank and machined stages, with the steel maker's identification and the steel batch number. This was a requirement of the Gew 98 Marking Instructions, which initially (ca. 1899) specified the letters K for Krupp or B for Bismarkhűtte be stamped in (Roman) letters 5 mm high with the batch number at the first stage of manufacture, turning, and then in 3 mm high high letters when the barrel was finished...The only instance of this regulation being applied to the P.08 was for a short period between 1913 - 14 when some pistols were fitted with Böhler steel barrels, and, following the rifle marking instructions, they were stamped with the scarce Bö mark under the barrel, usually with the steel batch number, of one or two digits either beside or under the Bö.

This number has previously been erroneously described as being the hardness of the steel, but reference to the appropriate regulations shows this was not to be the case; hardness marking never was a requirement, unlike the steel batch number, which was.

-From S&G's TBLAP