New buyer looking at this gun...what do you think?

[Yakman]

Doubs, I think what you have looks like a nice gun. Why do you think it is a pig. Norme says you had "lipstick on a pig" and you agreed with him. That expression implies the use of something, lipstick, to disguise the undesirable nature or aspects of an object, your gun. Without the lipstick the object, your gun, would still be a pig.

It only takes a few seconds to remove the white from what appears from your photo to be somewhere around a 98% gun that the a previous owner was proud enough of to try to emphasize its attributes. Certainly his prerogative.

Whiting in markings on Lugers is not attractive, to me. Therefore, no guns of mine have it, but I do have the marker if I wanted to. When I feel the need, I'll mark something I want to emphasize in a photo that might otherwise be hard to see. Oh, is that different? Norme's statement was pretty all encompassing and with some emphasis, "I've been harping", and some gave a thumbs up.

From the sixties into the nineties when I had a gun show display for my Lugers, without some white to show their distinguishing features they were nothing but 58 indistinguishable black guns on an eight foot table to the uninitiated folks this display was supposed to tell a story to. I must say I don't think others thought they looked like pigs with lipstick on them. I won many prizes with my collection, so I hardly think the judges were reminded of pigs with lipstick, either.

I don't think I'm talking to many folks here who have ever had that thrill of competing for prizes at a gun show against all comers, Colt, Winchester, and other Luger collections, and make it to the winner's circle. My friend and most difficult Luger competitor in those days was Grant Eckert, to drop a name.

So, to show total disdain to the white-in says limited experience in Luger collecting to me. It has its place. To acquire Lugers with no theme to the collection makes one a gatherer to me and not a collector. I'm that gatherer today.

One could take one Luger, say an '06 Cross In Shield, put it standing on its stand with it being the only item on your table at your local gun show and it would only draw glances. White in the distinguishing features, make an attractive explanation sheet giving its history, importance, some technical details like caliber, barrel length, etc. and you'll stand there all day answering questions from interested show goers who would have otherwise walked on by.

Jack