Safety questions

[Ron Wood]

The metal part that blocks the sear points to the rear on early Lugers that have the grip safety. The sear block is an extension of the grip safety and is held in position by spring tension on the grip saftey. The thumb safety only serves to "lock" the grip safety so it can not be moved. The grip safety has a pivot point near the bottom of the grip. When the grip safety is "squeezed" (depressed) the sear block is rotated downward. The rotational movement is counter-clockwise ("anti-clockwise" according to our friends across the puddle), so the movement of the sear block is actually slightly forward and down, hence the need for the rear pointing configuration.

When the grip safety was eliminated, the sear block attaches directly to the lower extension of the thumb safety. The pivot action of this shorter lever raises and lowers the sear block on a diagonal about in line with the angle of the grip, hence the forward pointing slant on the sear block.

Im not sure that is very clear, but I hope it helps. <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" />