Which parts are strawed and fire blued?

Gary Beyer · 09-17-2004, 04:32 PM

I have a 1917 DWM Luger. I want to get my restoration right the first time. Which parts were strawed, & which were fire blued? Can you also describe the colors? I think I have seen references to different hues of the straw color, depending on manufacturer. Also, I only recently have seen references to fire bluing on the Luger. I assume they tried to more or less match the color of the rust blue, is that right?

Thanks in advance for any info you can pass along!

G.T. · 09-19-2004, 03:53 PM

Hi Gary! I don't know for sure, but i'll start the ball rolling... but I believe that 5 parts are normally straw color... 1)safety lever, 2)ejector, 3)take down lever, 4)trigger, and 5)mag. catch... these are usually soft to bright yellow... with gold to dark gold / yellow usually associated with restrawed parts...the appearance of fire blue can vary also, ranging from light to dark blue depending on the age, part size, heat applied, and duration of application... but pidgion blue, and peacock blue are common terms used in tempering, and I believe they would illustrate the fire blue process pretty well... the parts that I am readily aware of that sport this treatment are, I believe, the 3 pins in the toggle train, and the front sight... the mag. catch spring & the sear bar spring are tempered the same... and, I would assume the hold open spring is the same also.. grip screws also usually appear with fire blue treatment ... that's abot it from my experience... there is probably more... best to you, til...lat'r...GT <img border="0" alt="[jumper]" title="" src="graemlins/jumper.gif" />

09-17-2004, 04:32 PM	#1
Gary Beyer User Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Which parts are strawed and fire blued? I have a 1917 DWM Luger. I want to get my restoration right the first time. Which parts were strawed, & which were fire blued? Can you also describe the colors? I think I have seen references to different hues of the straw color, depending on manufacturer. Also, I only recently have seen references to fire bluing on the Luger. I assume they tried to more or less match the color of the rust blue, is that right? Thanks in advance for any info you can pass along!

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09-19-2004, 03:53 PM	#2
G.T. Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Chandler Arizona Posts: 3,528 Thanks: 1,334 Thanked 3,711 Times in 1,014 Posts	Hi Gary! I don't know for sure, but i'll start the ball rolling... but I believe that 5 parts are normally straw color... 1)safety lever, 2)ejector, 3)take down lever, 4)trigger, and 5)mag. catch... these are usually soft to bright yellow... with gold to dark gold / yellow usually associated with restrawed parts...the appearance of fire blue can vary also, ranging from light to dark blue depending on the age, part size, heat applied, and duration of application... but pidgion blue, and peacock blue are common terms used in tempering, and I believe they would illustrate the fire blue process pretty well... the parts that I am readily aware of that sport this treatment are, I believe, the 3 pins in the toggle train, and the front sight... the mag. catch spring & the sear bar spring are tempered the same... and, I would assume the hold open spring is the same also.. grip screws also usually appear with fire blue treatment ... that's abot it from my experience... there is probably more... best to you, til...lat'r...GT <img border="0" alt="[jumper]" title="" src="graemlins/jumper.gif" />