Swiss model 1900 #1

drbuster · 12-30-2006, 05:10 PM

Albert, I re-read the Sturgess article and agree with your inference that he makes several dogmatic statements that have no way of being proven or dis-proven. Many re-fittings could have and probably were made on several prototype and pre-production Swiss lugers by the Swiss after the fact to make them serviceable for use. I feel this is especially true about the double firing pin springs. After all my reading about #33, I get the impression that it is a correct pre-production piece with a possible retrofitted toggle train. We thought the same thing about #20 when it was examined at the recent Reno show. There were many features about #20 that looked right to people with much more experience than I, including the frame machining, trigger spring, trigger spring frame well cutting, and the grips. Sturgess wants to make us believe (at least in the late 1990's when the article was written) that things just went from A to Z, but witness #40, the British prototype with squared rear toggle joint. We know that Georg Luger rounded this off much earlier, so an older prototype was sent to Britain (and also Holland) for trials. The bottom line is that we must keep an open mind and not condemn an early Swiss luger just on pictures alone.

12-30-2006, 05:10 PM	#30
drbuster User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: San Mateo, California Posts: 1,432 Thanks: 2 Thanked 71 Times in 56 Posts	Albert, I re-read the Sturgess article and agree with your inference that he makes several dogmatic statements that have no way of being proven or dis-proven. Many re-fittings could have and probably were made on several prototype and pre-production Swiss lugers by the Swiss after the fact to make them serviceable for use. I feel this is especially true about the double firing pin springs. After all my reading about #33, I get the impression that it is a correct pre-production piece with a possible retrofitted toggle train. We thought the same thing about #20 when it was examined at the recent Reno show. There were many features about #20 that looked right to people with much more experience than I, including the frame machining, trigger spring, trigger spring frame well cutting, and the grips. Sturgess wants to make us believe (at least in the late 1990's when the article was written) that things just went from A to Z, but witness #40, the British prototype with squared rear toggle joint. We know that Georg Luger rounded this off much earlier, so an older prototype was sent to Britain (and also Holland) for trials. The bottom line is that we must keep an open mind and not condemn an early Swiss luger just on pictures alone.