1973 Interarms ad, brings back memories?

Vlim · 01-01-2008, 11:11 AM

Hi,

The problem was not that the Swiss tooling was worn, but rather that the Swiss used a different standardization method on their production machinery. The Swiss jigs couldn't be used on German machines, so the Mauser engineers had to remanufacture them to fit their machinery.

The Mauser guys didn't do that bad actually. They decided, rightfully, not to use the old style production methods of the pre-1945 era, as they were grossly expensive and complex.

Instead, they translated the design to the manufacturing standards of the 1970s. There is no real problem with the functionality of the pistol, nor the effectiveness of the individual parts.

Mauser and Interarms did goof up one of the most important aspects:
-The USA buying crowd was used to and loved the P08 design, not the Swiss 06/29 pattern.
-And again, pricing. When you can buy a perfectly good 35$ P08, why on earth would you pay $200 - $300 for a new gun, which looks nothing like the original one.
-The grips: They tried to fix the old 'loose grips' problem by introducing small brass pins into them. In order to have enough mass for the pins to stick, they thickened the edges of the grips, introducing a lousy feel to them.

01-01-2008, 11:11 AM	#8
Vlim Moderator Lifetime LugerForum Patron Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Europe Posts: 5,053 Thanks: 1,036 Thanked 3,990 Times in 1,205 Posts	Hi, The problem was not that the Swiss tooling was worn, but rather that the Swiss used a different standardization method on their production machinery. The Swiss jigs couldn't be used on German machines, so the Mauser engineers had to remanufacture them to fit their machinery. The Mauser guys didn't do that bad actually. They decided, rightfully, not to use the old style production methods of the pre-1945 era, as they were grossly expensive and complex. Instead, they translated the design to the manufacturing standards of the 1970s. There is no real problem with the functionality of the pistol, nor the effectiveness of the individual parts. Mauser and Interarms did goof up one of the most important aspects: -The USA buying crowd was used to and loved the P08 design, not the Swiss 06/29 pattern. -And again, pricing. When you can buy a perfectly good 35$ P08, why on earth would you pay $200 - $300 for a new gun, which looks nothing like the original one. -The grips: They tried to fix the old 'loose grips' problem by introducing small brass pins into them. In order to have enough mass for the pins to stick, they thickened the edges of the grips, introducing a lousy feel to them.