1912 Erfurt Luger

[Mauser720]

apachedawg -

Yes, you did very well considering what you paid for it.

You can see there is no agreement on whether your pistol has been refinished. On the underside of the barrel, back by the receiver, you will see the serial number. And then below that you will see the number "8,82" which is the distance in millimeters between the lands in the rifling inside the barrel. This barrel gauge measurement is always more lightly struck than the serial number, and it is one of the first casualties when a gun has been refinished. In your example, it looks sharp and it also has the "halo" around it. So this is some evidence to consider too.

Another casualty on Erfurt Lugers which have been refinished is the proof mark on the trigger plate/side plate. This one looks fine to me.

The color of the blue job on this one looks good too, in my opinion.

So I guess I tend more toward thinking this is the original finish too. I wonder if your hold open pin might just be discolored rather than refinished?

You asked about the Eagle proof on the right side of the receiver possibly indicating some relationship to Austria? The answer is no, this is just an ordinary Erfurt proofmark which they always used in that spot.

You also asked about repairing or replacing the take down lever. I would recommend getting the existing lever repaired as suggested above. Your existing part, although broken, is serially numbered to match the rest of the gun, and it also has the Erfurt proofmark. So in my opinion, you should keep that lever and have it repaired by an expert as Mr. Wood has suggested.

You also asked about cleaning the grips? In this case, I think I would not recommend cleaning the grips. You run the risk of ruining them. You have a genuine World War One Imperial German Luger. If you clean them, you run the risk of them looking like they do not actually belong to the gun any more. You also run the risk of breaking them, especially the left grip immediately under the safety lever. This area was one of the weak spots in the design, and you will see a lot of left Luger grip panels with a chip out at the point under the safety lever. Collectors refer to this as the "million dollar chip."

However, if you want to take the risk, there is information on this Forum about how to clean the grips, etc. Look on the left side of the home page, and you will see a column of various headings. Click on "General Information" and there is a good article on how to clean grips, etc.

Please use extreme caution when you take the grips off. Of course you want to make certain the gun is not loaded first. Then remove the magazine. Then unscrew each grip screw only one turn. Then insert your index finger inside the magazine well, and gently press outward on the right grip. When it separates from the frame, the only slightly loosened grip screw will keep it from moving out too far in the wrong direction. So the partially loosened grip screw is a precaution when you initially remove the grip. Then loosen the screw the rest of the way, and lift the grip slightly down and away from the grip frame.

You use this same procedure on the left grip. Loosen the grip screw only one turn. Put your index finger inside the magazine well, and press out gently, etc. When it comes loose from the frame, you may then remove the grip screw. The trick when removing the grip is to not let the safety lever break a chip out of the top of the grip.

Gently pull the grip slightly downward, and slightly away from the grip frame to avoid any stress on the top of the grip which is under the safety lever.

You will probably want to give the gun a good oiling anyway, but avoid getting any oil on the wooden grips.

Thank you for sharing, and congratulations on acquiring such a reasonably priced example of a very nice historical piece!