Toggle Lock Details...?

[Ron Wood]

Pete,

Check out Kenyon's "Lugers at Random" page 24. It shows disassembled New Model and Old Model toggle assemblies. You can clearly see the three parts of the Old Model toggle lock. The toggle lock pivots on a horizontal pin (3-to-9 o'clock). Latching tension on the lock is maintained by a rearward projection on the lock just above the pivot point that compresses the short lock spring. The entire lock assembly is contained in the right toggle knob. The lock engages the catch on the frame and is held in the locked position by the upward pressure on the lock projection by the compressed lock spring.

I have seen pictures of the one-piece lock, but I can't seem to locate a reference right now. It is only encountered on the transitional 1903/04 Navy model. It is one piece of spring steel. The lower portion is shaped like the bottom of the 3-piece lock, but the top is formed into a pin that goes into a hole in the top (12 o'clock) position of the toggle knob. It works just like the one-piece extractor of the Old Model Luger....the spring action of the piece is all that makes the lock engage and hold the catch on the frame. I would imagine that it was quite prone to breaking, so the 3-piece configuration was quickly implemented.

I have seen pictures of 1903/04 Navy models with a 3-piece lock, but I do not know if they were original configuration, retrofit or fakes.

Hope that helps a little.

Addendum: Found the reference for the one-piece lock. See Jan Still's "Imperial Lugers", page 166 for excellent photos of the disassembled toggle lock. See also page 167 for a 1904 that has been modified to add a 3-piece lock.