Faked, refinished and boosted Lugers.

[Luke]

In answer to Pete's question about the dilemma of finding that you are the not-too-proud owner of a boosted Luger . . . [img]mad.gif[/img]

I find myself in EXACTLY that situation now. I have a 1942 byf which looked great, all matching, 98% blue, etc. I bought it months ago when I first started collecting and was too uniformed to look for anything dishonest about the condition of the gun.

Recently I had occasion to carefully examine the bluing again and found that the barrel has been buffed and reblued. The right side of the barrel has rust pits in it which are beautifully blued all the way to the bottom . . . . much teeth grinding here. [img]mad.gif[/img]

My answer: Under no condition will I sell the gun. Instead, I have a wonderful friend who loves the gun just the way it is, reblued barrel and all. I am making a present of it to him with his full knowledge of the "boosting" which has taken place. He is happy; I have a clear conscience.

Nevertheless, somewhere down the line, maybe in 50 years, that gun will be sold again as a "mint" byf 42.