1941 Holster

[Ben Evans]

Good evening gents

I hopefully have a 1941 Black Widow coming to my possession and was looking for a 41 dated holster for it. Does anyone see any red flags with this holster at all? It looks ok to me but would like a second opinion

Cheers

Ben

[lugerholsterrepair]

Looks good to me...Of course one MUST see the inside.

[Ben Evans]

Cheers Jerry, I will ask for more pictures (or if I get it the site has a very good returns policy)

Cheers

Ben

[Ben Evans]

Chaps, a couple of close up of the rear of the holster, they did send a picture of inside the flap but the file would not open so they are still to come

[Sergio Natali]

I had one, until I decided to sell it together with the P08 "Black Widow".

Mine didn't have such a nice stitching at the back, and looked alltogether more used and abused, still yours seems quite good I would say.

[Ben Evans]

Many thanks for that, I am trying to get a holster to match the gun, the gun is 90% blueing so hopefully I can get a really nice holster to fit the gun. Also on the gun the mag is aluminium based and same serial number to the gun. I have have been told that this indicates it is a earlier production one. If I get a spare mag for the holster would it be another aluminium buckle or a black based one? Or would it not matter?

Cheers

Ben

[guns3545]

Originally Posted by Ben Evans

Many thanks for that, I am trying to get a holster to match the gun, the gun is 90% bluing so hopefully I can get a really nice holster to fit the gun. Also on the gun the mag is aluminium based and same serial number to the gun. I have have been told that this indicates it is a earlier production one. If I get a spare mag for the holster would it be another aluminium buckle or a black based one? Or would it not matter?

Cheers

Ben

Ben,

If you have a 41 byf with a matching aluminum based magazine, the only CORRECT magazine for the pistol is another aluminum based magazine with the same serial number on it and if your magazine does not have a plus (+) sign, it should have a + sign. If the magazine you have does have a + sign, the other matching magazine should NOT have a + sign.

Now, I am assuming that the magazine that you have with the matching serial number is of the correct model, which should be "extruded body and probably blued." It will also contain the designation P.08 on it plus manufacturer code and proofs.

The gun should have walnut grip panels. Black Bakelite grip panels and plastic body magazines appeared at the same time, around June 1941.

Ben, please accept that I am not trying to be pedantic but Mauser Never ever made a Black Widow gun. Never. They made Model P.08 pistols for the German forces and the specifications of these pistols evolved over the years in terms of finish, types of magazine and grip panels, etc.

Starting in roughly mid-1941, the specifications for the Model P.08 included Black Bakelite Grip Panels and the Type 6 magazine which had a black plastic un-numbered base. Previously manufactured parts which were in stock could be used up so the transition occurred over time.

A clever, very marketing oriented collector/dealer in the USA, believing that he could create an aura of mystery, terror, rarity, and hence higher selling price, devised the term Black Widow and its implied association with the SS and Gestapo and started pricing them higher in spite of the fact that well over 100,000 P.08s with these specifications were made. In other words its a very common gun and relatively easy to turn into a complete rig because the grips and the magazines are not serial numbered to the gun .

If you provide the serial number of the gun, complete with suffix, we can give you a better idea when it was made in the 1941 production cycle. And pictures are always welcome.

Hope this helps,

John

[Ben Evans]

John, that is fantastic info thanks, the gun at the moment is being deactivated, it came from a veterans attic but it was still live (10 years in jail in the UK for that) so had to go straight to a place to be deactivated. The dealer who has the gun is a luger collector himself. he has described the gun as 90% blueing dated 1941 and made by BFY with the black bakelite grips. I dont have to buy it when I see it but if good I probably will if the condition is good

Many thanks

Ben

[Ben Evans]

One last picture but not very good