Thor: A true master artist

Mike B · 12-03-2009, 04:19 PM

Greetings,
The oldest Luger in my collection is a 7.65mm 1906 American Eagle. It has special meaning to me because it was my first Luger; acquired sometime in the early 60's. It is special in another way, as it was given to me by the then Chef Deputy of our Sheriff dept. It was not in very good conditon. The finish had mostly turned to a grey patina color, the grips were worn and the main spring was very weak. I recently sent the Luger to Thor for a new life. I was more than pleased with the results. As you can see, it looks like it did in the early 1900's. I would highly recommend Thor to anyone who needs a firearm restored. His email address: Thor340@aol.com. Here is what the Luger looks like now.

Mike

worldoftone · 12-04-2009, 11:33 AM

That's awesome Mike!

- WOT

cirelaw · 12-04-2009, 02:20 PM

Ted had done work for me. He actually makes his work more beautiful than it was when original. He modest but maybe we can get him post some before and after!

lugerholsterrepair · 12-04-2009, 05:23 PM

Ted Green is truely a Master at his art. I have had the pleasure of inspecting his work first hand and I can tell you his rust bluing is the very best.
I know that Ted was not accepting work for some time..Is he up and running again? That would be exciting news for collectors.
Jerry Burney

Thor · 12-05-2009, 10:58 AM

What makes my life so good is happy clients, friends and getting to work with TRUE masters, I am just a "duffer", real restorers like Gale Morgan are the true restoring masters. Great people like Hugh Clark, you Jerry, GT, Dok, Tom Heller, Neil Keller (Hub)John Sabato, and Ed Tinker really help make my work look way better and make posting possible. Who really makes this all possible from a human perspective is John Dunkle who hosts this website and my restoration website. When it comes all down to it great friends are the real bonus in this adventure I have embarked on. What makes this forum strong for collectors is the experts that know so much about each area of Luger collecting and are kind enough and patient to share their expertise. It is gratifying to see how this forum and data base of Luger info has grown since it's inception in 1998 with Mr Chapman for a short time then how it really took off under John Dunkle's guidance when he took it over. Wow, how time flys! It's nice to know that I have great support. I email Tom and say "I need a Luger part" or GT, I need a mag fixed, or Hugh, I need some grips restored, or Jerry, a client needs his Luger holster fixed. And they always come through for me. What a blessling to work with these guys. I hope Dok comes back and starts doing Luger cases again.
Like this picture, Dok did the case, Hugh did the grips, Neil Keller did the work making the Baby Luger, GT did one of the mags, Jerry Burney made the sweet buckskin hardshell to fit it perfectly FROM SCRATCH! Tom Heller probably supplied some of the parts for it. With support like that, my job is easy! WOW, what a talented group of master artisans to draw from, what a blessing!!!

FNorm · 12-05-2009, 12:15 PM

Wow!

Ice · 12-05-2009, 04:20 PM

That is astounding work; very beautiful.

Thor, I am curious. If I remember correctly, you mentioned that Bill Adair was your mentor in learning firearms restoration. Have you ever mentored anybody; answered their questions and helped with somebody else's projects? You have a great talent and there are so few masters left. It would be a shame for you to pass on without passing your "secrets" to someone who follows.

Charlie

cirelaw · 12-05-2009, 04:47 PM

I definitly need one for my Krieghoff

cirelaw · 12-05-2009, 05:02 PM

Christmas Is Definitly On Its Way!

Thor · 12-05-2009, 05:20 PM

Ice, Bill did mentor me via the internet and I even became a subcontractor to him and him to me. I did metal prep work on bad guns he didnt want to grind on and He did engraving touchups of existing markings for me. I am unsure why he was so kind to me, I dont really believe he planned to use me as a sub. He knew I had gotten laid off from my Civil Engineering job a month after the trade towers were hit and the US economy did a nose dive. And he wanted to help me. I am 55 and plan to do this for many years, the good Lord willing, but I dont have any plans to train my potential competitors at present. The economy could tank again and pickings might get slim so for now, no mentoring but I dont rule it out in the future. It saddened me when Bill died but I wrote him one last email a month before he passed to thank him. He was truely kind to us.

suum cuique · 12-05-2009, 11:11 PM

Today I got my Luger back from Thor, I opened the package and was stunned, the shooter-Luger looks great!

I learned already, that Thor is the best in the Luger restoring business, but now I saw it with my own eyes!
E x c e l l e n t work!

Worth every penny.

The turnaround was very fast, the Luger was still in a good condition, except of minor things, the gun just needed to get reblued.
Thor did an outstanding strawing and reblueing job! Thank you so much!

The grips were already recheckered and retored by Hugh. (Thanks again, Hugh, you did an excellent job

)

Now the gun looks like in 1937 again.

Thor also blued and installed my extra complete breechblock
(bought from Lugerdoc), because I want to safe the original one to avoid damage to it by shooting on the range.
Thanks again to Lugerdoc for his help and friendly advise.
Also I want to thank all the forum members, my "brothers in Luger-arms", who gave me alot of good tips, help and advise for the past few month and the courage to start this Luger restoring project.
Thanks and God bless you!

Well, photos can tell more than 1000 words:

Roadkill · 12-06-2009, 10:20 PM

I have a 1918 Erfurt Thor restored for me about six or seven years ago. Its still as stunningly beautiful as the day I got it. I tend to trade guns way too often but this one is a keeper.

cirelaw · 12-07-2009, 08:50 AM

Wooow!!! 100000++++

Went Blakely · 12-07-2009, 09:05 PM

Beautiful work! Just look at Mike's barrel! Perfect

12-03-2009, 04:19 PM	#1
Mike B Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: South Louisiana Posts: 979 Thanks: 1 Thanked 271 Times in 99 Posts	Thor: A true master artist Greetings, The oldest Luger in my collection is a 7.65mm 1906 American Eagle. It has special meaning to me because it was my first Luger; acquired sometime in the early 60's. It is special in another way, as it was given to me by the then Chef Deputy of our Sheriff dept. It was not in very good conditon. The finish had mostly turned to a grey patina color, the grips were worn and the main spring was very weak. I recently sent the Luger to Thor for a new life. I was more than pleased with the results. As you can see, it looks like it did in the early 1900's. I would highly recommend Thor to anyone who needs a firearm restored. His email address: Thor340@aol.com. Here is what the Luger looks like now. Mike Attached Thumbnails

12-04-2009, 05:23 PM	#4
lugerholsterrepair Moderator Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Arizona/Colorado Posts: 7,763 Thanks: 4,865 Thanked 3,105 Times in 1,429 Posts	Ted Green is truely a Master at his art. I have had the pleasure of inspecting his work first hand and I can tell you his rust bluing is the very best. I know that Ted was not accepting work for some time..Is he up and running again? That would be exciting news for collectors. Jerry Burney __________________ Jerry Burney 11491 S. Guadalupe Drive Yuma AZ 85367-6182 lugerholsterrepair@earthlink.net 928 342-7583 (CO & AZ) Year Round 719 207-3331 (cell) "For those who Fight For It, Life has a flavor the protected will never know."

12-05-2009, 10:58 AM	#5
Thor User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Rio Rancho, New Mexico Posts: 4,583 Thanks: 958 Thanked 970 Times in 276 Posts	What makes my life so good is happy clients, friends and getting to work with TRUE masters, I am just a "duffer", real restorers like Gale Morgan are the true restoring masters. Great people like Hugh Clark, you Jerry, GT, Dok, Tom Heller, Neil Keller (Hub)John Sabato, and Ed Tinker really help make my work look way better and make posting possible. Who really makes this all possible from a human perspective is John Dunkle who hosts this website and my restoration website. When it comes all down to it great friends are the real bonus in this adventure I have embarked on. What makes this forum strong for collectors is the experts that know so much about each area of Luger collecting and are kind enough and patient to share their expertise. It is gratifying to see how this forum and data base of Luger info has grown since it's inception in 1998 with Mr Chapman for a short time then how it really took off under John Dunkle's guidance when he took it over. Wow, how time flys! It's nice to know that I have great support. I email Tom and say "I need a Luger part" or GT, I need a mag fixed, or Hugh, I need some grips restored, or Jerry, a client needs his Luger holster fixed. And they always come through for me. What a blessling to work with these guys. I hope Dok comes back and starts doing Luger cases again. Like this picture, Dok did the case, Hugh did the grips, Neil Keller did the work making the Baby Luger, GT did one of the mags, Jerry Burney made the sweet buckskin hardshell to fit it perfectly FROM SCRATCH! Tom Heller probably supplied some of the parts for it. With support like that, my job is easy! WOW, what a talented group of master artisans to draw from, what a blessing!!! __________________ Thor's Luger Clinic http://members.rennlist.com/lugerman/ Ted Green (Thor Yaller Boots) 725 Western Hills Dr SE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124 915-526-8925 Email thor340@aol.com ----------------------------------- John3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

12-05-2009, 04:47 PM	#8
cirelaw Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PORT ST LUCIE, FLORIDA Posts: 12,216 Thanks: 6,209 Thanked 4,133 Times in 2,173 Posts	I definitly need one for my Krieghoff Attached Thumbnails

12-05-2009, 05:02 PM	#9
cirelaw Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PORT ST LUCIE, FLORIDA Posts: 12,216 Thanks: 6,209 Thanked 4,133 Times in 2,173 Posts	Christmas Is Definitly On Its Way! Attached Images

12-04-2009, 11:33 AM	#2
worldoftone User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 81 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	That's awesome Mike! - WOT

12-04-2009, 02:20 PM	#3
cirelaw Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PORT ST LUCIE, FLORIDA Posts: 12,216 Thanks: 6,209 Thanked 4,133 Times in 2,173 Posts	Ted had done work for me. He actually makes his work more beautiful than it was when original. He modest but maybe we can get him post some before and after!

12-05-2009, 12:15 PM	#6
FNorm Patron LugerForum Patron Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Colorado Posts: 978 Thanks: 68 Thanked 127 Times in 108 Posts	Wow!

12-05-2009, 04:20 PM	#7
Ice User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 552 Thanks: 13 Thanked 69 Times in 57 Posts	That is astounding work; very beautiful. Thor, I am curious. If I remember correctly, you mentioned that Bill Adair was your mentor in learning firearms restoration. Have you ever mentored anybody; answered their questions and helped with somebody else's projects? You have a great talent and there are so few masters left. It would be a shame for you to pass on without passing your "secrets" to someone who follows. Charlie

12-05-2009, 05:20 PM	#10
Thor User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Rio Rancho, New Mexico Posts: 4,583 Thanks: 958 Thanked 970 Times in 276 Posts	Ice, Bill did mentor me via the internet and I even became a subcontractor to him and him to me. I did metal prep work on bad guns he didnt want to grind on and He did engraving touchups of existing markings for me. I am unsure why he was so kind to me, I dont really believe he planned to use me as a sub. He knew I had gotten laid off from my Civil Engineering job a month after the trade towers were hit and the US economy did a nose dive. And he wanted to help me. I am 55 and plan to do this for many years, the good Lord willing, but I dont have any plans to train my potential competitors at present. The economy could tank again and pickings might get slim so for now, no mentoring but I dont rule it out in the future. It saddened me when Bill died but I wrote him one last email a month before he passed to thank him. He was truely kind to us. __________________ Thor's Luger Clinic http://members.rennlist.com/lugerman/ Ted Green (Thor Yaller Boots) 725 Western Hills Dr SE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124 915-526-8925 Email thor340@aol.com ----------------------------------- John3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

12-05-2009, 11:11 PM	#11
suum cuique User Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: MD / Currently about 9000 klicks east of the Potomac Posts: 497 Thanks: 100 Thanked 47 Times in 35 Posts	Hail to THOR, the grandmaster of Luger restoring Today I got my Luger back from Thor, I opened the package and was stunned, the shooter-Luger looks great! I learned already, that Thor is the best in the Luger restoring business, but now I saw it with my own eyes! E x c e l l e n t work! Worth every penny. The turnaround was very fast, the Luger was still in a good condition, except of minor things, the gun just needed to get reblued. Thor did an outstanding strawing and reblueing job! Thank you so much! The grips were already recheckered and retored by Hugh. (Thanks again, Hugh, you did an excellent job ) Now the gun looks like in 1937 again. Thor also blued and installed my extra complete breechblock (bought from Lugerdoc), because I want to safe the original one to avoid damage to it by shooting on the range. Thanks again to Lugerdoc for his help and friendly advise. Also I want to thank all the forum members, my "brothers in Luger-arms", who gave me alot of good tips, help and advise for the past few month and the courage to start this Luger restoring project. Thanks and God bless you! Well, photos can tell more than 1000 words: Attached Thumbnails __________________ Regards, Andy There's No Place Like Home (Wizard Of Oz)

12-06-2009, 10:20 PM	#12
Roadkill User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,632 Thanks: 1 Thanked 28 Times in 17 Posts	I have a 1918 Erfurt Thor restored for me about six or seven years ago. Its still as stunningly beautiful as the day I got it. I tend to trade guns way too often but this one is a keeper.

12-07-2009, 08:50 AM	#13
cirelaw Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PORT ST LUCIE, FLORIDA Posts: 12,216 Thanks: 6,209 Thanked 4,133 Times in 2,173 Posts	Wooow!!! 100000++++

12-07-2009, 09:05 PM	#14
Went Blakely User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 231 Thanks: 4 Thanked 8 Times in 6 Posts	Beautiful work! Just look at Mike's barrel! Perfect __________________ Went Blakely