"NewOld Stock?"

[tudorbug]

I have been shown a byf 42 in near mint condition. So mint that I wonder if it has been carefully restored. It was accompanied by a plastic bottomed fxo magazine and an asking price of just over $1700.

Blue on the pistol was all perfect and blue rather than nearly black except for small edges on the sideplate and the crown of muzzle. Bluing was even perfect on the gripstraps indicating it had been seldom held.

WaA stamps were present and very legible on both barrel and receiver and all exposed parts had correct numbers. If polishing had been done, it was not enough to diminish the clarity of these stamps.

The bluing was also perfect in and around the serial numbers. I looked for a "halo" that I had seen mentioned on this forum (my search effort came up with any post keyed to that word) and did not see one. The bluing on the frame under the barrel in both the serial number and its letter suffix was perfect around and in and on the steep sides of the stamp. If there was a halo, I didn't recognize it.

Barrel and receive showed very fine lines indicating an absence of fine polishing at the end of production. Or, indicating polishing that may have been done in restoration. Were these pistols highly polished in 1942?

I don't have enough experience to judge between an "new old stock" pistol in near perfect condition and one that has been carefully and very nicely restored. In addition, it seems expensive but if by any chance it really is in near perfect original condition, might it be worth what is being asked?

Any thoughts by knowlegeable members of this forum would be gratefully received.

[Pete Ebbink]

Hello David,

Here is a "halo" photo that was posted a while back...



Regards,

Pete...

[tudorbug]

Thank you, Pete. I could not find an example when I tried to look.

This halo effect is caused by stamping the metal after it has been blued?

I appreciate your taking the time to look this photo up. I know it takes time.

David

[Frank]

David, let's be careful when you talk about halos on late Mausers. Do a search on "Halo" and find a post "help on byf 42", then look for a comment by RockinWR.

Hopefully, that will explain why your byf 42 doesn't have halos.

While I have seen many Lugers that are in the 98% and up category and I happily have quite a few, the condition of the later Lugers is usually better than the earlier pistols. That make sense, since they haven't been around as long and used as much.

Not having seen the pistol, it's hard to say for sure, but if the markings and corners are sharp, chances are good the Luger is legit!!

[tudorbug]

Thanks, Frank! I must admit that nothing I do has ever allowed me to turn up anything using the capability to search old posts. I get no response for a search under "halo" with or without quotes.

But, I understand the point of your response and I am grateful for your time in posting it.

David

[John Sabato]

tudorbug,

I think that you may be confusing the current search function (see the 'search' link at the top of this page) with the 'Search Old Board' link on the left menu of the home page...

if you use the one at the top of this page, and search for 'halo' (not using quotes) you should see the post that Frank is referring to, among some others.

The search function only searches ONE DISCUSSION FORUM at a time. You must search each discussion forum individually for the keywords you are looking for.

At one time, we had enabled searching the entire forum at once, but my understanding is that this ability degrades performance of the rest of the forum... so searching has been restricted to one forum at a time.

The 'Search Old Board' link on the left menu of the homepage used to search through the previous generation of this forum, but I believe that John D. (The system owner) has temporarily disabled this function while he figures out a way to move all the old discussions into the NEXT GENERATION and revision of the Lugerforum software that is currently under development.

[tudorbug]

John:

Aha!! That explains it! I was using the "Search Old Board" option and I now can find the post that Frank is referring to. I had not recognized the "Search" option at the very top right of the page.

It's tough being old and the "new guy."

I well recall this posting, and had followed it's developments with interest. It is a help to me.

The photos shown seem to clear up the question of "polishing" of the surface of the weapon. The one that I looked at had the same sort of "very fine line" polishing that appears in the pictures shown on the earlier post.

John, I thank you very much for giving me a steer in the correct direction on this. Now, I'll have to do more thinking on the pistol offered, in particular is comparatively high price (compared to my wallet, that is!).

[Frank]

David, I think one of the Forum Members signs his posts with "So many Lugers, so little money". All of us understand.

By the price increase lately, the member that said buy the best you can afford probably had it right.

If the pistol is as good as you say it is and all the parts are properly marked, including all the internal parts, it isn't priced way out of line. I have seen them go for $1500 in recent months when advertised at that quality. And more, if they have black Bakelite Grips with a nice black plastic bottom fxo magazine!!!

But the kids still have to have a place to stay and some food in their bellies!!

[John Sabato]

Not sure what you mean by old... take a good look at the beard on my photo (avatar) I have earned every one of those gray hairs on my face...

But OLD?

FRANK is old! I am just getting started!

[Frank]

Watch it John, I'll send Count Dracula to see you!!

[John Sabato]

Frank, you look so old that you are GREEN!

Kidding aside, I do like your avatar...

[Thor]

"There goes the neighborhood!"