Appraising a Luger....

[sonofeugene]

I have a Luger that I inherited some 34 years ago from my father and while I've had a couple guys look at it, they really didn't know the gun. So, I'm looking for someone in the south bay area (San Jose/Sunnyvale or as close as possible) who I can take it to for an opinion on it's worth. The main question I have is has it been re-blued or is the finish original?

The rest of it, I already know. All numbers match, both exterior and interior, except the magazine. The bore is a little rough but fine for shooting. (I plan to put a few rounds through it in the next few weeks.) And the wood grips, though a little dirty, are not soaked through with oil. There is one small missing corner of the left grip at the top/back of the grip where the safety is.

Oh, and it's a 1942 ybf. And I have some of the original communications between the seller (originally in Missouri, as I recall) and my father. He bought it and a box of ammo in 1948 for 35 dollars.

Thanks for any suggestions!

[sonofeugene]

Oh, and I'm wondering if I should clean the grips and finish them per some of the recommendations on lugerforum.com.

http://www.lugerforum.com/FAQ.html

[highpower]

Personally, I would leave the grips alone. BUT, if you want to try to clean them, I have have good success with soaking grips in lacquer thinner and then very, very lightly going over them with a stainless toothbrush. I don't know what the Germans would have finished them with when it was manufactured, so I won't hazard a guess as to what to do next.

Here is a Colt DS that had a dinged up left grip.

Before, factory lacquer:


After with a light coat of boiled linseed oil:

[Varg Vikernes]

I wouldn't try to refinish anything on that, especially if you ever want to sell it.

[SonofWWIIDI]

[Ronin2]

Once you refinish the gun and its no longer original, its collector value is shot.

[sonofeugene]

OK, heres a photo of it. However, it shows it with the custom grips my father made for it just after he bought it. Very different, to say the least. And if you could see them in person, including the back sides of them, you'd be impressed with the craftsmanship. Hell, I didn't even know they had colored translucent plastic like that back in '48.

[PolishMike]

Sweet pride Luger lol

[redcliff]

Those look like "sweetheart grips" you sometimes encounter on WWII 1911's. They were often made from aircraft plexiglass and had a photograph underneath of their girlfriend (sweetheart) or movie star. Is the multi colored striping a backing to the grip or is the color molded through-out the grip?

In regard to the finish, its really hard to tell without close-ups of the stampings looking for any dishing or rounding of parts that should be sharp edged.

[caldude]

FWIW - I just bought a re-blued, all numbers matching (except for the mag) '42 BYF Luger from a pawn shop in Colorado. Except for the plastic grips on the one I bought, it sounds a lot like yours (if it's been re-blued). The bore on mine is pretty good though. I paid $849. I did add some repo wood grips because I like that look better.

[Milsurp Collector]

The main question I have is has it been re-blued or is the finish original?

Maybe it's the photography, but it doesn't look like it has any finish on it at all. In any case I doubt it has any original finish.

By the way, you would get more responses if you post questions about older guns in the Curio & Relic section http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/f...splay.php?f=84

For comparison here's my 1940

[sonofeugene]

Maybe it's the photography, but it doesn't look like it has any finish on it at all. In any case I doubt it has any original finish.

The photo doesn't show it very well and the gunsmiths I've shown it to aren't sure if the finish (which it has) is original or not. That's why I'm looking for someone local who can tell me.

[sonofeugene]

Those look like "sweetheart grips" you sometimes encounter on WWII 1911's. They were often made from aircraft plexiglass and had a photograph underneath of their girlfriend (sweetheart) or movie star. Is the multi colored striping a backing to the grip or is the color molded through-out the grip?

In regard to the finish, its really hard to tell without close-ups of the stampings looking for any dishing or rounding of parts that should be sharp edged.

Interesting. The grips are made of colored plastic, laminated together. On the back side, there's a thin coating of silver paint.

So, you're saying that my father might have bought the grips rather than making them?

I also have an Izarra that my father brought back with him. It has one oiece clear colorless grips that used to have a photo of his kid sister under one of the grips.

[sonofeugene]

Here's a couple closeups.

[sonofeugene]

Here's another.