Luger take down tool. Is it original?

[Mike930]

Hi all. I found this and wondered if it was a fake or not. I've seen wa63 tools marked with just 63. Thanks.

Mike

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tab%3DWatching

[GWA]

It's as fake as John Kerry's Silver Star.

[Mike930]

It's as fake as John Kerry's Silver Star.

LOL Thanks!

[Mike930]

LOL Thanks!

Can you explain why it's a fake?

[GWA]

No such waffenamt was ever applied to Luger tools. Other fakes that are floating around now are droop wing 63's, byf's and other coded pieces. The tool appears to be a post war Norwegian tool but his photos are not quite sharp or bright enough to say for sure.

Take a look at the seller's Ebay name and the other wares he sells...smells of the Hindu Kush to me.

[Mike930]

Well, I see others that are supposed to be good with a similar mark. But it's just the eagle and 63, or whatever maker applies. I assume that's what you mean. I looked at the other things he has and I notice that he says, "We've had these made..." quite a bit. I don't think I'd want to purchase anything he has.

[GWA]

The waffenamt are not makers' marks but individual inspectors' marks. The fellow, or fellows, who stamped the stick wing eagle 63 were probably in the Mauser plant. The many phony marks one sees include a miriad of plant marks such as byf. Luger tools were only inspector marked never manufacturer marked. Tools made for commercial sales were unmarked.

[Mike930]

Thanks. That's what I meant to say instead of maker. I knew those were inspector marks. I was just looking at a list of maker marks and had that on my mind I guess.

[leondes]

Hi GWA,

Jan Still's "Third Reich Lugers" book, Page 122, shows that a tool with the WaA63 was made. I have 2 and I truly believe they are original.

The subject tool marking looks a little too crisp to be original but I would need to see it "in the flesh" to be absolutley sure. From the picture, I also believe it is a fake.

Regards, Leon

[GWA]

Leon, I think Jan's next print of that book may have a bunch of updates. As to the marking, I have been collecting Lugers and such since I was in college in 1966 and have never seen one until the last ten years. Kinda' like camo nazi helmets, they were rare or unheard of in the US until the last ten years.

[leondes]

Hi GWA,

I bought one about 3 years ago but the first I got came out of a collection in California (a long time well known collector) in about 1994. The tool rings just like the original tools when it is dropped on concrete and it measures approximately 2.5mm in thickness. I would be glad to provide pictures. The marking looks very much like the other markings that I have on Luger tools.

"Third Reich Lugers" was published in 1988.

Regards, Leon

[Edelweiss]

Jan Still's "Third Reich Lugers" book, Page 122, shows that a tool with the WaA63 was made. I have 2 and I truly believe they are original.

If by chance it was useful to the discussion...

[Mike930]

Now, I have seen some marked like this that were supposed to be good ones.

[leondes]

Hi GWA,

I emailed Jan Still to find out if there was any new info about the WaA63 tool that he has in his book.

Here is his reply: "I think the E/WaA63 marking is correct on a Luger tool."

Regards, Leon

[Frogprince]

I know that they are faking almost everything now, but I also have an Eagle/63 tool. That I got a number of years ago from a friend of mine who was an old time serious P.08 collector. FP