Krieghoff S-Code Question...

Have a lead on a S-code, early Krieghoff luger (serial number very low as XXX) that the seller states has Ritzmann grips (and no, this luger is not with one of the big dealers...).


My only Krieghoff book by R. Gibson indicates that the Ritzmann should have appeared in the middle-series S-codes and disappeared by late 1936 or early 1937.


What do you folks think ?


I think an S-code with XXX-serial number is too early to have originally had the Ritzmann grips...

Ritzmann grips?


Ed

Hello Ed,


The company Hermann Ritzmann & Sons (HRS) made a brown plastic grip with very fine checkering and a narrow border all around the grips for Krieghoff. Krieghoff also used a coarse checkered brown plastic grips made by others. Early Krieghoffs used wooden grips, then the two types of brown plastic grips, and finally went to black plastic grips around 1937.


R. Gibson covers this well on pages 42-51 in his " The Krieghoff Parabellum ", if you have access to this book.


The Ritzmann grips have the emblem "HRS" molded inside, the number "8964" molded, and threaded holes for the grip screws (similar to BW grip panels). R.Gibson says the reason for "8964" is not known.


The early Military S-Codes ran from 1-2500. The middle S-Codes ran from 2000-3000 and the late S-Codes ran from 2100-4000.


Gibson indicates the Ritzmann grips did not appear until the middle of the middel S-Code run...


Thus my concern for an early S-Code with serial nubmer XXX with the Ritzmann grips.


Asking price of the gun is in the mid $3K's...thus my "little red flag" popping up...

http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/KrieghoffRitzmann.jpg

How nice to see what you were talking about, thanks!


Ed

http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/Krieghoff6.jpg

[Dieter H. Marschall]

Hello,

those numbers within the grip plates designate the type of plastic (first figure), percentage of resin (second figure)and colour (last two figures). This was surveyed by "Materialpr�¼fungsamt Berlin-Dahlem".

Dieter H. Marschall.