Anvil 060: Luger ReStraw

Remember, what we show here is what you need to go learn, not a tutorial. If you do not posses the skills to perform at this level, do NOT attempt.
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[@qwertyqwerty5904]

Hands down one of the best firearms channels on youtube

[@PieAndChips]

Paul Harrell and Mark Novak 👌

[@anthonyc417]

These videos are so fun. I genuinely get excited about gunsmithing lol.

[@prpunk187]

Very entertaining thats for sure 👍

[@parrisgeorge9708]

Mark thank you for yet another great video. This one hits close to home for me. I inherited my dad's Luger which dates from 1918. Like many of his generation he kept it in the holster in his sock drawer. Over the years some pitting developed on the toggle and toward the muzzle. I was good friends with a GOOD gunsmith that did the type of work you do. He after a good amount of time talked me into bringing him the Puget for evaluation and such. After he looked at the pitting he said he could recolor the straw bits and arrest the pitting without damaging the base gun. Several months went by but at my next BIRTHDAY he said the gun was finished. I went to his shop to pick it up and what I got back was not only a conserved Luger, but a Luger that was properly polished with correct finishes. Several of the deepest pits remain which is more than fine with me. He gave me the option of leaving it with him for welding and the work to make it 100% but I declined due to not wanting the family history completely removed. When I tried to pay him he just said "Happy birthday".

[@jeffreyroot6300]

Wow!

[@j81851]

Mark your presentation, dry humor wit and wisdom is refreshing to see on YT. YT has turned into a cess pool of misinformation, "experts" (giving copious use of "air quotes") and dangerous processes and cruddy work. It is a BREATH OF FRESH AIR to see someone come out and lay it on the line as a professional and call these gun hacks out for what they are. I was so impressed and excited when you fired 8 out of that clip at a BANG-BANG-.... in rapid succession! WOW that was thrilling, exciting and I know based on the smile on your face so very gratifying. God bless you and your work you are a prince among men to love, cherish and save these old beautiful guns from the hackers, whackers and hijackers! Please keep up the excellent work, and please share it with us. Your videos are fun, wonderfully entertaining and informative. Thank you from a professional person with 50 years in his craft. I can appreciate excellence and passion in you and I am grateful!

[@hairydogstail]

You make every video entertaining and informative. My high school teacher wife has become a fan of your channel. I fear very little, but when you start to work on these historic pieces, I find it hard to watch. I keep thinking, Oh my God, he just destroyed it and then it comes out as another master piece. You are a master gun smith sir, kudos!

[@StonyRC]

Yeah, me too. I often find myself watching through my fingers - terrified of what Mark is doing.

[@sheldoniusRex]

A Sergeant First Class and a Lieutenant Colonel are getting their hair cut at the same time. They're both getting the works. Razor cut fades, hot towels, straight razor shave. The. Works. The Ltc's barber asks him if he wants any of the house aftershave. "Hell no!" exclaims the Colonel. "My wife will think I've been inside a French whorehouse." Immediately the SFC speaks up and tells his barber, "Go ahead and douse me up with that stuff. My wife's never been inside a French whorehouse."

[@Brickrider2]

So I am not the only one to think of that joke when he said French whorehouse.

[@marcomalo02]

I followed a major in the barber chair at Ft. Polk before vietnam. The major didn't have enough hair to pinch, but the barber worked him for 20 minutes. Major finally finished I got in the chair, took the barber about 90 seconds to do a Spec 4.

[@constancemiller3753]

😘

[@StonyRC]

Oh, that's PRICELESS. Thanks.

[@johnwedow2117]

Finally a true Gun Smith speaks of gun knowledge . Not some guy in a safari jacket . Thank you Sir . Cheers and have a great Christmas

[@catskinner3254]

Experience is what you get right after you need it.

[@ifitsfreeitsforme1852]

Molten salt peter is dangerous as S--t. It's an oxidizer that is one component of black powder . In a molten state it will oxidize anything with carbon in it . Spill any on wood or even grass and you got trouble. Using it outside on concrete is the safest way. It does produce a brilliant blue on steel parts and was standard finish for early firearm small parts.

[@brucemccreary38]

When I did work for John Martz, the Custom Luger Smith, he had fixtures for the trigger / sear train so, he could adjust the travel and get the slip out. When one squeezed the trigger it was very good, as clean as a fine old Colt or S & W revolver.

[@Kaboomf]

All the non-bubba'd Lugers I've handled had crisp good triggers.

[@bluescatreimer]

Wow Mark you sure made that Luger look a 100% better!

[@Foche_T._Schitt]

They didn't *blue* it, they *blew* it.

[@TheLawDawg]

I have one of the very first late 1936 Lugers made right after they stopped the slow rustblue / straw process. Any Luger made before that time and some made during 1936 were never hot blued. Lugers also had very sharp details and tended to retain some tooling marks. A lot of the polished to death guns you see were badly refinished or nickel plated after WW2 by the GI’s that brought them back or some family member that wanted to pimp out Dad’s war trophy. Straw colors were very fragile and tended to fade fairly quickly during normal use. I have about a dozen Lugers that I saved from various levels of intentional abuse like this. It is good to see Mark educating people on this issue.

[@hamm6035]

I know it's sacrilege but I bought a pretty box luger. Not a lot of matching numbers etc. The guy that built it as a project. Had it hard chromed black and fake pearl grips. It is a shooter. A lot of parts were refitted. Functions perfectly. The price was right and I bought my first "Pimp" gun. So yes I've sinned but with a big smile 😀.

[@anthonyhayes1267]

Burn zie hexe

[@sandtowalk]

Your the Man love listening to your knowledge

[@robertl6196]

Sometimes, a Brownell's catalog is a bad thing.

[@glockpoppin]

Very nice. Fixing someone else's bad job can be difficult, you sir did an outstanding job 👏

[@lokivonbrandis2129]

Fantastic to see that an old poorly refurbished gun can be brought back to life with the skill of a master craftsman!. Bravo Mark!

[@disturbedmaynard3873]

Since I have been watching your videos, I have learned to not just jump in on a gun problem. Currently, I have a Colt Jr .25acp that needs a firing pin retaining pin, and I can't find one anywhere. So, I have decided to make one. I found the correct diameter rod, and will be heating, hammering and cutting soon.

[@levergatRapha]

Don't forget to heat treat the pin once its working. Firing fin tends to do strange stuff when they aren't (ok this is more of an issue for rifles, but still, you dont want an stuck firing pin on even a blowback 6,35mm/acp

[@MakoVette]

Make sure your hammers are mirror polished, or ol' Saint Novak will be stuffing coal into your possibles bag come Christmas. :)

[@Dsdcain]

I truly love the opening title card. "The episode you are about to watch is for entertainment purposes only. *This is not a tutorial; if you do not have the skills, experience and tools to execute this work, do not attempt."* Man if more folks paid attention to these types of things...... Thanks for the videos. I find them so pleasant to watch. *:-)*

[@alex4alexn]

love these so much, wish we could pay you full time for your teachings, beautiful results!

[@Nebelwerfer210cm]

You can, he has a Patreon that you can use to pay him money directly.

[@spangy8405]

This video is one of the best, most informative and correct videos i've seen in a long while. The collector community takes our hats off to you Mark ... extremely well done.

[@fettmaneiii4439]

Excellent work once again! Man, I guess I finally found the only gunsmith I would trust fixing my beloved Ol' Virginia.

[@rottiesrule5285]

very few "gunsmiths"out there with the skills that this man posesses...mark is one i would trust with anything ....i would give my eye teeth to be able to study under him...he still practices a dying art and is a real jewel to the trade.those people are few and far between anymore...when you find one best to listen and learn while you can

[@papafrank7094]

Mark, I wanted to wish you and your crew a very enjoyable Christmas, and to thank you all for the videos. May you and yours be blessed.

[@guitarsnguns]

I cracked-up when I saw your beginning! I had a DWM Luger and a Broom handle in my shop at the same time this summer! Conservation on the Broom handle, and restoration after a horribly done hot bluing job on the Luger!

[@CopyCatCo]

I don't know why I thought this, but until I watched this video I thought salt bluing was done with regular sodium chloride. So you made at least one person more knowledgable today on top of it being an entertaining video.

[@carlosescobar6973]

It's a pleasure see your work and your videos!!

[@kevinauld4367]

Thank you it's always my pleasure to learn from you I hope others do as well . 👍👍👍🤓

[@billshepherd4331]

I always learn something. Thanks Guru Novak!

[@bobmurray3229]

I appreciate your love and respect for the engineering that goes into our modern firearms

[@Whitpusmc]

I’m voting for “bilge of a Submarine.”

[@RonLego]

Dad brought back a WWII trophy Luger (a 42). I don't know that he ever fired it, but he religiously took it out of the holster once a month and cleaned it. I fired it one time, then retired it to a labor of preservation love. It still is as it was the day Dad got off the Queen Mary returning from Europe. So good to see you conserve, so nicely, a member of the family.

[@TBullCajunbreadmaker]

Mark it was a pleasure to watch this. My Uncle brought one back with him that he took off of a dead SS officer in Berlin. It has never been apart as far as I know and there is little bluing on the gun left. But the gun has never failed to fire. It has been cleaned as far as it could be blown out with high pressure air and cleaning patches with 3 in one oil. It is a really accurate gun and as I said really dependable, no telling how many rounds that have been through the gun. It amazes me to think anybody would subject a gun like this to such black glassy bluing and polish every sharp edge that is suppose to be there completely rounded. How stupid people are sometimes.

[@TheLawDawg]

Was your uncle Russian? The final US / British lines were a long way from Berlin at the end of the war so it is highly unlikely that the old family story is true. I have seen many Lugers that have similar tall tales attached to them, some even more far fetched. The fact is that most take home pistols were obtained from depots of surrendered arms, especially by officers who were allowed to obtain "war trophies" in a non-lethal setting. Sorry for the reality check but Luger collectors have heard that exact same story thousands of times and it just does not add up. You might want to research where your uncle actually served during the war and see if there is a more likely story. Even so, keep it in the family because once gone you will never get it back.

[@TBullCajunbreadmaker]

@@TheLawDawg He was a liason officer for the US Army and an interpreter.

[@TheLawDawg]

@@TBullCajunbreadmaker Makes sense that he could have picked one up that had been stored after surrender but by the time he would ever have been to Berlin the fighting would have been long over and the bodies and weapons gone. However, I am firmly of the belief that it is an uncle's sworn duty to tell tall tales to his nieces and nephews to cement his place as "being way cooler than Dad" :) Just for curiosity, if you happen to know, there should be a date above the chamber and some sort of marking on the toggle. Do you know what they are? that can tell you a lot about the gun's history. Some Lugers were first made before WW1, hidden after the war, refitted by the Nazis in the early thirties and used right to the end of the war. I have one that was made prior to 1910 and after WW2 was restamped by the Russians for use in East Germany after the Cold War ended a lot of these made their way over here. Since nobody ever wanted to toss out a Luger some of them have very long histories. The story of your family's trophy might be far more fantastic than you suspect, just for different reasons.

[@TBullCajunbreadmaker]

@@TheLawDawg I don't really know who has the gun. My Uncles and my father have all passed on. I think one of my male cousins has the gun now in Oklahoma. IIf I remember there was a manufacture date of 1932 or somewhere in there. I am pretty sure my Uncle was in Berlin though even though I do not know when. He was with a general as part of the staff officers is all I remember. I was just remembering a little of my old age anyway, it's not such a big deal to me. I have a Japanese Katana also from one of my other Uncles though, I did get that because he had no kids and I was his favorite nephew. That an a 7.7 mm Arisaka.

[@danielemmons3513]

Now I can't wait for the "Broomhandle"

[@Angus762]

what an absolute pleasure to watch a master at work.

[@ericlaird7508]

Mark , thanks for the time you take to make these videos they are very entertaining...so we can all watch you do your magic with these priceless works of art and real history...that we can see and feel and hopefully share and shoot with our Grankids...KEEP ON ROCKING IT! .......ANVIL 060

[@GilbertdeClare0704]

Mark, you are an ARTIST ! Sheer genius, sir !

[@wlewisiii]

I would love to find one that badly abused but functional - why? Because that's probably the only Luger I can afford!

[@Purpmaster]

Was there something about this gun that made it particularly rare or historically significant to justify the cost of refurbishing? A typical refurbished common p08 variant s only gonna sell for $600 - $1200 give or take a little. Great work though, you are definitely the best gunsmithing channel on YT that I’ve ever come across.

[@coreys2686]

Thank you for saving another piece of history from Bubba.

[@IdleLayabout]

Chemistry, metallurgy, physics and text books... Me 20 years ago: Eeeww!! Me now: Cool! Let me grab a coffee and settle in...

[@DARIVSARCHITECTVS]

I have a mismatched shooter grade 1940 Luger P08 in similar condition, but the rust pitting is almost nonexistent. The slide and frame were polished and the entire pistol hot reblued, but the rough flat surfaces where most of the milling marks were left from the factory were unmolested and are flat, not super shiny like the buffed areas. Some rounding of the edges was noted, but not nearly as bad as the WWI luger in this video. As for reliability, it stovepipes occasionally using original or even MecGar modern magazines. New Wolff springs were installed years ago, and the original springs retained, because this pistol is a shooter grade pistol. You can play with shooter grade guns, not collectable ones, hence they are more fun. I would like to replace the original extractor which broke with another one with #72, if I could only find one, in order to match the numbers up once again.

[@JohnDoe-pv2iu]

Watched it again. Still love it @16.05! I can't remember how many times I have found 'junk' from a hardware store in or on a firearm. One time the screw holding the magazine cap on an old pump shotgun came loose. The man found the cap and spring. He went to a hardware store and put a Woodscrew in the thing! Couldn't wait for a 1 dollar screw... Anyway, it got fixed but cost a lot more than a 1 dollar screw plus shipping... Oh well, a lot of stupidity is what keeps the 'meat and potatoe' business, of the average gunsmith, going. Nice work, I mean as nice as you can get with what that pistol has been through. Take Care and be safe, John

[@CarterWHern]

Audio and video quality is superb.

[@marcomalo02]

I have been fortunate to fire a WWII Luger brought back as a war prize by a friend's father. Still had a spare mag with loads in it when taken off a German officer. Great gun.

[@claytoncherry3192]

Fun fact: a luger will fire with just the top half of the gun if the sear bar is pushed.

[@moc6897]

Yes, the Parabellum can be used as a 1-shot emergency pen.

[@treefrogskis]

If I was in the states, I'd be knocking on your door everyday asking you to hire me. This stuff fascinates the hell out of me.

[@Thorsaxe777]

I'm amazed at the quality ethic that took place back then, it wasn't just a pistol, It was someone's commitment to being original. I believe that many ideas came from other designs, however, these pistols were not copies of one another like we have today.

[@VexChoccyMilk]

It is funny you say that, since the Luger was just somebody slightly changing the Borchardt C93. Everything is an incremental improvement over what the last guy did.

[@Exgrmbl]

@@VexChoccyMilk eh, calling it a slight change is a bit of an understatement...More like taking the working principle and completely reorganising and massively improving it.

[@geraldkeller2937]

Nice presentation! Thanks for all the information.

[@redtobertshateshandles]

Grandads brother went to France in WW1 and gave a Luger to his brother who stayed behind training soldiers. My dad used to load it and point it at people walking past, and general kids stuff. Grandad was showing a friend the pistol one day and accidentally fired it into the fireplace. He got rid of it. Dunno if he knew gremlins had been playing with it. Supposedly taken from a dead German officer but who knows.

[@VexChoccyMilk]

If your grandad knew better gun safety you would have a Luger now.

[@jamesw9930]

When I was a kid my dad used to comment that something or other was more complicated than a luger. Now I understand.

[@Subgunman]

Nice work on conserving a fine piece! Love that rust bluing.

[@stefanmolnapor910]

Very well done, thank you. I would habe loved a finish shot, with your expertise lighting, you know how to set the light right to make objects highly visible

[@stevestoll3124]

I enjoy watching this channel.

[@olskool3967]

good video Mark! i am going to come by one day. i live about 40 min. away from you. when i was a kid in the late 60s-70s i spent a lot of time at the original RPM gun shop on johns island. Bob Mizell and Charlie and ED Floyd were real gun aficionados. there place smelled of leather, gun oil and wisdom,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[@zebdeming]

Temper colors are much better when exposed to the atmosphere instead of under a liquid solution, they are an oxide film. Use sand in your tank, and use an oven.

[@TheWozWizard]

The hot dip blue was the work of Boris and Natasha.

[@mikeohandley6765]

Some twit wire-wheeled the hell out of that frame. I remember reading a book on weapons conservation back in the 70's and the author said that using wire wheels on vintage guns was a crime. Lots of old guns have the bluing worn off and they have garnered decades worth of browning. The author said it was more appropriate to clean up corrosion without wire brushing, using gentle scraping and steel wool and then to lightly re-brown the metal. That way you have a cleaned-up weapon with a patina that matches its age.

[@dbaider9467]

A very underrated channel. Wake up KZbin algorithm.

[@captmuttonchops]

Algorithm promotion. Tell your friends, folks. This channel needs more attention.

[@James-fs4rn]

👍 can't get enough of your videos! Thanks

[@wallacejeffery5786]

My grand father bought back a 1913 Luger from ww1. The trigger was milled off and replaced with a home made. After 50 years I finally got it back. I was able to find a WWII era trigger with the same serial number as the rest of the gun. The original bluing is so fine.

[@briankerr4512]

I really want a luger don't care if it is a commercial or military ... Just want one . I enjoy your vids.

[@warrenrosen2326]

Dude knows his shit.

[@danielbrown8267]

Mark saves another one! Great job

[@kalaharimine]

Nice, Luger is so classically gorgeous.

[@Rmasters33]

How was the hot dip blue removed? Have you experience with what I am told is black chrome? I have a WWII P.38 that looks like it was decoupaged, but otherwise looks like it was virtually unfired. Thanks

[@armadagunshow]

Excellent vidéo, thanks for sharing, a french fellow collector

[@philllax1719]

That poor poor gun. Someday I'll have one

[@80spodcastchannel]

always liked the Pistole Parabellum PO8 LUGER.. just an awesome and timeless design..you did it justice Mark.. looks the part now

[@CS-zn6pp]

Great video. Talk about being a beautiful firearm back from the dead.

[@Paladin1873]

My first Luger was a WWII Mauser bring back. It would sometimes fire when you loaded it or pop off two rounds with one trigger pull. I later replaced it with a WWI DWM that has never displayed such quirks. They are such wonderful pistols to hold in the hand and shoot.

[@chefbink61]

I love to see these old weapons brought back to their natural state.

[@stevebarrow5154]

interesting video once again mark.....thank you

[@ElkinsEric]

My grandpa brought one of these “officer pistols” back from the war; holster and all. Every time pap showed it to us, he’d say “look at the wear on that holster. It’s killed many a Jew. I used it to get some revenge for all of them”...and he was very solemn about it. Pap only talked about the war once, and it was the first time I ever saw him cry. Rest easy Pap.

[@rwseemore1]

As usual, I'm impressed

[@Jordan-ce7sf]

Judging by the amount of saltpeter I consumed in Navy boot camp and todays weather in Texas, I should be the shade of full blue according to the chart.🤣

[@poorguyshomestead]

My dad has a chrome Luger in 7.65, and the finish has started to flake off and the white scales have broken. My great-grandfather brought it back from the war, and I'd love to get it restored for my father. Do you think this is something you'd be able to tackle??

[@moc6897]

A Parabellum pistol is always a pleasure, whereas a French ... may be or may not be ... Should be straw-yellow: the trigger, the long transfer bar and the safety lever.

[@slowhand1198]

Thank you for saving this piece from ignominy. Ugh. The horror.

[@mikeypops73]

Great content right here folks

[@itypefaster]

Mark, I was talking with a Co worker and discovered you have a channel, I haven't seen you since early 89 maybe, Key West.

[@marknovak8255]

Small, small world. 722 for the win, and the old girl is still afloat!

[@JC-XL]

@@marknovak8255 It's not a small world KZbin is too big 😂 😂

[@thehobobehindyou]

@12:15, Not sure how pervasive of a problem it is, but my Luger has an issue with the side plate that holds the trigger transfer bar. It looks like someone filed it down, and it does not fit tightly under the disassembly latch. This causes excessive trigger slop and I've almost had the slide come off while shooting because the disassembly lever isn't as well retained.

[@kenibnanak5554]

Both IMA and SARCO carry new made side plates. Some fitting may be required.

[@egzonsalihu1451]

Luger P08 what a sound so beautiful.

[@My-Nickel]

Thank you sir 🙏

[@daviddiffenderfer6963]

Dam Mr Mark u keep getting better

[@daviddiffenderfer6963]

Mr Mark will u do a sr25 soon sir

[@Real11BangBang]

We've got a Bolo C96 mauser coming in for our channel however the previous owner thought it would be a good idea to ceracoat it matte black

[@marknovak8255]

Well, it might depend on what you find under the paint. Bad surface pits can be minimized with a proper and well applied cerrakote job. Tread lightly, looking forward to seeing the finished job...

[@Real11BangBang]

@@marknovak8255 Yep one look at it and I can tell it's pitted even through the ceracoat. Oh well it'll just be a shooter.

[@shaneharrison4775]

I dont know how I missed this one awesome refit from that horrible dip blueing looks much better and I noticed that the full mag test how well that little peice of kit recovers after each shot. A sweet pistol

[@veleriphon]

Another piece of history saved from the jaws of modernization.

[@alfulton5946]

This would be either my first or second handgun if Canada ever allows me to own them. The 1911 is my other choice. The lugar would only be my first choice as the price of ammo being cheaper. My favorite lugar is the Swiss redesign just because I know I can get 9mm ammo

[@AroundTheHouseWithDani]

awesome videos

[@chefemilj]

Thank you

[@ChronoTango]

Mark Novak is to guns what Louis Rossmann is to Macbooks. Except Mark is able to fix everything and make his own parts.

[@topguntin]

Can't wait until guns with DRMs hit the market

[@ChronoTango]

@@topguntin better yet, “guns as a service”

[@topguntin]

@@ChronoTango that might actually work for competition guys. I know someone with 3 identical SW revolvers: 1 for competition day, one for practice, and one at SW getting serviced!

[@Icanhasautomaticcheeseburger]

Well, one works with chunks of metal that can be made in a cave in Afghanistan, the other works with a silicon semiconductor with millions of transistors made in a clean room. Not taking away from either, though.

[@tissuepaper9962]

@@topguntin that's what sponsorships are for. I've got a friend who has a similar setup with three sets of sponsored race skis.

[@mickeyhuggins7850]

I love lugers lockwashers on firearms not so much thanks for the lesson Mr.Novak.

[@williamhart4896]

Missed your upload of this one now for the watch

[@Frankthejeweler]

Sure like watching your videos. Very educational. Great.

[@MyDailyUpload]

I picked up a 1918 Erfurt that I think was a Russian arsenal rehab. I’m not a Luger guy by any means but I wanted an example for my collection. It showed some of the same cratering on the frame as this one.

[@kenibnanak5554]

That cratering in the safety area is common on a lot of Lugers I have held. I don''t know why for sure, but I suspect it comes from keeping the pistol in a moist holster. Alternatively, some seem to have been factory or ordnance blued right over those imperfections.

[@rgbgamingfridge]

how can you tell the difference between hot and rust blue?

[@vajazzlerthis]

Great video

[@BobMuir100]

Gosh, you are a tough old but like-able geezer aren’t you!? First time viewer by the way , very interesting I didn’t know so many colours were possible ?!? You were tough on the previous bloke but maybe he was learning? I know nothing about your business and I may have made the same error coz I knew no better, we all need to learn? So, what does the term ‘straw’ mean? Loved your work throughs and explanations, even I could follow. Brilliant end result, again why 2 bullets and not full, don’t see the difference? Enjoyable, thanks

[@marknovak8255]

Temper blue process Straw is yellow color Lugers are NOT the gun you learn on...... The mechanism that disconnects the trigger from the sear must be tested every time the fire control group is disturbed. Failure to disconnect will cause the gun to go FULL AUTO, with poor outcomes.

[@BobMuir100]

@@marknovak8255 : I see didn’t know full auto was possible on that Gun. Thanks

[@marknovak8255]

@@BobMuir100 Full auto can only happen if the mechanism is deranged. It should never happen, and thats what is being tested.

[@BobMuir100]

@@marknovak8255 : thank you, now I follow you.

[@phoenixrising4573]

@@marknovak8255 Sounds like the sear on a 1911 some of these fools lobe off. Saw one put 5 through the backstop and roof of a range some idiot slapped a mag in for the test fire. Dumped all 5 as soon as he dropped the hammer.