WWI, WWII handguns

[browningautorifle]

Japanese Type 94.

Pics after...

[Aragorn243]

The pics on this one aren't good. They didn't put much effort into this one. It looks to be in decent shape with little wear on the finish but the finish is a light color. I've seen these both like this and with darker finishes. This particular one is a December of 1943 so it's not a late war but they were starting to skimp on the finishing. Lots of machining marks. Small piece of the one grip is missing and the magazine doesn't match. I actually talked with them three times on this and got opinions from three different guys on it, they all seemed to agree the bore is excellent, the exterior at about 70% and uniform. No idea when it will come in. Coming from Texas this time. I'm hoping before Sunday but Thanksgiving and Black Friday may throw a monkey wrench into it.

[browningautorifle]

Pics when you have it I meant...that way they'll be thorough.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Do not forget the Victory model. Can be had reasonable. And the M35 Highpower.

[Aragorn243]

I understood what you meant. They only posted two, one of each side. Like I said, I talked to three different guys and had all three operate it, look at it and describe it. I kind of hate doing it this way but not much choice. I doubt it's in bad condition. I can see no rust or pitting on it anywhere, just machining marks. I'm thinking the bluing will be a bit darker in person like the luger was but not expecting dark blue. I can't really see any wear marks on it along the slide, or high spots so I'm thinking this was probably lightly finished to begin with. Many that I've looked at online seem to be the same color. I'll post what they have here. I can zoom in on them pretty nice. These are only two photos but some are zoomed:

[browningautorifle]

Always thought they were an ugly duckling but you see so few of them, specially around here. I'd make the ammo from something so I could shoot it... Looks good. Yes, very rough by comparison to many others.

[Aragorn243]

I also think it's a pretty ugly pistol. I actually have ammo for it already I think. Bought a box for my Type 94 years ago.

I've watched a lot of videos on these and get a kick out of a lot of them. This is the "worlds most dangerous pistol" to some. It can be fired without pulling the trigger. Cabelas even has it in it's listing that "Important design flaw: Regardless of the postition of the safety, any blow or jar strong enough to activate the firing mechanism of the gun , can cause it to fire."

This is patently untrue. If the safety is on, it can't be fired at all. A jar or blow also will not "activate the firing mechanism of the gun" either.

I even thought they were dangerous up until researching this one. The issue is the exposed sear bar. It starts with the rounded end directly above the trigger in photo 4 and goes back to the rear of the pistol just beyond the safety. If the safety is off, and you push on the round portion to a depth of about 2mm, it will fire. It will reload and fire again if you push it again. If the safety is on, you can't depress it, thus you cannot fire it. It is on a pivot in the center and the safety prevents it from pivoting, like a see saw. So the next thing is you could fire it by putting it into your holster shooting yourself in the leg. Pretty impossible to depress it with a smooth surface such as the inside of a holster. Also impossible to depress it while it is in the holster. And again, if you have the safety on, it isn't an issue. After that is that it was specifically designed to shoot someone while surrendering, despite there never being a recorded instance of this happening.

So it has a bad reputation probably undeserved. As it was standard procedure for the Japanese to carry pistols with an empty chamber at all times, it wasn't even an issue for them. It was designed for tank crews, pilots and also used by paratroopers. It was well liked, more so than the Type 14 because of it's small size and lighter weight. It is considered awkward by many but everyone seems to forget it was designed for the average Japanese soldier who had smaller hands than soldiers from other nations.

Better videos also explain the reasons Type 14's and Type 94's have so many issues today, because the current production ammo which is hard to find is not made to military specs or of very good quality.

So it has a good story to tell and will go well with my presentations.

[browningautorifle]

current production ammo which is hard to find is not made to military specs or of very good quality.

What could it be made from? What's close...? Anything?

It looks like the Sig hibreds... Steinel Ammunition Introduces 8x22mm Ammo for Nambu Type 14 and Type 94 Pistols

I searched further and found a thread. I'd actually do this as I have time...and a ton of forty brass and 30/30 dies.

Reforming and Reloading 8mm nambu

[rcathey]

What could it be made from? What's close...? Anything?

MidwayUSA had a run made in their early days. There are still boxes of that floating around. I’ve seen a few at auction in just the past year.

[Aragorn243]

Picked it up today. Through a wonderful coincidence of events, I got it for $125 less than their asking price. Turns out the local Cabelas was running a special on all used semi-auto pistols for Black Friday which amounted to $75 and corporate Cabelas gave me a $50 off coupon. Had the nightmare of black friday to deal with. Took 3 hours to get out of there. All numbers other than the magazine that I can see match. Bad news is while the extractor is all there, it is broken. Can they be welded? It pretty much looks like the photos. Bore is perfect. I'll try to get photos up soon and I'll put them in the appropriate forum. May be a few days, a lot going on here this weekend.

I did test the sear bar. It is not difficult to fire it by pressing the sear bar but it takes a deliberate action on your part. It is hard to do with a finger, easy to do with a thumb but they have to be in just the right place. You can't fire it with the safety on.