Thank goodness for this new function! Olds like me can now post pics. This is a gun that my grandpa had in his collection when he passed. My brother has it now and I never thought much of it. He got interested in it and wanted to find out its origins. I always thought that it was a 70's model due to the plastic grips etc. Took it to Drury and they said that the best they can tell it is a 1935-1938 mfg gun. It was re-nickeled a long time ago. They could not offer much more information. My question for the all knowing OB is where can I find out more info on this gun. My Grandpa was of Korea vintage, but his brothers fought in WWII. I never asked him the story of the gun, but it was the only pistol that he kept. Any ideas?

I have nothing useful to say, but that's a gorgeous ol' girl! Always loved the look of the PPK (even though I've always heard they're temperamental as hell).

Snow Monkey Ambassador said:

---

I have nothing useful to say, but that's a gorgeous ol' girl! Always loved the look of the PPK (even though I've always heard they're temperamental as hell).

---

Thanks, when I was separating out all of guns between my brother and I, I didn't think anything of this one. I was more interested in the long guns. The holster is really unique also. I will get him to send me some more pics and I will post. It is a .32 acp not a 9mm.

It's a Walther banner PPK and pre-war, as Dury's said. A lot of the time, German officers would purchase their own sidearms, and PPK's like this one were in higher demand for higher ranking officers (you obviously wouldn't want to be bringing something like that into combat), and they would buy these themselves instead of using military issue P-38's. After the war was over, a lot of US GI's would pick up a firearm (or three or four) and bring them back or ship them back, but before they did, a lot of them would have them nickel plated in theater. Very common. Unfortunately this nickel plating takes away any collector value it may have, but your gun is still worth several hundred dollars on the open market, and if it were mine, it would be priceless. Almost certainly this was a war trophy and I'd keep it clean and oiled and cherish it.

Red Pear Realty said:

---

It's a Walther banner PPK and pre-war, as Dury's said. A lot of the time, German officers would purchase their own sidearms, and PPK's like this one were in higher demand for higher ranking officers (you obviously wouldn't want to be bringing something like that into combat), and they would buy these themselves instead of using military issue P-38's. After the war was over, a lot of US GI's would pick up a firearm (or three or four) and bring them back or ship them back, but before they did, a lot of them would have them nickel plated in theater. Very common. Unfortunately this nickel plating takes away any collector value it may have, but your gun is still worth several hundred dollars on the open market, and if it were mine, it would be priceless. Almost certainly this was a war trophy and I'd keep it clean and oiled and cherish it.

---

Thank you. It is not for sale! This is the kind of information that I was looking for though. I will have my brother take better pictures of it. It seems to be nickeled throughout the gun, so it might have been nickeled originally. I would have never thought they would have put plastic grips on a gun that old. Almost, forgot, I have one more that I will post here. It was my great grandmother's snake shooting gun. It is in really tough shape. She always told us about having to shoot snakes with her snake shooter. We thought she was crazy. When she died, well I'll be damned, there is her snake shooter gun! She lived to the ripe age of 98 by herself off of Pyron st on the south side of SA. The gun was found under her mattress. I will post some pics of it in a while.

Red Pear Realty said:

---

---

Goodness, that thing is perfect. Wish I could figure out the history of the one we have. I may have to give my brother a few hundred bucks and get this one back.

Please post as many pics as you get! The smallest detail or marking can tell a story so the more the better. And Bakelite (grips or magazines or Art Deco era jewelry as my wife tells me) is the bees knees!

Red Pear Realty said:

---

Please post as many pics as you get! The smallest detail or marking can tell a story so the more the better. And Bakelite (grips or magazines or Art Deco era jewelry as my wife tells me) is the bees knees!

---

Will do. He is taking some more pictures right now. The holster looks like a modified version of what was in the video you posted.

This weird engraving is right under the ejection port on the frame. Right side.

A couple more pictures. I think the holster is a cut down version of the original as best I can tell.

Snow Monkey Ambassador said:

---

I have nothing useful to say, but that's a gorgeous ol' girl! Always loved the look of the PPK (even though I've always heard they're temperamental as hell).

---

I wonder if that is about the war era Walthers or the later Interarms & Smith versions. Ive heard plenty of gripes about the later PPK/S versions but never much bad about the older ones.

OP, since a lot of collector value has been lost thanks to the refinish, Id shoot the heck out of it.

One word of advice: buy euro made .32 like S&B. My .32s choke on US made .32 occasionally but run like champs on the hotter spec Euro ammo.

BenderRodriguez said:

---

Snow Monkey Ambassador said:

---

I have nothing useful to say, but that's a gorgeous ol' girl! Always loved the look of the PPK (even though I've always heard they're temperamental as hell).

---

I wonder if that is about the war era Walthers or the later Interarms & Smith versions. Ive heard plenty of gripes about the later PPK/S versions but never much bad about the older ones.

OP, since a lot of collector value has been lost thanks to the refinish, Id shoot the heck out of it.

One word of advice: buy euro made .32 like S&B. My .32s choke on US made .32 occasionally but run like champs on the hotter spec Euro ammo.

---

Thanks Bender, I don't know the last time this one was shot. My grandpa was never a fan of pistols. He thought they were "dangerous"! He was really PO'd when my Mom bought me a Browning Hi-Power when I was 18. I don't know what his deep rooted distrust of handguns was. Perhaps the Korean War? The bore is really clean on this one and it functions as it should.

Texas gun laws before 1994 were very unfriendly to handguns.

Because of that I think older Texans love rifles and shotguns but tend to have a dim view of handguns as "tools of crime" thanks to the racist post reconstruction gun control they grew up with. I was the first in my family to really get into handguns, and I grew up around shotguns and rifles aplenty.