The Evolution Of The Korth Sport Revolver

[Andyd]

I had the opportunity to shoot rare and higher end guns that were owned by affluent friends in a gun club as a young man, most notable a pre-series Glock, an MR73 and MR-32 Sport, SIG P210s, and last but not least; the Korth revolvers. I always wanted a Korth revolver but it took almost 30 years before I bought my first one. I was once again impressed enough with them to start collecting Korths made in the two old factories in Ratzeburg and want to give you guys a short overview of these fine revolvers.

 

Korth started manufacturing firearms in 1964 with .38 Special Police revolvers that were not commercially successful and production of a little less than 1.000 revolvers continued through 1965 when he also started to make the first Sport series revolvers in the 21 serial range. These guns were all very well made and exquisitely finished.

This is an example of a 1966 vintage revolver with the ejector rod being pulled forward to release the cylinder. The push button for cylinder removal is a larger blued knob just as on the Police models.

In 1967 and 1968 the models in the 22xxx and 23xxx  serial range had a smaller knob to take out the cylinder and the trigger rebound spring was accessable from the outside. The grips are generally still very crude and unchanged from the 21xxx. I changed them to a pair of the later Nill manufactured grips.

In 1969 till 1971 starting with the 24xxx and 25xxx serial range the revolvers had the action evolution basically finished and the new cylinder latch on the right side of the hammer and a square ending ejector housing. Most importantly an exchangeable bearing was placed on top of the trigger which allows a very repeatable stacking and incredibly smooth double action. From this model on the grips were manufactured by Nill to Willi Korth's specs.

In 1971 with the 26xxx serial numbers the adjustment for the trigger rebound spring was slightly redesigned and the ejector housing used a slanted design.

In 1975 starting with the 30xxx serial range the Sport revolvers have a two piece barrel with a shroud and full underlug. The barrel profile is round.

Since the new barrel shroud immediately drew comparisons with the Colt Python Willi Korth changed the profile to a slightly slab-sided design in 1979, starting with the 32xxx series. This was basically the Korth Sport in its final form.

There were different front and rear sight options available, including a micrometer adjustable rear sight with three blades, a ramped front sight and a trigger shoe. 

The Sport model with Nill adjustable palmrest grips, micrometer rear sight and a trigger shoe was marketed as the Target model.

Edited June 30, 2018 by Andyd

[blueiron]

I've handled them, but never fired one. They are exquisitely made and finished handguns.

[Jstrange]

Thanks for posting this. Very interesting. I have always liked the high end European revolvers, but they are out of my price range.

[Andyd]

2 minutes ago, Jstrange said:

Thanks for posting this. Very interesting. I have always liked the high end European revolvers, but they are out of my price range.

Hawes imported the early Saueer & Sohn, Eckernförde double action revolvers that are very well made and with the name Hawes on it, they are not costing an arm and a leg. I am looking for a Czech Brno for first hand experience, something like that:

 

 

[Jstrange]

They are currently sold by dealers as surplus or they are around in the hands of private sellers?

[Andyd]

I have only seen a few Brno for sale in Europe, never one in the U.S. The Hawes/Sauer were imported decades ago and rarely come up from estate sales. Since they are not well known, the prices are generally not too high. I vaguely remember seeing one, maybe a year ago- after it sold - for around $300.

[Jstrange]

Ok I gotcha.

[Dric902]

How does the Nighthawk Korth guns compare to the original?

are they the ‘discount” Korth?

[Andyd]

10 hours ago, Dric902 said:

How does the Nighthawk Korth guns compare to the original?

are they the ‘discount” Korth?

Korth in Ratzeburg went through several bankruptcies. When Willi Korth started the business, the wages in post-war Germany were still supressed and he started in a town were labour was cheap. He wasn't much of a businessman and cost of production was always too high. The guns were handmade and as wages increased, so did the prices for the guns. When I visited the shop in Ratzeburg in late 2007, right before they closed, the master gun smith told me that they were happy to sell seven guns a month.

The new owners are the Webers and they moved Korth to Lollar, Germany, were they have a factory to manufacture precision parts for luxury automobiles, mostly Italian sports cars. They continued to make the traditional revolvers with thee use of their modern machinery and came up with a product that at least matched the old Ratzeburg products performancewise. However, they can do a simple cost-profit calculation and figured out that they have to make some changes and open new markets to make the venture successful and not loose a lot of money. They came up with the "new" models and teamed up with Nighthawk as a distributor and service center in the U.S.A.

Their guns are very well made and much more uniform than the old handmade guns have been - none of the grips on my 17 Korths interchange - the trigger pull is great and the steel is the best available. The finishing and polishing is no longer done by hand, in the old factory no polishing wheel were used, the guns were kind of sanded with polishing blocks.

The lower price of the new revolvers is reflecting the streamlined manufacturing of an established and commercially successful company. Mr. Andreas Weber, the CEO, answered my question why they went into the difficult market of gun manufacturing and explained that his family are gun enthusiasts and that it is more of a hobby for them.

 

Below photo is from their showcase, I would not mind having a Korth AR lower :).

 

 

 

Edited July 1, 2018 by Andyd

[Bucky]

Great post.