A Good Knowledgable Source for Prewar Walther PPKs parts?

[krs]

I have two of the small prewar PPKs .32 acp pistols.

One, wearing waffennkapts and a scribed "K" on the bottom of the grip is in fine condition with it's internals appearing to have seen very little firing.

The other could get me arrested. It doubles, and I'm sure it would empty it's magazine with a trigger pull if it was fully loaded. It has an empty hole in the frame where the "hammer block, hammer block plunger, and hammer block spring" should be.

This one being the lesser of the two - someone buffed all markings away save the serial number and reblued the gun - I'd like to make it usable. They're neat little pistols.

I know Numrich's - have been using them for thirty years. They do show a listing for a hammer block that's different from the one for the larger Walther PP, but they have no other related parts specific to the little PPKs of mine. I've ordered what they have anyway in case I don't find anything more right, and I'll see if I can modify the wrong parts to work.

But I'd rather use the right parts. If someone knows a good source, or if someone's got a good detailed drawing, an expanded or blow-up of the smaller gun?

 

[rcmodel]

http://www.carlwalther.com/pp.htm

rc

 

[krs]

Thanks RC............I had contacted Earl's Repair Service, the US representative of the factory, once about this, including a description of the problem much like what I wrote above.

I got an answer that the pistol needs a hammer and sear and that I should send it to them for repair.

Well, I'm pretty sure that nothing is wrong with the hammer or the sear and I do have a description about how to remove and replace the small parts that are missing.

 

[HammerBite]

The hammer block has nothing to do with whether-or-not the gun doubles.

 

[krs]

No? Then I don't need it?

I'm useing the Walther term for it, but am assuming that the little part that seems to carry the name does the function of a disconnector.

 

[HammerBite]

The disconnect function is performed when the recoiling slide presses the rear of the trigger bar out of engagement with the cocking piece.

Your gun doubles because of faulty engagement of the hammer by the cocking piece. Earl's Repair Service was probably correct when attributing the problem to the hammer and/or sear ("cocking piece" in Walther terminology.) It is also possible that wear to the trigger bar is causing the disconnect function to fail.

The gun has a rebounding hammer. The hammer, when down, does not rest on the slide. When the trigger is in the forward position, the hammer block drops down so that the hammer cannot be moved forward into the slide. This accomplishes three things:

1. It ensures that a blow to the hammer will not drive it into the firing pin and fire the gun.
2. It ensures that the gun will not fire if the hammer slips from under your thumb while you are manually cocking for a single-action shot.
3. It ensures that the gun will not fire if there is a failure of the engagement between hammer and cocking piece.

Note that these protections are afforded only when the trigger is forward. Further note that in cases 2 and 3 the trigger will move forward as the hammer falls and the hammer block will become effective.

In my opinion, it would be unwise to use the gun without getting the hammer block and associated parts replaced. The hammer block serves an important purpose.

The danger of operating without the hammer block is compounded by the problem of the gun doubling. If the doubling is the result of poor engagement between cocking piece and hammer, it is possible that you could drop the slide over a loaded magazine and have the gun immediately go full-auto without the trigger being pulled!

The hammer block is ineffective when the trigger is pulled (otherwise you could never fire the gun).

The fact that the hammer block is missing and the gun markings are buffed off tells me that the gun is the victim of a "Bubba" gunsmith. This should be reason enough to send the gun to Earl's unless you have thorough knowledge of how the gun operates.

 

[krs]

OK, good. And Thanks. I'll take a new look at it.

Thing is, the gun is pretty junky and I didn't/probably don't consider it worth sending to be repaired.

I don't know about Bubba but someone who wasn't competent refinished the thing. The blueing is dark and the slide is obviously overpolished with rounded edges such as we sometimes see on a gun that was given the 'just do whatever to make it look better' kind of treatment that seems to have been more common in the 1950's or before than it is today.

So the two of them have been in a deepfieze sort of hide of mine for several years. I'm getting to the point where I think about what will happen with a lifetime of guns and gun junk and have been trying to sort through it and sell what will sell, give away what someone I know needs, and toss won't be worthwhile to most anyone except another packrat like me. Why be an enabler?

I don't know Walthrs much at all. I took that one outside to see if it fired, and it did - two rounds quick as a blink. Hence all this...

 

[Jim K]

It sounds like the gun might have been dropped on the hammer. That will almost always chip out the cocking piece and usually ruin the hammer toe. That is why the gun is doubling and may go full auto.

I strongly urge you to replace the cocking piece and hammer, as well as the hammer block parts before loading the gun again. Otherwise, you are risking a serious accident with all that may entail.

As to PP and PPK parts, all of the parts mentioned are common to both guns, so you won't find any of those parts identified as specifically PPK parts.

Jim

 

[HammerBite]

As to PP and PPK parts, all of the parts mentioned are common to both guns,

That is something that will be handy to keep in mind. Thanks.

 

[krs]

I don't need to be strongly urged not to fire a gun that I know goes full auto when it shouldn't, Jim, I won't be firing that one unless it's fixed.

As to the interchangable parts - it looks like that is MOSTLY the case but these two little guys each have smaller 'hammer block' pieces than does yet another old girl I have which is a PP. The others are "PPKs" marked with the small 's' and both have brown or taffy colored wraaround grips.

I've seen that the modern PPK and PPKs denotes a difference in the frame height and cartridge capacity but the barrels and slides are similar between them.

Those are not what these two, one very nice and one, the subject, not so nice.

Numrich's exploded drawing has an inset window marked as the .22 lr specific parts. That window shows a wraparound grip and a hammer block part denoted "42a" as separate from their listing for the PP/PPK as "42".http://www.e-gunparts.com/productschem.asp?chrMasterModel=2100zPPKS It's clear that some errors or ommissions exist there and I already know that what they sell as grips for a PPK/s are two piece flats as are those on the PP. So with all that, and with item costs of a couple of bucks I've got most all of it on the way.

As prolific as I've been with photos, the only one I have that shows either of the little Walther guns, (as it happens it's the subject of this doubling episode) is this one:


Thanks again, HammerBite.