{
  "apiVersion": 1,
  "kind": "work-order",
  "purpose": "Taking the firearm apart for a job such as refinishing, and putting it back together to specification.",
  "firearm": {
    "slug": "luger-p08",
    "name": "Luger P08",
    "manufacturer": {
      "id": "dwm",
      "name": "Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken"
    },
    "category": "pistol",
    "action": "recoil-operated",
    "calibers": [
      "9x19mm Parabellum",
      "7.65x21mm Parabellum"
    ],
    "alsoKnownAs": [
      "Pistole Parabellum",
      "P.08",
      "Parabellum-Pistole"
    ],
    "coversAlso": [
      "DWM, Erfurt, Mauser, and Simson-produced P08 pistols",
      "Swiss Model 1900 and 1906 Parabellum (with differences)"
    ],
    "page": "firearms/luger-p08.html",
    "bundle": "api/v1/firearms/luger-p08.json",
    "lastUpdated": "2026-10-29"
  },
  "notices": [
    "This work order is written for the Luger P08. It is reported to cover DWM, Erfurt, Mauser, and Simson-produced P08 pistols; Swiss Model 1900 and 1906 Parabellum (with differences) — if the firearm on the bench is one of those, check the torque notes: values do not always carry over.",
    "No torque values are recorded for this firearm. Get them from the manufacturer or a gunsmith; do not estimate."
  ],
  "disclaimer": {
    "headline": "Read this before you use anything here.",
    "points": [
      "This is a guide, not an authority. Entries are compiled from manufacturer manuals, technical manuals, published references, and community knowledge. Some of it comes from sources that are not authoritative, and some of it may simply be wrong.",
      "Always consult the manufacturer's manual for your specific firearm and serial-number range. Manufacturers change designs mid-production without renaming the model. The manual that shipped with your firearm outranks anything on this site.",
      "Consult a licensed gunsmith for anything beyond routine field stripping and cleaning, for any firearm you are unsure about, and for any procedure marked as gunsmith-recommended here.",
      "Treat every firearm as loaded. Verify it is unloaded, with the magazine removed and the chamber physically and visually checked, before any procedure in this database. Point it in a safe direction the entire time.",
      "Disassembly can damage a firearm or injure you. Springs are under tension, parts can launch, and reassembling a firearm incorrectly can make it unsafe to fire in a way that is not obvious from the outside. If a reassembled firearm does not pass a function check, stop and see a gunsmith.",
      "Torque values are shown in two groups. Values from the manufacturer or the issuing military are shown as such, with the document they came from. Values reported by anyone else — parts makers, gunsmithing publishers, articles, forums — are shown separately with who said them, how reliable that source is, and their exact words. Those are not specifications. Confirm any torque value with the manufacturer or a licensed gunsmith before relying on it.",
      "Nothing here is legal advice. Firearms law varies by country, state, and city, and some modifications or configurations are regulated or prohibited. You are responsible for knowing and following the law where you are.",
      "No warranty of any kind. Contributors and maintainers accept no liability for damage, injury, or loss arising from use of this material."
    ],
    "page": "disclaimer.html",
    "legal": {
      "summary": "Legal notice: this material is third-party information compiled from sources of varying reliability and is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not gunsmithing, technical, safety or legal advice, it is not verified or endorsed by any manufacturer, and it must not be taken as fact. Any work on a firearm beyond the routine field stripping described in its own owner's manual should be performed only by a licensed and insured gunsmith. You use this material entirely at your own risk. Fundamental Build LLC and the project's contributors make no warranty of any kind and accept no liability for death, injury, damage or loss arising from its use. Full terms: LEGAL.md.",
      "page": "legal.html",
      "notice": "https://github.com/Fundamental-build-LLC/Pew-Takedown/blob/main/LEGAL.md"
    }
  },
  "sourcing": {
    "confidence": "medium",
    "verification": "community-reviewed"
  },
  "manufacturerDisassembly": {
    "status": "not-recorded",
    "limit": null,
    "statement": null,
    "source": null
  },
  "recalls": [],
  "shopTier": {
    "tier": 3,
    "group": "pistol",
    "rating": "Pew-Takedown editorial rating (1 easy – 3 hardest), not the manufacturer's",
    "reason": "59 parts is moderate, but the gun is hand-fitted and serial-numbered part by part (sideplate, ejector, toggle), the ejector is a captive leaf spring that usually needs fitting, the firing-pin spring guide and toggle are under tension, and the mainspring strut hook catches on reassembly. Collectors and armorers describe the fire-control parts as frustrating; mismatched parts do not function.",
    "confidence": "medium",
    "partCount": {
      "value": 59,
      "kind": "line-items",
      "covers": "'Pistole 08. Benennung der einzelnen Teile.' (H.Dv. 255), the manual's only list: complete P08 incl. magazine; includes group headings (A-H) as rows.",
      "basis": "manufacturer-parts-list",
      "source": {
        "title": "H.Dv. 255 / L.Dv. 405 Pistole 08. Vom 27. 11. 35.",
        "publisher": "Heer / Luftwaffe service regulation (H.Dv. 255 / L.Dv. 405), printed by Verlag „Offene Worte“, Berlin 1936",
        "reliability": "primary",
        "url": "https://drive.usercontent.google.com/download?id=1HccEy2tgbUlaTqQFkEk2wUHtqka9rCTc&export=download&confirm=t",
        "page": "PDF p. 26",
        "pdfPage": 26,
        "pageUrl": "https://drive.usercontent.google.com/download?id=1HccEy2tgbUlaTqQFkEk2wUHtqka9rCTc&export=download&confirm=t#page=26",
        "quote": "H7 Stift"
      }
    },
    "painPoints": [
      {
        "issue": "The ejector is a long captive leaf spring with a nub that snaps into the frame; it is tricky to remove and a replacement usually needs hand fitting.",
        "during": "both",
        "source": {
          "title": "TFB Armorer's Bench: Replacing Small Parts in a Luger P08",
          "publisher": "The Firearm Blog",
          "reliability": "secondary",
          "url": "https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2023/05/21/tfb-armorers-bench-replacing-small-parts-luger-p08",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "The ejector can be a tricky piece and I do not recommend it be replaced unless you know what you are doing or absolutely need to. In this case, I know what I’m doing and I also know some hand fitting will likely be involved."
        }
      },
      {
        "issue": "The mainspring strut/link must drop into its recess as the barrel assembly goes on; started right-side-up it catches in the wrong place.",
        "during": "reassembly",
        "source": {
          "title": "TFB Armorer's Bench: Replacing Small Parts in a Luger P08",
          "publisher": "The Firearm Blog",
          "reliability": "secondary",
          "url": "https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2023/05/21/tfb-armorers-bench-replacing-small-parts-luger-p08",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "The biggest thing to be aware of is your strut or link that attaches to the recoil spring. Inserting the upper into the lower should be started upside down so gravity keeps the link from falling into the wrong spot."
        }
      },
      {
        "issue": "The firing-pin spring guide is depressed and turned a quarter turn and comes out under spring pressure.",
        "during": "both",
        "source": {
          "title": "Exploded View: The Luger Pistol",
          "publisher": "American Rifleman (NRA)",
          "reliability": "secondary",
          "url": "https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2017/3/6/exploded-view-the-luger-pistol",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "It will come out under spring pressure, so be careful."
        }
      },
      {
        "issue": "Fire-control parts (trigger, sideplate lever, sear bar) interact and are fitted to the gun; collectors call working on them frustrating, and the sideplate must be the gun's own.",
        "during": "both",
        "source": {
          "title": "Heavy trigger on 1914 DWM Police 9mm",
          "publisher": "LugerForum",
          "reliability": "anecdotal",
          "url": "https://forum.lugerforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=344975",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "working on Luger fire control parts can be very frustrating, and also very expensive!"
        }
      }
    ],
    "minutes": {
      "strip": 40,
      "rebuild": 75,
      "basis": "estimated",
      "note": "Toggle train (axle, links, firing pin, extractor), receiver (ejector), frame (sideplate, trigger, hold-open, safety, magazine catch, grips); rebuild much longer for ejector seating, sideplate fit and function checks.",
      "source": null
    },
    "stripScope": [
      {
        "assembly": "Barrel/receiver and toggle",
        "removes": [
          "receiver axle",
          "toggle links and pins",
          "breechblock",
          "firing pin, spring and guide",
          "extractor, pin and spring",
          "ejector",
          "coupling link and pin"
        ],
        "tools": [
          "thin flat-blade/Luger tool",
          "brass punch",
          "pick"
        ]
      },
      {
        "assembly": "Frame",
        "removes": [
          "sideplate (trigger plate) and lever",
          "trigger and trigger spring",
          "hold-open and spring",
          "safety lever, bar and pin",
          "magazine catch and spring",
          "locking bolt and spring",
          "grips",
          "mainspring and strut"
        ],
        "tools": [
          "pin punches"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "hardware": {
      "pins": 0,
      "springs": 0,
      "detents": 0,
      "basis": "counted from the manufacturer's parts list (one per key number unless a quantity is given)"
    },
    "specialTools": [
      {
        "tool": "Luger takedown tool or thin flat-blade screwdriver",
        "usedFor": "Firing-pin spring guide slot"
      },
      {
        "tool": "brass punch",
        "usedFor": "Persuading the ejector forward (no hammer)"
      },
      {
        "tool": "pick",
        "usedFor": "Lifting the ejector's rear nub"
      }
    ],
    "fitOnRebuild": [
      {
        "check": "Ejector fit",
        "why": "Replacement ejectors usually need relieving to seat",
        "source": {
          "title": "P08 Malfunction...",
          "publisher": "LugerForum",
          "reliability": "anecdotal",
          "url": "https://forum.lugerforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=145773",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "The PO8 ejector will most likely require some fitting."
        }
      },
      {
        "check": "Sideplate fit and trigger pull",
        "why": "The sideplate is fitted to the frame; a loose or non-original sideplate lengthens the pull",
        "source": {
          "title": "Heavy trigger on 1914 DWM Police 9mm",
          "publisher": "LugerForum",
          "reliability": "anecdotal",
          "url": "https://forum.lugerforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=344975",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "The side plate is fitted to the gun. It must fit tightly against the frame."
        }
      },
      {
        "check": "Function check: trigger reset, sear/striker engagement, safeties",
        "why": "Standard post-reassembly check on any pistol whose fire-control parts were removed; a mis-seated spring shows up here, not on the bench",
        "source": null
      }
    ],
    "assessed": "2026-10-29"
  },
  "videos": [],
  "configurations": [],
  "tools": [
    {
      "name": "Small punch",
      "required": false,
      "usedFor": "Removing the toggle axle pin during detail strip."
    }
  ],
  "phases": [
    {
      "id": "clear",
      "title": "Clear and make safe",
      "steps": [
        {
          "n": 1,
          "instruction": "Point the muzzle in a safe direction and keep your finger off the trigger."
        },
        {
          "n": 2,
          "instruction": "Press the magazine release and remove the magazine.",
          "partsFreed": [
            "Magazine"
          ]
        },
        {
          "n": 3,
          "instruction": "Retract the slide fully to eject any chambered round and lock it open."
        },
        {
          "n": 4,
          "instruction": "Visually inspect the chamber and magazine well, then physically feel the chamber to confirm it is empty.",
          "warning": "Look and feel. Both, every time."
        },
        {
          "n": 5,
          "instruction": "Retract the action by pulling up and back on the toggle knurls rather than by gripping a slide.",
          "tip": "There is no slide to rack. The toggle is the operating handle."
        },
        {
          "n": 6,
          "instruction": "Remove all live ammunition from the work area."
        }
      ],
      "videos": []
    },
    {
      "id": "disassemble",
      "title": "Disassemble",
      "videos": [],
      "procedures": [
        {
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "title": "Field Strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "configuration": false,
          "steps": [
            {
              "n": 1,
              "instruction": "Complete the Clear and Make Safe procedure and let the action close on an empty chamber."
            },
            {
              "n": 2,
              "instruction": "Pull the barrel and receiver assembly slightly rearward against the recoil spring and hold it there.",
              "warning": "The recoil spring in the grip frame is under tension throughout."
            },
            {
              "n": 3,
              "instruction": "Rotate the takedown lever on the left side of the frame downward about 90 degrees.",
              "partsFreed": [
                "(lever rotated, not removed)"
              ]
            },
            {
              "n": 4,
              "instruction": "Lift the sideplate off the left side of the frame.",
              "tip": "The sideplate carries the trigger linkage. Note its orientation.",
              "partsFreed": [
                "Sideplate"
              ]
            },
            {
              "n": 5,
              "instruction": "Slide the barrel, receiver, and toggle assembly forward off the front of the frame.",
              "partsFreed": [
                "Barrel and receiver assembly with toggle"
              ]
            },
            {
              "n": 6,
              "instruction": "To separate the toggle, drift out the toggle axle pin and withdraw the toggle assembly rearward from the receiver.",
              "warning": "Detail strip. The breechblock, striker, and striker spring come apart from here and the striker spring is compressed.",
              "partsFreed": [
                "Toggle assembly",
                "Toggle axle pin"
              ]
            },
            {
              "n": 7,
              "instruction": "Stop at the assembly level for routine cleaning. The Luger’s fire control is hand-fitted and intricate.",
              "warning": "If the pistol is malfunctioning, take it to a gunsmith familiar with Lugers rather than exploring inside the frame."
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "refinish",
      "title": "Refinish",
      "components": [
        {
          "name": "(lever rotated, not removed)",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 3
        },
        {
          "name": "Sideplate",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 4
        },
        {
          "name": "Barrel and receiver assembly with toggle",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 5
        },
        {
          "name": "Toggle assembly",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 6
        },
        {
          "name": "Toggle axle pin",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 6
        }
      ],
      "manufacturerPartsList": {
        "parts": 59,
        "scope": "\"Pistole 08. Benennung der einzelnen Teile.\" — the manual's only parts list, keyed to the plates (Tafel I ff.) in section F. Abbildungen. Covers the P08 (standard 4\" pistol)."
      },
      "partsDiagrams": [],
      "materials": [],
      "note": "The components the procedures above separate. Coating, masking and cure are outside this database; follow your coating system's instructions. A part the manufacturer marks \"factory fit\" should not be swapped or reworked."
    },
    {
      "id": "reassemble",
      "title": "Reassemble",
      "videos": [],
      "procedures": [
        {
          "procedure": "reassembly",
          "title": "Reassembly",
          "configuration": false,
          "steps": [
            {
              "n": 1,
              "instruction": "If the toggle was separated, reassemble the breechblock and striker into the toggle and reinstall the toggle axle pin."
            },
            {
              "n": 2,
              "instruction": "Slide the barrel and receiver assembly onto the frame rails from the front and push it rearward."
            },
            {
              "n": 3,
              "instruction": "Fit the sideplate back onto the left side of the frame in its correct orientation, engaging the trigger linkage.",
              "warning": "If the sideplate will not seat, the trigger linkage is not aligned. Do not force it."
            },
            {
              "n": 4,
              "instruction": "Rotate the takedown lever back up to its horizontal locked position.",
              "warning": "Confirm the lever is fully up before the pistol goes back into service."
            },
            {
              "n": 5,
              "instruction": "Cycle the toggle several times and perform the function check."
            }
          ],
          "instruction": null
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "torque",
      "title": "Torque",
      "coverage": "none-recorded",
      "manufacturer": [],
      "reported": [],
      "notes": null
    },
    {
      "id": "function-check",
      "title": "Function check",
      "checks": [
        "Verify the pistol is unloaded with no magazine inserted before each check.",
        "Cycle the toggle by hand and confirm it locks fully closed with the breechblock in battery.",
        "With the action cocked, engage the safety and press the trigger. The striker must not release.",
        "Disengage the safety and press the trigger. The striker should release.",
        "Confirm the takedown lever is fully in its horizontal locked position.",
        "Confirm the toggle locks down flat and does not stand proud when in battery."
      ],
      "videos": []
    }
  ],
  "troubleshooting": [],
  "sources": [
    {
      "n": 1,
      "id": null,
      "title": "Pistole 08 Handbook",
      "publisher": "Reichswehr / Wehrmacht",
      "reliability": "primary",
      "url": null,
      "accessed": null
    },
    {
      "n": 2,
      "id": null,
      "title": "The Luger Book",
      "publisher": "John Walter",
      "reliability": "secondary",
      "url": null,
      "accessed": null
    },
    {
      "n": 3,
      "id": "luger-p08-parts-manual",
      "title": "H.Dv. 255 / L.Dv. 405 Pistole 08. Vom 27. 11. 35.",
      "publisher": "Heer / Luftwaffe service regulation (H.Dv. 255 / L.Dv. 405), printed by Verlag „Offene Worte“, Berlin 1936",
      "reliability": "primary",
      "url": "https://drive.usercontent.google.com/download?id=1HccEy2tgbUlaTqQFkEk2wUHtqka9rCTc&export=download&confirm=t",
      "accessed": "2026-09-27"
    },
    {
      "n": 4,
      "id": "tier-4595c322",
      "title": "TFB Armorer's Bench: Replacing Small Parts in a Luger P08",
      "publisher": "The Firearm Blog",
      "reliability": "secondary",
      "url": "https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2023/05/21/tfb-armorers-bench-replacing-small-parts-luger-p08",
      "accessed": "2026-10-29"
    },
    {
      "n": 5,
      "id": "tier-383a70a4",
      "title": "Exploded View: The Luger Pistol",
      "publisher": "American Rifleman (NRA)",
      "reliability": "secondary",
      "url": "https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2017/3/6/exploded-view-the-luger-pistol",
      "accessed": "2026-10-29"
    },
    {
      "n": 6,
      "id": "tier-50858f85",
      "title": "Heavy trigger on 1914 DWM Police 9mm",
      "publisher": "LugerForum",
      "reliability": "anecdotal",
      "url": "https://forum.lugerforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=344975",
      "accessed": "2026-10-29"
    },
    {
      "n": 7,
      "id": "tier-87b414bc",
      "title": "P08 Malfunction...",
      "publisher": "LugerForum",
      "reliability": "anecdotal",
      "url": "https://forum.lugerforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=145773",
      "accessed": "2026-10-29"
    }
  ]
}