I've been reading up on Korths and came across this:



Above is from Willi Korth, Seine Waffen, 2002, by Veit Morgenroth, pp 26-27, translated from the German by Google Translate.

The SN places it 1965 ~ 1966.

That is astonishing that a barrel swap and the revolver is back in business.

I see a Korth often at OGCA meetings. A pricy piece approaching 10K.

Of course, Korth revolvers are known for their expense. But, few understand what effort and uncompromising commitment to quality goes into them, especially the early Ratzeburg models.

Here’s a quote from Michael Zeleny, a man who knows more about Korth than just about anyone outside of the company:

”Willi Korth’s revolvers were benchmade by five gunsmiths at the rate averaging about 120 pieces a year. Except for their wooden grips and their screws (parts 67, 68, and 69), and two hex socket action screws (parts 18 and 66), outsourced to specialty outside suppliers, every part was made in house. In contrast to the mass production standards, Korth revolver parts were neither cast nor milled. They were ground in the course of hard fitting from steel forgings that boasted a tensile strength of 1,700 psi. Each revolver required 70 man-hours that comprised 600 distinct operations. Their major components were surface hardened up to 60 HRC on the Rockwell hardness scale”.

The Korth discussed in the OP, s/n 21 935, was part of the “21 series”, made, as noted, between 1965 and 1966. There were only 334 “21 series” Korths made in 357 Magnum.

Photo of disassembled Korth.

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Here's a link to Zeleny's write-up, surely the best Korth reference we have in English: larvatus prodeo ****� LiveJournal

Forum member Andyd, AKA PzGren on some forums, is also very knowledgeable, and has visited both the Ratzeburg and Lollar operations. He has posted this informative thread in several places (including here, I believe):

The Evolution of the Korth Sport Revolver | Texas Gun Talk - The Premier Texas Gun Forum

“Hmmm, the first 6 didn’t come out, better reload!”

LOL LOL LOL 😂😂😂😂
The only solution for stupidity is rather permanent!!
Must have been too much 'pop' before heading to the range.

They also seem to be known for their phenomenal self-promotion.

Korth has been around since 1954. Making revolvers since the 1960s. In the US, the Lollar version has been imported by Nighthawk since ~ 2016. I am 72 and never heard of them until a few of years ago.

Impressive, but I'll stick with my Highway Patrolman.

BTW, there is a similar photo of a S&W barrel in Kuhnhausen’s S&W shop manual. I forget which model. (Book is out the shop.). If someone doesn’t beat me too it, I’ll look it up later.

Not knocking Korth, but we have at least one example of a Smith taking similar abuse.

That's interesting about the photo in the Kuhnhausen’s S&W shop manual. I wonder if the cylinder, frame, etc., were similarly unaffected. Usually we see photos of guns that have pretty much exploded due to firing again after a squib.

This has happened plenty of times with S&W revolvers and light wadcutter loads that don't make it out of the barrel. I have a hard time believing that ANY revolver could handle the pressure of stacking multiple bullets from full power loads like that.

I handled a Korth at SHOT show a few years ago. Even if I could get a Korth at S&W price I'd rather have the S&W.

I wonder how many prodigies have "torture tested" their Korth?

Torture Tests

If I'm going to drop THAT much on a revolver, I really need to know if I can store it under my bulldozer's track.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

Regarding prodigies and torture tests, one of the stories I like about Bo Randall is when a customer sent him a chipped knife for repair for the second time, Bo sent him a letter assuring the customer that if he ever sent him a chipped Randall again, Bo would keep the knife...

Remember that nearly all revolvers do have a built-in pressure relief feature. Which is the barrel-cylinder gap.

Saw a similar thing with (IIRC) 9 FMJ projectiles stacked in an 8" Dan Wesson SS barrel at the 1986 SHOT Show in New Orleans. There was just the cutaway barrel so I don't know the condition of the rest of the gun. But the barrel did not split - just bulged.
Ed

Good point. Thinking it will still make for a bit of a noisy discharge.

A member of my old gun club who usually shot a SIG P210-6 had just bought a S&W 686 and experimented with light loads. He fired six shots before walking to the 25 meter target and was surprised to find not a single shot on it. The six wadcutters were securely lodged in the barrel and were drilled and pressed out without having any negative effect on the gun.

As to torture testing Korths, Manurhins, or a nice blued S&W 19 I can only say that I take care of all of my belongings, I clean my guns and maintain and wax my cars and trucks.

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FFL08

Finest and toughest revolvers in human history.

Simply none finer than a Korth.

Those that know, know. Those that do not, either haven’t the means to acquire them or simply haven’t tried them.

I had a chance to buy a Korth 38 some years ago. It was in the display case at a Gander Mountain store tagged about $900, which was an unheard of price for a 38 revolver in those days. This was a simple, fixed sight 38, about like a Model 10 to me.

I'd never even heard of Korth, so I went home and did some research and found out about them. Maybe it's worth it? I went back and of course it was gone. Probably just as well.

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John 3:16 .

I have seen a S&W Mod 15 with 6 "target" WC loads stacked in the barrel, with no damage to the gun or barrel. The bullets were removed and the gun went back in service with no additional service being required. Now, these were light target loads, but I think that is phenomenal for any revolver.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Since I mentioned it earlier, here are the photos in the Kuhnhausen Shop manual.

Photos of the barrel, and pithy commentary….

FWIW, the Smith holds more slugs….

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Korths are awesome

Sounds like you looked at a 20series Korth. Willi had started his company manufacturing gas and starter revolvers and had struck a deal with the Hamburg Harbor police for the .38 Special five round revolvers. By the time he had the guns finished, the police backed out of the deal and had gotten Walthers. He sold them on the civilian market.

You did not miss much. The 20 series are rather unspectacular and are hard on the eye, they also do not fit a normal hand very well.

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FFL08

That was a story I related about a friends large Randall built bowie. Its owner "Brian" wasn't even using it very hard. He was gutting elk with his smaller Randall and using the larger bowie to chop the brisket open and general camp work. Nowhere near abuse. One of the reasons I don't care for Randal's. The knife and letter were supposed to be mine upon Brians death from cancer @1996 but his "friend" and ex-partner, an infamous gunsmith of dubious character was the executor of his will and the knives mysteriously disappeared.

Ruger revolvers being cast not forged and milled are heavier and thicker in dimensions than Smith's or Colts. There were ad wars between Smith and Ruger years ago about the differences. Smith's reply was classic as it showed a very thick hamburger on a bun shaped like a revolver stating that thicker is better on somethings only. Classic. Ruger's reply was a double action revolver that had six bullets lodged in the barrel with zero barrel bulging. Built like a tank I believe was their reply to Smith & Wesson. I was at our range when a friend had a squib load in a 2" model 19 and he fired a second shot. The gun broke at the barrel threads and the barrel fell off.