Nighthawk Custom/Korth revolvers

JJEH · May 21, 2016

I didn't want to hi-jack the current thread New Smith & Wesson Revolvers so I started a new one.

While I do agree that S&W revolvers are the best for the money in the current market, I also think that quality wise they might get under fire with the Nighthawk/Korth partnership.

Korth & Nighthawk Revolvers

I'm not a potential customer but I do think that they will sell a bunch of them.

They will probably become collector items and spend most of their time in a humidity controlled safe.

Their MONGOOSE .357 looks okay but - not to bash their product/s - I rather have a 627.

flintsghost · May 21, 2016

Korth is a German company that made a revolver with a safety on it at one time. They are supposed to be very high quality but I've only read about them and never seen one. At the time I read articles about them in the 60's, they were also very expensive. They emphasize "hand made" but everyone should keep in mind that virtually all of the high quality revolvers were "hand made" and hand fitted, including Smith & Wesson.

OLDSTER · May 21, 2016

Korth(German) and Manurhin(French). Would love to have one of each. But then for the cost, I could expand my Makarov pistol or S&W revolver collections by a BUNCH !!

JJEH · May 21, 2016

JayBird said:
...But then for the cost, I could expand my [...] S&W revolver collections by a BUNCH !!

Exactly my thought.

hkcavalier · May 21, 2016

For $3500 that ill-fitting Hogue seems out of place. Like vinyl seats in a Rolls-Royce.

JJEH · May 21, 2016

hkcavalier said:
For $3500 that ill-fitting Hogue seems out of place. Like vinyl seats in a Rolls-Royce.

Now after you mentioning it... you are right. For $3.5k you should get some super fancy exotic wood from the dark side of the moon...

shouldazagged · May 21, 2016

I can't imagine revolvers that expensive making much impact on S&W sales figures, much less putting the company "under fire".

Quality may be sublime, but the price tag...

Leonard · May 21, 2016

I have spent that much on custom single action colts, smiths, and 1911's but the Korth's have never appealed to me, I think its the lines reminds of Dan Wesson's .

g8rb8 · May 21, 2016

I inspected, handled, and dry fired the below Korth model made in 1964 (not actual revolver in photo) a few months ago and it had the absolute wurst* action and trigger pull of any revolver I had ever handled and I could not convince myself it was defective or had a problem. Realizing it was a rare revolver (under 500 made) I went back to look at it again. I tried to trouble-shoot if there were any problems and convinced myself there weren't and then understood why they sold less than 500, i.e. the *wurst action I'd experienced. It ended up auctioning for over $1k. Hopefully the new owner is developing a strong trigger finger and their Korth is appreciating. The newer ones look really nice and I suspect they function well so Korth fans please take no offense.
*wurst - hey, it's German.

RJJ 1971 · May 21, 2016

That 9mm 2" or 3" looks sharp.

Andyd · May 22, 2016

First off, Korth never built a revolver with a manual safety, they only have a a drop safety. Korth built the first cartridge revolvers in 1964 to fill an order of the Hamburg port police but by the time he had the guns finished the police had already ordered .32 ACP pistols and the guns were liquidated on the civilian market.

The Korth action was refined over the years and needed from 1964 to 1969 to arrive at its peak with exchangeable rollers ontop of the trigger that changed DA let-off and also incorporating a screw that allowed the trigger weight to be adjusted from the outside.

I have Korth revolvers made in Ratzeburg, the town where Willi Korth started out manufacturing his finely finished revolvers and personally do not find an interest inthe current Korth product line. The Korth revolvers from Lollar share several advantages of the origina Korth design, like the roller sear and chambers that got smoothened out by a roller being pushed into it and giving a glassy smooth finish that makes ejection of particularly rimfire cartridges a whole lot easier than on my 1952 vintage K-22.

In repsonse to an earlier post by g8rb8 I also want to point out that my 1964 manufactured police revolver displays outstanding quality and an action that easily measures up to my 1961 Colt OMM and is not far behind my 1972 Python.

It puzzles me that folks always believe Korth revolvers to be only owned by collectors and not shooters, while equally expensive higher end 1911 customs guns are attributed to shooters. In Germany, where Korth revolvers have enjoyed a good reputation since their inception they are still common on gun ranges, as well as at matches and get carried by hunters.

OLDSTER · May 22, 2016

Korth

Andyd said:
First off, Korth never built a revolver with a manual safety, they only have a a drop safety. Korth built the first cartridge revolvers in 1964 to fill an order of the Hamburg port police but by the time he had the guns finished the police had already ordered .32 ACP pistols and the guns were liquidated on the civilian market.

The Korth action was refined over the years and needed from 1964 to 1969 to arrive at its peak with exchangeable rollers ontop of the trigger that changed DA let-off and also incorporating a screw that allowed the trigger weight to be adjusted from the outside.

I have Korth revolvers made in Ratzeburg, the town where Willi Korth started out manufacturing his finely finished revolvers and personally do not find an interest inthe current Korth product line. The Korth revolvers from Lollar share several advantages of the origina Korth design, like the roller sear and chambers that got smoothened out by a roller being pushed into it and giving a glassy smooth finish that makes ejection of particularly rimfire cartridges a whole lot easier than on my 1952 vintage K-22.

In repsonse to an earlier post by g8rb8 I also want to point out that my 1964 manufactured police revolver displays outstanding quality and an action that easily measures up to my 1961 Colt OMM and is not far behind my 1972 Python.

It puzzles me that folks always believe Korth revolvers to be only owned by collectors and not shooters, while equally expensive higher end 1911 customs guns are attributed to shooters. In Germany, where Korth revolvers have enjoyed a good reputation since their inception they are still common on gun ranges, as well as at matches and get carried by hunters.

WOW!!

You're killin' me here !!

6string · May 22, 2016

I'd like to thank Andyd for setting the record straight on many Korth particulars. The observations on usage and function are especially appreciated.
To me, the Willi Korth era revolvers, specifically the 80s ones, were the cream of the crop. Personally, I don't care for these Nighthawk collaborative models.

Andyd · May 22, 2016

Thanks for the kind remarks, guys. I am a shooter that turned collector but I shoot all my guns and expect performance. I have a few Korts of my own and have shot a few more and enjoy them but the performance is not really well beyond what my K-22, M-14-2, Colt OMM or the Python can deliver but it is my personal preference and emotions are involved.

I was just casting some bullets and am getting ready to give my centerfires a mild work out

.

P.44 · May 22, 2016

Found a few photos for (especially the "older Ratzeburg revolver models") Korth fans (Sorry, to my deepest regret not mine revolvers). As can be seen in the pictures, these things get a bit used and shot:

I saw and handled "my first" Korth Revolver in 1974/75, one of the earlier "Dynamit Nobel" marked Combat 3" models in .357Magnum (as pictured above). Surely you can't really see the quality of the material, but I know "from the gun magazines" that they are made from steel forgings and hardened to 58 - 60 HRC (=harder than most knives!) and the craftsmanship was ...absolutely outstanding.

I am "more an advocate of the .44's", but if I 'll ever stumble over a nice early 3" Combat Korth in .357Magnum for a good price...hmm...

P.44

g8rb8 · May 22, 2016

Andyd said:
...........In repsonse to an earlier post by g8rb8 I also want to point out that my 1964 manufactured police revolver displays outstanding quality and an action that easily measures up to my 1961 Colt OMM and is not far behind my 1972 Python.
..........

Andyd,
Thanks for setting the record straight. Obviously there was something not right about the one I examined but with no similar example to compare and minimal to no information available at the time how was I to know? I remember it was extremely well made. You have a beautiful collection of Korth's. Please take no offense at my previous comments.

Andyd · May 23, 2016

g8rb8 said:
Andyd,
Thanks for setting the record straight. Obviously there was something not right about the one I examined but with no similar example to compare and minimal to no information available at the time how was I to know? I remember it was extremely well made. You have a beautiful collection of Korth's. Please take no offense at my previous comments.

No offense taken! There are a few issues that can come from poor maintenance and much more from ignorant "improvements".

I bought all of my Korths pre-owned and more than one had issues. One had the roller bearing removed by its previous owner and was filthy inside and dry, another had the front sight neatly filed down to shoot about 10 inches high. I cannot imagine that they left the factory like that!

The finish on the Korths from Ratzeburg is outstanding! Korth did not use a buffing wheel but sanding blocks and outsourced the bluing to a nearby company in Hamburg, the hardening was outsourced to the same company that does the hardening for SIG Sauer. Eckernförde is not far away from Ratzeburg and in the basement of SIG Sauer is the proof house where Korth had the revolvers proofed.

I want to share the story of my $400 Korth with you. I was in a gun store in Germany inspecting three Korths and buying two of them, when the owner told me that he had something for me and disappeared. He came back with a rusted up Korth without grips and the hammer frozen into cocked position and rounded the price up to where I paid about $400 for the .22 l.r Korth made in 1976. It turned out well with a little work and the grips that I had in my spare parts box.

It may not be the prettiest but it surely does shoot well.

6string · May 23, 2016

Andyd,
That's another good story that underscores your original point about utility. People really do shoot Korths, (and unfortunately, some actually abuse them, too!).
Same for Manhurin MR73s, original Neuhausen P210s, etc. But, maybe that's another thread!

Best regards,
Jim

Andyd · May 23, 2016

6string said:
Andyd,
That's another good story that underscores your original point about utility. People really do shoot Korths, (and unfortunately, some actually abuse them, too!).
Same for Manhurin MR73s, original Neuhausen P210s, etc. But, maybe that's another thread!

Best regards,
Jim

Well, I kind of abused my P210-6. I shoot it quite a bit and thought the adjustable rear sight an improvement over the service-style fixed rear sights. Not that it leads to any consistent improvement in my scores, though, but it makes shooting easier when POA equals POI.

The adjustable rear sight is a two piece design and base and upper part are connected by a steel pin. Mine broke. It was a bear to remove the rest of the pin but eventually I had a hole drilled into the 1.93 mm pin to relieve the stress - freehand with a dental bit. I just hoped that I would not screw up the sight body since those sights rarely come up for sale and I have never seen them under $400.

Thank God it worked and I polished a 2mm drill bit to the proper size as a perfect replacement but I felt not too confident during the process. I also changed the front sight of the Korth Combat with the lowered front sight and drilled a 1.33 mm hole through the blade while it was in the barrel shroud and then pinned it back in place.

I rewarded myself with a beer - afterwards.

P.44 · May 26, 2016

Thanks to Andyd sharing his Korth collection, knowledge and stories with us ! And the
not so easy work (as described in post #19) for sure deserved a good beer...

Searched a few older cataloges and put in a few Korth (and Colt Ruger and S&W for price comparison) adds.
The oldest that I could find (1.pic) seems to be from 1966. If I remember correctly (from an other Korth thread) Jebus35745 is the proud owner of such an early .22lr Korth revolver.

P.44

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