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.
