Never heard of these.  My brother in law just called and asked if I heard of them.  He saw one for sale for $8K?  Wow a lot of money

Thanks,

77

They are low production, accurate, and beautifully made. They are also really, really expensive as you already figured out.

The only thing I can say about Korth is I'll never own one!  Because I can't afford one!

They are heirloom quality guns, mostly they go into displays but they are real guns.

Korth revolvers have a completely different lockwork than S&W, Ruger, or Colt and are built of the finest steels that can be found for the purpose. In 1969  Willi Korth had finished the development of his trigger, which uses an interchangeble disc bearing for an exactly repeatable let-off. The early revolvers came with 5 wheels. The weight of the trigger return spring can be adjusted from the outside from 1967 on.

I have a S&W K-22 built in 1952 that is an excellent shooter but plagued with the extraction problems typical for this early model. My Korths do not have this problem since Korth uses a completely different way to make sure that the chambers are absolutely smooth - and stay that way. The bluing was sourced out by Korth to a company in Hamburg. From 1967 on the grips were contracted out to Nill but still maintain the unique way of Korth's Sonderverschraubung.

The quality is clearly one step above my 1972 Pythoon.

In this photo are the early revolvers. On top is a 23 series Korth with a single locking point from 1967, much like the old Colt OMM. Below are 24 and 26 series from 1969 and two from 1971. They have two locking points and the bearing.



In this photo I grouped the newer revolvers with the underlug together.

That is a shame! They are built to be shot and are great shooters. They are very durable and years of use do not show easily, they have a well hardened surface and excellent bluing. They also excist in even more wear resistant PVD / plasmacoated surfaces.  All of mine get shot, some on a weekly basis and others once in a while.

That is an amazing collection. Thank you for the information.



 

Thanks,

I really like Korths and have a lot of very nice handguns to compare them to. It isn't that I am really rich, I am just an extreme gun nut.

Here is a photo of the innards of a Korth that I bought cheaply because it was neglected. It gives an idea how radically different the lockwork is.

Informative and interesting.  Thanks!

Thanks Matthardcore,

I just posted this on RFC but want to also share the info here.

There are many threads on several firearm forums where questions about the Korth revolvers are asked and whether they are worth the price.
A little bit of high end always carries a much higher price tag, mainly because of limited production and cost per unit.
So, reading through many different gun forums I have found a plethora of misinformation about Korth revolvers and often quite degrading remarks.

Now I am well aware that jealousy is another way of flattery that just reflects negatively on the small minded distributor of "false facts".

First, Korth revolvers are not a knock-offs of Smith & Wesson, nor Colt but the lockwork is very different and evolved over the years.

Willi Korth had learned to work with steel originally while working as an apprentice for the German railroad. Afterwards he furthered his education in the toolmaking business. Because of his excellent performance, he was allowed further studies and became an engineer. During the height of WWII, in the summer of 1944 he was transferred to Mauser and lost his home at the end of the war and had to flee.
After settling down in Northern Germany, he worked for the Hubertus Metallwerk from 1950 on and quit the job to start his own business in his basement in 1954.

At first he developed gas revolvers and from 1960 on also real guns. The Sports revolvers went into production in 1965. It is about these revolvers that I want to write about here.

The chambers were not only reamed but reamed and sized my a hardened steel ball being driven in and out of the chambers by use of a hydraulic press, smoothing the surface and peening it to very high hardness.
The first series, the 21xxx are well made but the grips are somewhat crude. The single action pull is outstanding but the d/a pull is just average. From the 21st series on, the revolvers can have the trigger return spring, and thus the trigger pull weight, adjusted from the outside with a screw.

From 24xxx on the grips were contracted out to Nill and are of much better quality and fit. The most important improvement, however, is the interchangeable wheel bearing at the top of the trigger that allows a repeatable stacking with much reduced friction. From series 30 on, the barrels of the Sport revolvers were of a two piece design with a shroud with an underlug. The Combat models had that design since the 28 series.

I take great pleasure in owning and shooting these fine guns and have a Colt OMM, a S&W K-22, a Hämmerli 212 and 208 as reference rimfire pistols to compare to my Korths. Only the Hämmerlis can compare in quality, longevity and durability. All Korth revolvers are very accurate and function and perform well with a variety of ammunition.

Here are the 21 and 22 series, a simple one locking point for the cylinder. They already employ the button release for the cylinder, that allows easy removal of the cylinder for cleaning purposes.



Here are a 24 and a 26 series. They have now two locking points. Main difference between the two is the underlug is shaped differently and the screw to adjust the trigger weight was changed to a different design.



This is the 30 series with the two-piece barrel design. It does look nicer but offers no practical advantages to the previous post 24xxx models.



That does not mean that I do not enjoy or appreciate my Colt OMM, Python, K-22, Rugers and S&W revolvers. Being primarrily a shooter I just find the quality of Korths amazing and above par. A registered Magnum of early hand ejector/triple lock is still missing the collection that I am building up for my kids.

Forgive my ignorance, but does Korth have an American distributor? How are they sold?

How do you unlock the cylinder? Is it the little stud next to the hammer?

Yes,

the cylinder release from 1969 on is frame mounted behind the hammer and pushed forward. It took some getting used to for an old S&W afficionado ike me but once I got used to it, it is very easy to open the cylinder one handed, either with the left or right hand.

 Pictures like that make me so sad.  Those other pics though...  Omg, the bluing is bottomless.  Seeing them irl would be a treat!  What is the purpose of the little vertical oval space in front of the trigger?  What calibers do you have?

That little oval space is the cut out for the cylinder release to take the cylinder off. I have Korths in .22 l.r, .32 S&W Long, and .357 Mag ( one with a 9mm conversion).

You swong out the cylinder and press that button and remove the cylinder. It makes cleaning fun.



Don't worry about that sad Korth, it got lovingly brought back to be a great gun. It is an outstanding shooter and since I have so little money tied up in it, it is enjoyed by many friends of mine.