Editing Luger pistol (section)

=== Interwar period ===
From 1919 onwards, DWM rebuilt P08 frames with new parts or existing parts (including barrels) into complete pistols for sale to the civilian and export markets. These sales helped restore DWM to solvency after the Armistice.<ref>Davis, Aaron, ''Standard Catalog of Luger'', p. 25: In 1922 DWM became part of a holding company, Berlin-Karlsruher Industrie-Werke (BKIW).</ref> Most of these commercial pistols were in 7.65 Parabellum (.30 Luger) caliber, although a number of pistols were also re-barrelled to 9mm Parabellum (9×19mm). The new component parts were stamped with serial numbers to match the frame to ensure that all the fitted parts stayed together. Many thousands of these pistols were thought to have been assembled and sold between 1919 and 1923. Some of these pistols were fitted with new barrels of different lengths by the importer upon customer request. Many so-called 1919 and 1920 Commercial Lugers were imported to the United States by such firms as Abercrombie & Fitch, Pacific Arms Co., and A.F. Stoeger Inc. The latter importer sought and registered the name ''Luger'' in 1929, in the United States.<ref name="DAV" />

In 1923, A.F. Stoeger Inc., the predecessor to [[Stoeger Industries|Stoeger, Inc.]] began importing commercial pistols from DWM stamped ''A.F.Stoeger Inc. – New York.'' and "Germany". These pistols were exported to the United States in both 7.65 Parabellum (.30 Luger) and 9mm calibers, with barrel lengths from 75&nbsp; mm to 600&nbsp; mm. These imported Parabellums were also the first pistols to bear the name "Luger", roll stamped on the right side of the receiver. That same year, DWM also signed contracts to supply small numbers of P08 pistols to the armed forces of Finland (8,000 pistols, designated ''m/23''),<ref name="Finland">{{cite book|last1=Jowett|first1=Philip|url=https://archive.org/details/finlandatwar00jowe|title=Finland at War 1939–45|last2=Snodgrass|first2=Brent|date=5 Jul 2006|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=9781841769691|series=Elite 141|page=[https://archive.org/details/finlandatwar00jowe/page/n46 46]|url-access=limited}}</ref> the Netherlands, and Sweden.

Until 1930, DWM continued to export both P08 and commercial Parabellum pistols to nations in Europe and to overseas markets, including the United States and the Far East. Although never officially adopted by Nationalist forces, all variants of the Parabellum or Luger pistol were highly sought after by both Chinese Nationalist officers and irregular guerrilla forces. In 1924, just before the outbreak of the [[Chinese Civil War]], a review of Chinese Nationalist small arms reported that "Among officers, bodyguards, and police, the German Parabellum (Luger) 9-mm automatic pistol was the weapon of choice...".<ref>Waldron, Arthur, ''From War to Nationalism: China's Turning Point, 1924–25'', Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|0521472385}} (1995), p. 57</ref>

In 1930, [[Mauser]] took over the manufacture of P.08 from DWM.<ref name="Fitzsimons" /> Additional P08s were produced by Simson and later Krieghoff. Many P04 and P08 pistols would continue in service with German army and navy personnel throughout World War II. Towards the end of 1937 (beginning with 't' & 'u' block pistols), Mauser phased out the rust blue process and "straw finishing" small parts and levers on the P08, choosing to salt blue all parts of the weapon at one time. In 1941, some of these pistols were fitted with inexpensive black [[Bakelite]] grip panels to cut production time and expense. Years after the war, these pistols would be given the name "Black Widow" by a postwar US arms dealer as a marketing ploy.