Help, please: P38: Can anyone ID this engraver?

sam

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I received an email from a fellow who would like more info on this P38 he owns. I don't recognize the work so with his permission I'm posting photos of his gun here. Any info will be much appreciated. Thanks!

9.jpg 8.jpg 5.jpg 6.jpg 2.jpg 3.jpg 1.jpg 7.jpg 4.jpg
 

mitch

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probably somebody in Germany or Austria- other than that, not a clue...
 

Roger Bleile

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I don't know specifically who engraved the P38. Though the scrollwork is done in the Germanic style (grund Englisch), I believe it was done by a Japanese engraver. I have examined many examples of Japanese gun engraving and most of it is done in a Germanic style however the cuts have a different execution. On this P38 the real giveaway is the close-up of the trigger guard where you can see how the engraver cut out the background with a liner. On German and Austrian engraving the background is removed so cleanly and evenly it will almost look like it was done with a milling machine. Also the extensive use of silver inlayed lines is common of Japanese engraving.

Note: I am not saying that the gun was engraved in Japan but that it was done by someone trained in Japan. During the 1970's to 80's there were several Japanese gun engravers working in the US.
 

sam

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Roger: I also noticed the liner work in the background. The crosshatching isn't like anything I've seen before. I guess it's a form of crosshatching that's on many of the scrolls.

I assumed it was older than 70s or 80s.
 

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