Star Model B at Lever Arms - Experiences?

I had two of them. First one I ordered, I phoned and explained what I wanted and asked for a hand pick. I was shipped a tomato stake that was missing some parts, cracked grips, terrible bore, badly pitted slide. I phoned back and had to threaten credit card warranty action before they agreed to take it back. The replacement they shipped me was fantastic, a really great example.

My advice is to pick one in person if you want to buy from Lever. YMMV.
 
Sadly Claven2's experience seems to be the norm. I had a friend go there yesterday to look at what was on display. He told me that none of them were acceptable as far as he was concerned. I'm fussier than he is so I won't be looking at them.

On the other hand, there are some post war Super B pistols at Tradex for $300 that are matching and great shooters.

The Star B pistols are collectible to a point. I haven't seen a range of serial numbers that were sent to the Axis nations during WWII.

I have a friend with a B model that was picked up from International out of Montreal more than 20 years ago. It has seen several thousand rounds and he still really likes it. His was an all matching example.

I saw another recently that had the same issues Claven describes. It is a jamomatic. Supposedly the pistols were hand assembled and not meant to be mixmasters without some trained fitting.
 
I have one that I picked out of the display, numbers matching and very good condition throughout. These have been at Lever for years now and maybe all the good ones are gone. I found through a list online that mine was sent to Bulgaria for the Germans that where stationed there.
 
I did not get mine from lever but instead from a great member on here, it falls into the first serial block sent to the Wehrmacht, and is not an RC. You have to be careful as there's been Bulgarian contracted pistols with forged/faked waffenampt stamps on them.

The following serial numbers are the actual Nazi German delivery contracts:

First Variation: 4000 pistols, not Waffenampt, delivered to occupied France on May 15 and 28, 1942. Serials 210951-214950

Second Variation: 7,999 pistols delivered to German headquarters in Hendaye, France on July 26, 1943. Waffenampt WaA251. 4,000 for Army, 3,999 for Navy. Army: 214953-216200; 216251-217502; 222457-222675; 222701-222750; 223776-225006. Navy: 217503-218042;218044-218048; 218050-218123; 218125-219400; 219501-219530; 219532-219950; 220026-220942; 220944-221200; 221976-222456,

Third Variation delivered May 29, 1944, 5000 pistols. Army: 244503-247002, Navy 242003-244502. Patr. 08 added to slide inscription. Waffenampt WaAD20.

Fourth Variation delivered June 6, 1944 to Hendaye. 8000 pistols, 248001-254300, and 254551-256250.

Fifth Variation - never made it to Germans. Serial No. 256251-258000, and 260001-260250. These were sold after the war to West German Police and many marked "LPN"

This is what is recorded by Echeverria (Star).
 
Thanks for the input everyone. I know they'be been available through Lever Arms for a while now, so I assumed all the very best ones were long gone....

Bearhunter - Good point about them being hand fitted. From what my research indicates, this rings true. Other collectors warn about mixmasters having issues.

So from what I'm hearing, the best bet is to put an add on the EE? Do I put it under pistols, milsurp or both?

Thanks,

Brookwood
 
Bulgarian contract is not for Germans stationed there, it's for Bulgarian army. I understand that Nazi is magic word for price tag, but those RCs and Bulgarian contract are not Nazi contract.
Yes, you better get matching example.
It's hard to find non refurbished example, but possible.
 
Lever arms has a sign posted .... something to the effect that milsurps have no warranty or no guarantee ... something like that. They have also had issues over alleged corrosive ammo sold as non-corrosive ammo, but they have had some good deals over the years like $200 svt 40's a few years ago. They generally have cheap sks rifles (not always the prettiest). They also have a sign up by their Sks rifles that they will only let you pick from whatever rifles are in the case .... they are not the type of store to go through thirty cosmolone covered rifles to find you what you are looking for, so it is possible that they still have nice guns that haven't been cleaned up and put up for sale. Usually you would be the only one shopping in the store while there are line ups at other local stores.

They are a mixed bag ... sometimes you'll get a good deal or find something that no one else has.
 
Brookwood said:
Thanks for the input everyone. I know they'be been available through Lever Arms for a while now, so I assumed all the very best ones were long gone....

Bearhunter - Good point about them being hand fitted. From what my research indicates, this rings true. Other collectors warn about mixmasters having issues.

So from what I'm hearing, the best bet is to put an add on the EE? Do I put it under pistols, milsurp or both?

Thanks,

Brookwood
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Your best bet is to call Lever Arms or maybe you can convince Claven to intercede on your behalf. The EE can be very good but it can also be not so good. The guys at Lever Arms seem to be a pretty decent bunch and deal with new collectors on a regular basis. Just don't try to BS them, they can pick up on that right away and don't appreciate it. Tell them exactly what you are looking for and if they tell you they don't have it or there is an extra cost then look elsewhere. Their pistols have been picked over, as mentioned above for a few years now.

I never bothered trying to pick one up for the plain simple reason there is nothing on them to indicate where and who used them. Some of the fellow seem to have come up with serial numbers to indicate where they were sent to. Good for them.

I would also suggest you have a good look at the Star Super B pistols at Tradex. They were post war but I believe they saw Police service in different nations. They are well made and very accurate. They feel like 1911 Colts but their triggers feel different because they swing on a pin.

Well machined and accurate for less than the base cost of the Lever pistols.
 
bearhunter said:
I never bothered trying to pick one up for the plain simple reason there is nothing on them to indicate where and who used them. Some of the fellow seem to have come up with serial numbers to indicate where they were sent to. Good for them.
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Nobody has come up with serials numbers to how many where they were sent to, those are records according to star. Just about every manufacturer has records and shipping numbers of where the guns they made went. Some German weapons are the exception I would assume that records were destroyed with factories or purposely.
 
They are refurbished (reblued frame and slide, blued barrel (originally in white), stamped serial numbers applied - though I can't be sure when they were applied). I got one from a guy that bought it directly from Lever. Serial belongs to known Bulgarian contract range. I never actually saw non-refurbished Bulgarian, I think I will never find one. However I saw four or five original condition Wehrmacht / Kriegsmarine contracts.
 
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I've been looking for one of these for quite some time now and have been told not to order one from Lever as I definitely wouldn't be happy with "their " pick. Was going to ask my Vancouver brother to have a look for me but he knows absolutely nothing about guns so that's probably not a good option.

I have had a WTB up on the EE a couple of times with no replies. So for the time being I bought a Star Model Super B from Tradex. They are somewhat similar to the other ones but a much later manufactured date. My Super B is a 73 build and looks like new. Non adjustable sights and supposedly surplus Spanish police and military. Really nice pistol but not really a replacement for the 1942 to 1944 Star (08) that I'm really looking for.
 
Definitely go in person.

I've actually had some pleasant experiences with the guys there but I was a regular for a while. They have ignored the majority of my e-mails asking for certain things.
 
I had been eyeing the ww2 star model b's that lever arms has had for quite a while and prior to ordering I came across this post and it made me extremely skeptical about buying one. Although skeptical I bit the bullet and received my star today. This pistol is in absolutely fantastic condition. It came fully covered in grease with 2 magazines and a cleaning rod. There is no pitting anywhere the bore is fantastic! The grips are free from any cracks. Prior to ordering I had given lever a call to ask them if they would send me a nice one with a good bore and that's what I received. Despite some rude staff I would have absolutely no problems ordering from lever arms again in the near future as they always seem to deliver for me. Can't wait to get to the range! Thank you lever arms
 
I have owned a few Star 9mm and found them to be well built and sturdy. BUT watch out for the Mag not being made for the pistol. I have had big jambs caused by the wrong magazine being matched to the wrong model or year of manufacture. It seems the magazine has been modified depending on the year it was made. Make sure the slide lock lever is engaged by the magazine. The wrong model mags do not hold the slide open.
 
You should add the German Border Police Star model Bs. They came
with extra magazines and a P38 style holster that was made in Germany.
 
I bought one from Lever off their website. Unlike most of you I had an amazing experience. I ordered it last month and it arrived at my local post office in Ontario in 5 business days! It was WAY better condition then i expected, AND it shoots and feeds flawlessly. I was extremely impressed with their service and communication for the whole process. Not sure if i got luck or what but I had the opposite experience as most of you. For $350 I absolutely love it.
 
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