Lahti L35 has arrived

Death from Afar · November 3, 2015, 08:07 PM

As a collector of all things Finnish, I was delighted to be able to pick up a series 4 Lahti. For the uninformed, there are 4 series of this pistol, and the series 4 was made by VKT ( Valmet) post war, I understand with pieces left over after the unpleasantness with the Russkis ended. I really wanted a [SA] marked one, but they are very difficult to get and in most cases the condition is poor which should not be a surprise. The samples I saw in museums in Finland -even there- is not good. The pistol came with 3 magazines and Swedish M40 holster, with the loading tool and lanyard.

Its a heavy beast of a pistol, basically a lump of steel. You can see the influence of the p08 on the design, with similar grip angel. The safety is very easy to operate, and the trigger a delight. You can easily see the accelerator (unusual in a pistol) as the pistol had to operate at around -40 and did so.

The build quality is exceptional as one would expect. The blueing is rich. I rate the pistol at around 90% with some thinning and a scratch on the extractor. Lahti.jpg

James K · November 3, 2015, 08:49 PM

The Lahti is a good pistol, but I found as others have, that it is just too big and heavy for the caliber. The Swedes used a slightly modified version they designated as the Model 40, adopted after Walther rejected their order for the HP, the German army having higher priority and some plans of their own.

Resemblance to the Luger is only in the grip angle and in the way the barrel was made so it indexed on the draw line, not needing any fitting on installation.

Jim

gyvel · November 3, 2015, 10:11 PM

As I understand it, I thought there were 5 variations.

Should you be interested in an original holster, be on the lookout for something that looks like a Luger holster, only larger.

RickB · November 4, 2015, 03:30 PM

I have a few hundred rounds through a Swedish 40.
Even though the Swede has a reputation for not being as well built or finely finished as its Finnish cousin, it's a nice enough gun.
As already noted, it's way overbuilt and though the overall outline is Lugerish, the Lahti is considerably larger.
A fun piece of history.

Skans · November 4, 2015, 04:57 PM

Very nice example! I wouldn't mind having one.

Death from Afar · November 4, 2015, 05:49 PM

Thank you.

Total Finnish production was about 9,000 pistols, and I think the swedes made about 80,000 so the Finns are rare.

The build quality is really something special. The variations (as far as the Finnish production went) are:

1: 2600 from March 1939 to Mid 1941. Serials are 1100-3700.

2: About 1,000 from 1941-42. All unnecessary parts removed, and i think no loaded chamber indicator. Serials 3700-4700

3: Roughly 1942 to 1945, but manufacture of parts ceased about 1944. Serials 3700-5800.

4: Post war, using what parts were left in the Valmet factory. About 2000 pistols, running to serial 9300.

gyvel is right, there was a small run of about 100 with 3 digit numbers.

I have to say despite the weight - and it is huge- I really wouldn't feel uncomfortable having to rely on one to this day. I was surprised by how rare a pistol it is, the finnish ones seem quite hard to find, even in the US.

RickB · November 4, 2015, 06:35 PM

The Swedish pistols are now pretty rare, too. Tens of thousands were in storage, apparently in anticipation of WWIII, but a couple of them blew-up in test firing, and all were condemned.
If virtually every one in circulation has the same potential for failure due to the sub-par, wartime metallurgy, they should become rarer still over time.
When I was shooting mine, I removed the accelerator as the gun doesn't need the extra kick to operate under ideal conditions, and the gun might last longer without it.
https://www.forgottenweapons.com/the...a-m-40-pistol/
Says 50,000 in storage were destroyed.
Also says that Danish contract pistols were ordered in '46 and delivered in '47; do they suffer from the same poor metallurgy as the wartime guns?
Sorry for the tangent.

Death from Afar · November 4, 2015, 08:28 PM

Never a tangent, Rick!

I am not 100% sure about sub par metallurgy. I think the pistols were retired from service in Sweden in the 1980's- I wonder how many tens of thousands of rounds they did in that time? I once saw a P226 with a cracked frame for that very reason- just too many rounds?

gyvel · November 4, 2015, 09:28 PM

I've never heard of any Swede M40 "blowing up." There are numerous incidents (I had one) of the locking block housing cracking due to metallurgical issues.

Guns supplied to Denmark (as I understand it) were mostly the "D" series guns. I have no idea if any metallurgical changes were made. All D series guns I have seen have large trigger guards. I did own one RpLT small guard gun in the 40,000 range, which, coincidentally, was the one with the cracked locking block housing.

I have owned 2 Finns, one of which was sold long ago in the 70s. I still have the other one. The one I owned in the 70s was supposedly from the collection of one Dr. David Lehrer, and it was claimed that it was one from Aimo Lahti's personal collection, but I always took that with about a 90 pound grain of salt. although the gun was unfired.

RickB · November 5, 2015, 11:50 AM

Maybe "blow up" was an exaggeration, but whatever the level of failure, the Swedes decided to destroy 50,000 pistols rather than risk . . . whatever they thought they were risking if the guns were ever put into service again.
Mine has a D serial and Danish crown on the rear. My dad bought it some time in the '50s or '60s, and other than a few tiny scratches in the finish, it appears like new. The Danes must not have used them much.

BigBill · November 22, 2015, 12:38 PM

I picked up a Danish m40 husqvarna a few years back. I inspected it for cracks and found none.

The problem I heard is some shot the more powerful 9mm machine gun ammo in some of these.

As far as the Swedish steels there the best quality in the world. They developed the chrome moly steels first. They were the first ones to use the electric furnaces in there foundries. This quality Swedish steels were used in there mauser and husqvarna motorcycles. I don't see the steel as being a problem.

gyvel · November 22, 2015, 02:02 PM

Quote:

As far as the Swedish steels there the best quality in the world. They developed the chrome moly steels first. They were the first ones to use the electric furnaces in there foundries. This quality Swedish steels were used in there mauser and husqvarna motorcycles. I don't see the steel as being a problem.

The problem guns seem to have been made during WWII. As I said, the one that I had with a cracked locking block housing was a 40,000 range small trigger guard model. If you take a look at the housing, you will see that the walls are very thin. My D series has had at least 500 rounds through it without any problems other than a broken extractor, and I have always taken the precaution of removing the accelerator when shooting it.

As also stated, my Finn was unfired when I got it and was still unfired when I traded it off. My current Finn has been fired, but not yet by me. (It's on the waiting list.

)

RickB · November 23, 2015, 03:46 PM

The Swedes had a limited amount of steel during the war, decided to put the best of into artillery and that of lesser quality into the M40.
Read the link I provided above.
"The Swedish production m/40 pistol was downgraded and was made of molybdenum steel that resulted in many blow ups."

James K · November 23, 2015, 11:40 PM

If the Swedes had a limited amount of steel during WWII, it must have been because they were selling it all to Germany and England. Sweden produces about half the amount of iron ore as the U.S., while Germany (today) produces less than South Korea.

Jim

**JohnKSa** · November 25, 2015, 12:31 AM

Quote:

If the Swedes had a limited amount of steel during WWII, it must have been because they were selling it all to Germany and England.

Sounds like they supplied high-grade ore to Germany leading up to and during the war until they stopped trading with Germany in 1944.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedis...g_World_War_II

BlueTrain · November 25, 2015, 08:54 AM

I have also read in several places that the problems with the pistol were caused by 9mm ammunition intended for submachine guns. The standard Finnish pistol cartridge had been the .30 caliber Luger. It is ironic that a pistol that everyone says is heavy and maybe even overbuilt would have problems like that.

The Swedes went back to using an older pistol, the Browning in 9mm Browning Long, I think it was. I believe they were finally replaced with Glocks.

An even stranger situation was when the Norwegians replaced their .45 autos with 9mm Lugers.

November 3, 2015, 08:07 PM	#1
Death from Afar Senior Member Join Date: November 7, 2004 Location: Living the dream in Christchurch, NEW ZEALAND Posts: 1,635	Lahti L35 has arrived As a collector of all things Finnish, I was delighted to be able to pick up a series 4 Lahti. For the uninformed, there are 4 series of this pistol, and the series 4 was made by VKT ( Valmet) post war, I understand with pieces left over after the unpleasantness with the Russkis ended. I really wanted a [SA] marked one, but they are very difficult to get and in most cases the condition is poor which should not be a surprise. The samples I saw in museums in Finland -even there- is not good. The pistol came with 3 magazines and Swedish M40 holster, with the loading tool and lanyard. Its a heavy beast of a pistol, basically a lump of steel. You can see the influence of the p08 on the design, with similar grip angel. The safety is very easy to operate, and the trigger a delight. You can easily see the accelerator (unusual in a pistol) as the pistol had to operate at around -40 and did so. The build quality is exceptional as one would expect. The blueing is rich. I rate the pistol at around 90% with some thinning and a scratch on the extractor. Lahti.jpg __________________ "Beware of the Man with one gun...he probably isnt into guns enough to be safe with it".

November 3, 2015, 10:11 PM	#3
gyvel Senior Member Join Date: August 30, 2009 Location: Northern AZ Posts: 7,172	As I understand it, I thought there were 5 variations. Should you be interested in an original holster, be on the lookout for something that looks like a Luger holster, only larger. __________________ As always, YMMV. __________________________________________ MIIAA SIFE

November 4, 2015, 03:30 PM	#4
RickB Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2000 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 8,518	I have a few hundred rounds through a Swedish 40. Even though the Swede has a reputation for not being as well built or finely finished as its Finnish cousin, it's a nice enough gun. As already noted, it's way overbuilt and though the overall outline is Lugerish, the Lahti is considerably larger. A fun piece of history. __________________ Runs off at the mouth about anything 1911 related on this site and half the time is flat out wrong.

November 4, 2015, 05:49 PM	#6
Death from Afar Senior Member Join Date: November 7, 2004 Location: Living the dream in Christchurch, NEW ZEALAND Posts: 1,635	Thank you. Total Finnish production was about 9,000 pistols, and I think the swedes made about 80,000 so the Finns are rare. The build quality is really something special. The variations (as far as the Finnish production went) are: 1: 2600 from March 1939 to Mid 1941. Serials are 1100-3700. 2: About 1,000 from 1941-42. All unnecessary parts removed, and i think no loaded chamber indicator. Serials 3700-4700 3: Roughly 1942 to 1945, but manufacture of parts ceased about 1944. Serials 3700-5800. 4: Post war, using what parts were left in the Valmet factory. About 2000 pistols, running to serial 9300. gyvel is right, there was a small run of about 100 with 3 digit numbers. I have to say despite the weight - and it is huge- I really wouldn't feel uncomfortable having to rely on one to this day. I was surprised by how rare a pistol it is, the finnish ones seem quite hard to find, even in the US. __________________ "Beware of the Man with one gun...he probably isnt into guns enough to be safe with it".

November 4, 2015, 06:35 PM	#7
RickB Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2000 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 8,518	The Swedish pistols are now pretty rare, too. Tens of thousands were in storage, apparently in anticipation of WWIII, but a couple of them blew-up in test firing, and all were condemned. If virtually every one in circulation has the same potential for failure due to the sub-par, wartime metallurgy, they should become rarer still over time. When I was shooting mine, I removed the accelerator as the gun doesn't need the extra kick to operate under ideal conditions, and the gun might last longer without it. https://www.forgottenweapons.com/the...a-m-40-pistol/ Says 50,000 in storage were destroyed. Also says that Danish contract pistols were ordered in '46 and delivered in '47; do they suffer from the same poor metallurgy as the wartime guns? Sorry for the tangent. __________________ Runs off at the mouth about anything 1911 related on this site and half the time is flat out wrong. Last edited by RickB; November 4, 2015 at 06:44 PM.

November 3, 2015, 08:49 PM	#2
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	The Lahti is a good pistol, but I found as others have, that it is just too big and heavy for the caliber. The Swedes used a slightly modified version they designated as the Model 40, adopted after Walther rejected their order for the HP, the German army having higher priority and some plans of their own. Resemblance to the Luger is only in the grip angle and in the way the barrel was made so it indexed on the draw line, not needing any fitting on installation. Jim

November 4, 2015, 04:57 PM	#5
Skans Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2008 Posts: 11,132	Very nice example! I wouldn't mind having one.

November 4, 2015, 08:28 PM	#8
Death from Afar Senior Member Join Date: November 7, 2004 Location: Living the dream in Christchurch, NEW ZEALAND Posts: 1,635	Never a tangent, Rick! I am not 100% sure about sub par metallurgy. I think the pistols were retired from service in Sweden in the 1980's- I wonder how many tens of thousands of rounds they did in that time? I once saw a P226 with a cracked frame for that very reason- just too many rounds? __________________ "Beware of the Man with one gun...he probably isnt into guns enough to be safe with it".

November 4, 2015, 09:28 PM	#9
gyvel Senior Member Join Date: August 30, 2009 Location: Northern AZ Posts: 7,172	I've never heard of any Swede M40 "blowing up." There are numerous incidents (I had one) of the locking block housing cracking due to metallurgical issues. Guns supplied to Denmark (as I understand it) were mostly the "D" series guns. I have no idea if any metallurgical changes were made. All D series guns I have seen have large trigger guards. I did own one RpLT small guard gun in the 40,000 range, which, coincidentally, was the one with the cracked locking block housing. I have owned 2 Finns, one of which was sold long ago in the 70s. I still have the other one. The one I owned in the 70s was supposedly from the collection of one Dr. David Lehrer, and it was claimed that it was one from Aimo Lahti's personal collection, but I always took that with about a 90 pound grain of salt. although the gun was unfired. __________________ As always, YMMV. __________________________________________ MIIAA SIFE

November 5, 2015, 11:50 AM	#10
RickB Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2000 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 8,518	Maybe "blow up" was an exaggeration, but whatever the level of failure, the Swedes decided to destroy 50,000 pistols rather than risk . . . whatever they thought they were risking if the guns were ever put into service again. Mine has a D serial and Danish crown on the rear. My dad bought it some time in the '50s or '60s, and other than a few tiny scratches in the finish, it appears like new. The Danes must not have used them much. __________________ Runs off at the mouth about anything 1911 related on this site and half the time is flat out wrong.

November 22, 2015, 12:38 PM	#11
BigBill Member Join Date: May 21, 2006 Posts: 53	I picked up a Danish m40 husqvarna a few years back. I inspected it for cracks and found none. The problem I heard is some shot the more powerful 9mm machine gun ammo in some of these. As far as the Swedish steels there the best quality in the world. They developed the chrome moly steels first. They were the first ones to use the electric furnaces in there foundries. This quality Swedish steels were used in there mauser and husqvarna motorcycles. I don't see the steel as being a problem.

November 23, 2015, 03:46 PM	#13
RickB Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2000 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 8,518	The Swedes had a limited amount of steel during the war, decided to put the best of into artillery and that of lesser quality into the M40. Read the link I provided above. "The Swedish production m/40 pistol was downgraded and was made of molybdenum steel that resulted in many blow ups." __________________ Runs off at the mouth about anything 1911 related on this site and half the time is flat out wrong.

November 23, 2015, 11:40 PM	#14
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	If the Swedes had a limited amount of steel during WWII, it must have been because they were selling it all to Germany and England. Sweden produces about half the amount of iron ore as the U.S., while Germany (today) produces less than South Korea. Jim

November 25, 2015, 08:54 AM	#16
BlueTrain Senior Member Join Date: September 26, 2005 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 6,141	I have also read in several places that the problems with the pistol were caused by 9mm ammunition intended for submachine guns. The standard Finnish pistol cartridge had been the .30 caliber Luger. It is ironic that a pistol that everyone says is heavy and maybe even overbuilt would have problems like that. The Swedes went back to using an older pistol, the Browning in 9mm Browning Long, I think it was. I believe they were finally replaced with Glocks. An even stranger situation was when the Norwegians replaced their .45 autos with 9mm Lugers. __________________ Shoot low, sheriff. They're riding Shetlands! Underneath the starry flag, civilize 'em with a Krag, and return us to our own beloved homes! Buy War Bonds.