Korth Combat .357 Magnum Ratzeburg Dynamit Nobel

Pick up a Korth Combat and the first thing you notice is the weight, then the way the cylinder drops open and locks back like a bank vault. This one is a Ratzeburg gun, built in the small West German shop where Willi Korth and a handful of craftsmen turned out revolvers one at a time. The barrel address says it plainly: MADE IN W. GERMANY, WAFFENFABR. W. KORTH, RATZEBURG/LBG. That stamping marks the original Korth factory, before the brand changed hands and moved to Lollar.

The finish is the part people remember. Korth's deep blue runs almost black in shadow and lights up to a wet shine in the sun, the result of polishing and bluing steps most makers gave up on decades ago. The 4 inch barrel wears a full underlug and a ventilated rib, and the cylinder shows the long flutes and beveled chamber mouths that are Korth signatures. Up on the frame sits the round Korth Dynamit Nobel medallion, the marking used during the period when Dynamit Nobel handled distribution.

Look closer and the engineering shows. The cylinder gap is tight, the cylinder release is the knurled knob ahead of the hammer rather than a thumb latch, and the trigger return spring tension adjusts through a small screw. There's a removable rear sight assembly and a serrated target trigger. The checkered walnut target grips fill the hand with a palm swell and carry honest handling marks across the wood.

This Combat configuration was Korth's working revolver, built to the same standard as their target guns but dressed for duty and field carry. It comes in the original blue Korth Dynamit Nobel box. For a collector chasing the best double action revolvers ever assembled, a Ratzeburg gun in this finish is the one worth holding out for.