Korth Combat Ratzeburg .357 Magnum with 9mm Exchange Cylinder

Look at the finish on this Korth Combat and you start to understand why these revolvers occupy a category of their own. The bluing runs so deep it reads almost black, with mirror reflections rolling across the cylinder flutes and down the full-length rib. This one came out of the Ratzeburg works, the era collectors chase hardest, and the barrel address says exactly that: Made in W. Germany, Waffenfabrik Korth, Ratzeburg/LBG.

Chambered in .357 Magnum with a 4 inch barrel, it ships with the factory 9mm exchange cylinder. That second cylinder is the part that matters. Korth fitted both to the same gun, so you can drop in the 9mm unit and shoot a different caliber without giving up the lockup or timing the gun was built around. Swapping takes seconds thanks to the quick-release crane, and the spare cylinder carries its own ejector star and center pin.

The walnut combat grips fill the hand with a rounded target profile and fine diamond checkering across the panels. They show warm color and a bit of honest handling character against all that polished steel. Up top you get a fully adjustable target rear sight paired with a serrated front blade, the setup Korth used to wring accuracy out of these guns. The Korth medallion sits inset in the frame just behind the cylinder.

Work the action and you feel the hand-fitting. Korth assembled these one at a time, fitting each part to its mate rather than dropping in interchangeable components. That's the whole reason the name carries the weight it does.

The revolver comes in its fitted Korth presentation case with the original manual and parts diagram. For a collector who wants a Ratzeburg Korth with both cylinders present and accounted for, this is the configuration to hold out for. Few dual-caliber examples surface with the case and paperwork still together.