Korth Semi-Auto Pistol 9mm Para

Korth built its name on revolvers, the kind that cost more than a used car and run like a Swiss movement. So when you come across one of their semi-autos, you stop. The company made very few of these 9mm pistols out of Ratzeburg, and most collectors go their whole lives without handling one in person.

This is the early Korth semi-automatic, chambered in 9mm Para and built to the same obsessive standard the company applied to everything that left its shop. The slide carries the Korth roundel up front and the full Waffenfabrik Korth Ratzeburg address along the dust cover. Up top sits a fully adjustable target rear sight paired with a post front, the kind of setup that tells you this pistol was meant to print tight groups, not just look pretty on a shelf. The slide-to-frame fit is tight, the edge transitions are crisp, and the deep blued finish has that wet-looking depth Korth was known for.

The grips are checkered walnut, hand-cut and wrapping a frame that splits the difference between a service pistol and a target gun. There is honest character in the wood, with the warm tones playing against the dark steel. The controls are deliberate and smooth, and the markings throughout are clean and matching.

What really completes it is the case. The pistol sits in a fitted velvet-lined presentation box with both original Korth keys still tucked in the foam, a detail that disappears from most of these long before they reach a collector. The bore is bright with strong rifling, and the muzzle crown shows the polished steel ring at the front.

Few German makers ever reached the level Korth did, and fewer still tried it with a self-loading pistol. If you collect Korth, or you collect the strange and the scarce among German handguns, this one belongs on your short list.