Description
Let’s be honest — you don’t stumble across a Broomhandle Mauser like this every week. This one reads like a museum commission and a love letter to old-world engraving all in one. Every inch of the metal — barrel, frame, top strap, trigger guard, tang — is covered in deep, hand-chiseled oak-leaf and acorn scrollwork that actually tells a story. Not machine filler. Not a pattern someone slapped on with a jig. Real, patient handiwork from a European master.
It’s an early “cone hammer” C96, made by Waffenfabrik Mauser in Oberndorf a/N, so you’re getting classic Mauser engineering dressed up in formalwear. The left-side inscription, “Waffen-Wetzel, Mühlhausen/Thür,” pins down a dealer connection that adds provenance and personality. Those little details matter — they take a great gun and turn it into an artifact.
And yes, it comes with the original wooden shoulder stock/holster, matching numbers and all. The stock has tight grain, a working hinge, and the serial stamped into the metal. A complete package like that is rare, and it makes this piece all the more desirable for serious collectors.
Handling it is the weird part — it feels familiar and foreign at once. The mechanics are classic Mauser: solid, purposeful. The engraving invites you to trace it with your eyes, then your fingers. You’ll want to show visitors the work, then tell them where the welds aren’t, or how the sight was blued with care. It’s the sort of piece that sits silently on a shelf and makes people start conversations.
If you collect historic German arms, engraved masterpieces, or anything that combines mechanical pedigree with artisan finish, this C96 deserves a top spot. Under glass, or out for a careful show-and-tell — either way, it stops people mid-sentence.
