Korth
German manufacturer of custom-made high-end revolvers and pistols.
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Korth is a high-end firearms manufacturer based in Lollar, Hesse, Germany. The company is known for producing premium revolvers and semi-automatic pistols, with revolvers costing over €3,300 and semi-automatic pistols over €4,500. Each revolver is custom-made, involving about 70 percent manual labor and four months of production time.
Lore & Background
Korth was founded in 1954 by Willi Korth, a railway engineer, who began his business in a basement workshop making gas revolvers able to fire blanks or tear gas cartridges. Later, production of firearms began. In 1982, Willi Korth retired from management and sold the company, but remained loyal for a short time as production manager. In 1999, the company, owned by Bernstorff at the time, filed for bankruptcy and was broken up, having around 30 employees.
Since April 2000, Korth has been owned by Armurerie Freylinger & Cie., Luxembourg, and in 2001 expanded into the American market by establishing a branch in the United States. In November 2008, Korth announced it was closing its factory, including through an advertisement in the specialist journal DWJ. On April 22, 2009, the company moved its headquarters to Lollar near Gießen and, according to its own statements, resumed production there with Martin Rothmann as CEO.
Reader's Guide
Korth's significance lies in its position as a high-end firearms manufacturer producing custom-made revolvers and semi-automatic pistols. The revolvers, such as the Korth Combat, Ranger, Sport, Target, NXR, and NXS, are notable for their extensive manual labor—about 70 percent—and a production time of four months per revolver. A rare feature of .357 Magnum/.38 Special Korth revolvers is a user toolless changeable cylinder, sold as an accessory, enabling firing of 9×19mm Parabellum ammunition after being correctly timed to the gun.
The company's semi-automatic pistol model is the Korth PRS. Korth's history includes a bankruptcy in 1999 under owner Bernstorff, followed by acquisition by Armurerie Freylinger & Cie. in 2000, and a factory closure announcement in 2008 before relocating to Lollar in 2009. The company is associated with other German revolver manufacturers such as Janz, Arminius, and the defunct Röhm/RG.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Korth (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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