Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “Hell in a Holster: The Japanese Nambu Pistol” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/hell-in-a-holster/.
Hell in a Holster: The Japanese Nambu Pistol
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
Smiledon#57
Alpha
Life when you are at the top, with no Plan B.Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “Hell in a Holster: The Japanese Nambu Pistol” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/hell-in-a-holster/.
Grayfox
Professional
My best friend was an avid C&R collector. He had a couple of these and I have handled them. Ugly, awkward feeling and just appeared to be poorly made. I was handling one once, have no idea just what I touched, pushed or whatever and the thing suddenly field stripped itself in my hand. Yeah, I fully understand why the Japanese soldiers would prefer a blade. 
kachemakcharlie
Alpha
I have 2 Nambus, a Type 14 and 94 that my father brought home. Both are in good shape with much less rust than the one pictured in the article. I foolishly shot up all the original ammunition that he brought home from the war when I was a kid, but a few years ago found reloading dies, bullets and brass to create my own rounds. Although they are anemic rounds, both pistols shoot reasonably well. The Type 14, being a 1939 version actually shoots quite well. While I agree that the Type 94 with its exposed sear can be dangerous, my father said the Japanese soldiers would often use it as either a "suicide" pistol, handing it to their captor butt-first and holding it by the slide - press the exposed sear and kill themselves or hand the pistol over muzzle-first and press the sear in a last ditch effort to kill the captor. So, maybe rather than being a design defect, it was a design feature consistent with the code of the Japanese soldier.