I purchased my first pistol, a .32-cal. Walther PPK in 1969. Why choose a .32 ACP and not a more powerful .380 ACP? Because .32 was the chambering that Ian Fleming’s fictional character James Bond switched to when Q forced him to give up his beloved .25-cal. Beretta. Q stated that the Beretta was underpowered and that the cartridge the Walther fired, “hit like a brick through a plate-glass window.”
I had read all the Bond books in high school, and when I returned home on summer leave from West Point in 1969, I was determined to own one. So, I walked down to the local sporting goods store and plunked down the princely sum of $131.25. I immediately took this storied gun to the range and put more than 200 rounds through it. The gun was exceedingly accurate for a small pocket pistol and never malfunctioned. And even though I have large hands, it never once bit me. The last day I fired it, the thin blade at the end of the safety/decocking lever snapped off. What a disappointment! Remember, those were the days with no Internet and limited gunsmithing information. Wondering what to do, I noticed the inscription on the Walther’s slide read, “Carl Walther Waffenfabrik, Ulm/Donau, West Germany.”
I was taking my first year of German at West Point, so I wrote a letter in rather primitive German stating in effect that the slide lever had broken and asking what I should do. Astonishingly, within a month, I received a response from a Walther factory representative written in basic English that stated that I must be mistaken: Walther PPKs don’t break—they are too well-engineered. In the remote case I was correct, two new safety levers were included in the envelope along with instructions on how to install them. The letter also stated that if I couldn’t install the replacement lever myself, that I should take the gun to a qualified gunsmith, have him install it and send the factory the bill so that the company could reimburse me. Yes, I was able to replace the lever.
I’ve never forgotten that outstanding customer service from half a century ago, and I have no doubt that a number of folks I’ve told this story to have gone on to become Walther customers.
—Jerry B. Edelen
