PPQ Steel stamps

I've never found the answer to this question either.

Just guessing, it could be a lot of things. It could be indicating that they tested the hardness of the steel on the slide, it could be indicating that they tested some other aspect of the pistol, and/or it could be indicating who at the factory tested that pistol, or what batch that pistol was a part of.

Or, to put it shortly, I don't know.

Actually they randomly stamp the slides like this to drive various obsessive compulsive Forums members nuts trying to figure out why they were stamped.

Somewhere at the Walther Ulm factory a couple of employees are chuckling quietly at their work stations ...

olsoul said:

Actually they randomly stamp the slides like this to drive various obsessive compulsive Forums members nuts trying to figure out why they were stamped.

Somewhere at the Walther Ulm factory a couple of employees are chuckling quietly at their work stations ...

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That's kinda like when a rogue employee on the automotive assembly line would put an empty coke bottle inside a door, then attach the trim panel and send er' on down the line.

Once the car sells, the new owner will be plagued with an annoying rattle....finally taking it back to the dealer where a mechanic/body man will start chasing this rattle....finally, removing the trim panel on the door, looking inside and sees the coke bottle, reaches in, pulls it out and finds a note inside the bottle.

imaoldfart said:

That's kinda like when a rogue employee on the automotive assembly line would put an empty coke bottle inside a door, then attach the trim panel and send er' on down the line.

Once the car sells, the new owner will be plagued with an annoying rattle....finally taking it back to the dealer where a mechanic/body man will start chasing this rattle....finally, removing the trim panel on the door, looking inside and sees the coke bottle, reaches in, pulls it out and finds a note inside the bottle.

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This is so improbable that it must have happened to you.

M

imaoldfart said:

That's kinda like when a rogue employee on the automotive assembly line would put an empty coke bottle inside a door, then attach the trim panel and send er' on down the line.

Once the car sells, the new owner will be plagued with an annoying rattle....finally taking it back to the dealer where a mechanic/body man will start chasing this rattle....finally, removing the trim panel on the door, looking inside and sees the coke bottle, reaches in, pulls it out and finds a note inside the bottle.

Click to expand...

After 42 years in the auto industry I can assure you that is a fable. Starting in the late 80s all vehicles must pass a squeak and rattle test, designed to pick up things like loose parts in the vehicle. For the past 25 years those tests have been very stringent and are taken very seriously.

As a side note, I think you do not give the American auto worker enough credit. They are far more ingenious than that. Many years ago, during contract negotiations, I Personally witnessed a rash of small milk cartons, still containing some milk, being hidden in various spots in the vehicle. When the milk began to spoil it produced a very obvious odor.

Caine said:

After 42 years in the auto industry I can assure you that is a fable. Starting in the late 80s all vehicles must pass a squeak and rattle test, designed to pick up things like loose parts in the vehicle. For the past 25 years those tests have been very stringent and are taken very seriously.

As a side note, I think you do not give the American auto worker enough credit. They are far more ingenious than that. Many years ago, during contract negotiations, I Personally witnessed a rash of small milk cartons, still containing some milk, being hidden in various spots in the vehicle. When the milk began to spoil it produced a very obvious odor.

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Marbles in the roof in a plastic bag that broke down over time due to the heat.......creative is one word for it.

My favorite story about auto workers was the one about a TVR employee, who for some reason, was stenciling Gary Numan's face on the interior panels of vehicles underneath the carpeting.

Some of these guys have too much time on their hands.

Caine said:

After 42 years in the auto industry I can assure you that is a fable.

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Only 42 years.....that'd make it 1976. I'm talking about the 1950's.

imaoldfart said:

Only 42 years.....that'd make it 1976. I'm talking about the 1950's.

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Actually I was hired in 1965, worked for 9 months then spent 4 years in the military. They brought me back and gave full credit for the time in the military. When I returned to work, what a change. Those who avoided military service despised us because with our military time we often had seniority on them when it came time for, promotions, shift preferences and layoffs. To be fair most hourly employees are good people but, there remains those who make the rest look bad. I eventually became salary Engineering Supervisor and I made it a point to have my people go into an assembly plant and talk to the person, who would be installing or interacting with their parts, before they did any final design. So I think you can credit many of the improvements in vehicles today to conscientious workers.

Sorry. off topic but I didn’t want to leave the impression that American auto workers are bad.

Meanwhile somewhere in the Ulm plant a couple of workers are chuckling quietly as they wipe a tear from their eye, shake their heads and continue making our PPQs.

I currently do work for Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Daimler, Fiat-Chrysler and Subaru. Among other things, we run paint booths and manage water usage.

The industry has gone through tremendous change....it’s really mind blowing.

Quality, safety, technology....wow. Unrecognizable.