A Sauer 38(H) fieldstripped.

The breechblock, left in-the-white, is permanently fixed to the slide by means of a steel pin. The breechblock holds the spring-loaded firing pin, the extractor and a spring-loaded loaded-chamber indicator that protrudes through a hole drilled into the rear end of the slide. The slide was machined to travel on the frame's guide rails.

Early versions of the Sauer 38(H) were equipped with a slide-mounted manual safety with its lever mounted on the left side. When the internal hammer is cocked, pushing the safety lever down will rotate the pin, to which it is attached, to bring a solid surface into contact with the hammer. This both blocks the hammer from impinging against the firing pin and also rotates the hammer back slightly and out of contact with the sear. The manual safety was eventually eliminated, as it is totally redundant, as we shall see.

A detailed examination of the lockwork reveals a brilliant combination of simplicity and almost revolutionary innovation on the part of the design team that developed the Sauer 38(H). Most unique is an external lever located on the left side directly to the rear of the

triggerguard that permits lowering or raising the concealed hammer manually. Let me emphasize the word "raising." There are literally dozens of current double-action semiautomatic handguns that have so-called "decocking" levers that safely drop the external hammer when pressed downward.

The Sauer 38(H) cocking/decocking mechanism, mounted on the left side of the frame, was completely unique.

You must then either fire the next shot in a double-action mode or manually cock the hammer with your thumb (if the hammer is of the exposed type). However, if you lower the Sauer 38(H) hammer by pressing down on the decocking/cocking lever, pressing it again will recock the hammer. This is a one-of-its-kind feature and an example of the remarkable engineering often so common in Germany during that time frame.

The decocking/cocking lever is pivoted to the frame and is free to travel downward in a cut in the left grip panel. When the hammer is cocked, the lever is at rest. If the operator wants to lower the hammer with the chamber loaded, pressing downward on the lever's serrated thumbpiece will pivot the lever and bring its rear end into position to trip the sear while it simultaneously engages a projection attached to the lower surface of the hammer.

The Sauer 38(H) trigger, a pivoting type, has a long trigger bar inset in the right side of the barrel mount and the side of the frame's inner wall.

This permits the concealed hammer to be eased downward as in the case of a thumb-manipulated external hammer, while at the same time preventing the hammer from reaching the firing pin. A spring under the decocking/cocking lever returns it to rest when thumb pressure is relieved.

When the hammer is down, pressure on the thumbpiece will cause the rear end of the lever to force the hammer projection upward, rotating the hammer back until it is at full cock and caught once again by the sear. This truly unique system provides all the advantages of a concealed-hammer handgun, such as a streamlined configuration and the absence of projections, which may interfere with presenting the pistol for firing and/or block the line of sight, with the advantages of an exposed-hammer handgun, which allows the operator to carry the pistol loaded but with the mainspring at rest and in complete safety. All of this was truly amazing for its timeframe and remains so even now.