Developed by Hugo Borchardt and first manufactured by Ludwig Loewe & Company (later consolidated under Loewe's Deutsche Waffen und Munitionfabriken holding company), the 1893 Borchardt was among the first semi-automatic pistols to arrive on the market. Borchardt's design introduced many mechanical principles and design concepts that would be revisited and refined by Georg Luger to make the famous "Pistole Parabellum" Model 1900, essentially making the Borchardt the forefather of about half a century of European military and commercial handguns. The most critical feature taken up by Luger was the 1893's toggle-locked short-recoil action, which gives the pistol its distinctive profile. Blade front sight and "V" notch rear sight, with the patent mark "D.R.P./No75837." on the front toggle link, "SYSTEM BORCHARDT. PATENT./DEUTSCHE WAFFEN-UND MUNITIONSFABRIKEN./BERLIN." on the right side of the receiver, and a set of "crown/letter" proofs on the barrel, chamber and toggle assembly. Installed on the front link is an asymmetrical smooth cocking handle with a spring loaded safety latch; intended to reduce the risk of premature unlocking, Luger would integrate a similar lock into the 1900 but eliminate it as redundant in later models. The small parts are finished in yellow straw or niter blue colors, with a set of checkered grips with smooth borders and two nickel finished magazines with hardwood bases; one of the magazines is mixed numbered, but the other is a match to the pistol. Included with the pistol is an unnumbered hardwood shoulder stock with a blued steel mounting iron.