TargetTalk

I recently imported a 1936 Walther Olympia, originally sold in France. The pistol is correct and complete, with all three weights plus their key, and a matching magazine. Looking it over, I see that the slide is much flimsier than those on my 212 and 208S Hämmerlis. Is their progenitor safe to shoot with standard velocity ammo, ir would it be best demoted to a collector's item?

I've always considered these fine shooters. I haven't used one in many years, but did back in the '80's. That particular Walther was also made in 1936 as part of a set, and came with an original black leather case holding the Olympia and a PPK.
The only thing I can think of to consider is to try and get a new recoil spring. That may be one of the few primary consumable parts. A fresh one may give you some peace of mind. It is very possible, but just a guess, that a Smith and Wesson 41 recoil spring may work? You may wish to contact Wolff springs. They sell a lot of gun springs and can probably be of assistance. It may be possible to find a number of springs of differing strengths, allowing you to fine tune for best reliability. Brownells Gunsmithing supplies can probably also help. They have an information phone line that provides excellent gunsmith tech support. They have helped me many times. I know they also sell a lot of springs, including long lengths of coil springs for custom fitting applications.

A lot of people advise against using these fine old guns on the assumption that they cannot be serviced. But, my experience has been that the older guns tend to have parts designed by gunsmiths to be fabricated on conventional tools. If you need something part-wise, it can usually be made, often quite affordably. Many newer guns use parts that are designed around modern manufacturing methods such as investment casting, metal injection molding, etc. This can often allow very complex part shapes and designs that would be difficult to fabricate outside of a factory environment. That leaves the end user at the mercy of the manufacturer who may or may not be interested in keeping inventories of parts after a firearm has been discontinued.

I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy shooting your Walther Olympia.

Best Regards,
Jim

In the late 1950's and 1960's I shot a Hammerli-Walther Olympia which I believe was a carbon copy of the pre WWII Walther Olympia. I would not have any concern shooting it with SV ammo.