Lorcin Engineering Company

Lorcin Engineering Company was a firearms manufacturer established in 1989 by Jim Waldorf.[1] Lorcin produced a series of very inexpensive handguns, which were sold primarily through pawn shops and marketed towards people with low income. As such, their guns were frequently referred to as Saturday night specials, and Lorcin was noted by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as one of the Ring of Fire companies, a series of companies established around Los Angeles, California, all of which manufactured inexpensive handguns of similar design[2] and all of which were connected to Raven Arms. Waldorf was a high school friend of Bruce Jennings, founder of Jennings Firearms.

Lorcin Engineering Company
TypePrivate
Industryfirearms
FateBankrupt
Founded1989 (1989)
Defunct1998 (1998)
Headquarters
Mira Loma, California
,
U.S.
Area served
U.S.
Key people
James Waldorf
Productsweapons

The guns were constructed of injection-molded Zamak, a zinc alloy.

In 1993, Lorcin was the number one pistol manufacturer in the United States, producing 341,243 guns.[3] However, in 1996, Lorcin filed for bankruptcy, with 18 pending product liability, personal injury, and wrongful death lawsuits. The company emerged from bankruptcy in 1997, but closed in 1998 with an additional 22 lawsuits having been filed.[3] In 1999, Waldorf established a new company, Standard Arms of Reno, Nevada.[3]

Products
  • L-22: Semi-automatic, .22 LR, 9-shot capacity. A 2001 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives publication warned that the pistol is "extremely dangerous" when dropped, with the "potential for serious injury", due to an insufficient gap between the trigger bar and the sear.[4]
  • L-25: Semi-automatic, .25 ACP, 7-shot capacity
  • L-32: Semi-automatic, .32 ACP, 7-shot capacity
  • L-380: Semi-automatic, .380, 7-shot capacity
  • L-9mm: Semi-automatic, 9×19mm Parabellum, 10-shot capacity

References
  1. Levin, Myron (December 27, 1997). "Legal Claims Get Costly for Maker of Cheap Handguns". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  2. "Hot Guns: Ring of Fire". Frontline. PBS. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  3. "Standard Arms (incorporated by former ownership of Lorcin Engineering)". Violence Policy Center. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  4. "Firearm Recalls & Warnings Index". Retrieved 2014-02-12.
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