The Walther TPH is a small pistol currently made by Carl Walther Waffenfabrik in Germany. According to the Blue Book of Gun Values, 13th. Ed., it went into production in Germany in 1969. There was also a shrouded hammer version, the TP, made from 1962- 70, also according ot the Blue Book. Due to its small physical size and small caliber (.22 LR or .25 ACP) it is banned from import into the USA as a "Saturday Night Special" (unsporting handgun, to put it another way) by the Gun Control Act of 1968, except for import for sale to military or law enforcement. It may be re-sold by those military and law enforcement personnel to anyone, although it is generally speaking illegal for such persons to procure guns imported under this exemption for purposes of re-sale to the general population. Look at the case of U.S. v. Vollmer, 1 F.3d 1511 (7th Cir. 1993), for more information on this re-sale issue. However the TPH is rather popular as a backup or deep concealment gun with law enforcement, and I believe Interarms regularly imports it for sale to law enforcement. Police officers interested should have their department check with Interarms' law enforcement sales people. The German made Walther TP and TPH are on the Curio and Relic list, they are considered to be collectible by the BATF.
As it is an excellent pocket pistol, in 1987 or so Interarms reached an agreement to make the gun here in the USA, under license. US law does not regulate the making of "unsporting" pistols domestically, only their import. Interarms makes the TPH in all stainless steel or with a carbon (blued) steel slide and alloy frame, in .22 LR and supposedly in .25 ACP (6.35), although I haven't been able to find one of the .25 guns. I believe the USA one is the only one made in stainless steel.
The USA made .22 TPH will be my main focus here, although all of them should function and strip in the same way. It is a double action (DA) pistol, meaning it can be both cocked and fired by the trigger, or the hammer may be cocked by hand (or the slide on subsequent shots) and the gun fired single action, with the trigger only releasing the hammer. It is very compact, particularly for a double action pistol, many pocket pistols are single action only, and the hammer must be cocked manually for the first shot. It has a weight of 14.5 oz (451g), 11.5 oz for the carbon steel/alloy version, unloaded, with an overall length of 5.3" (135 mm) and height of 3.7" (93 mm), and width of only .9" (23 mm). It operates as a straight blowback pistol, the action is never locked, and is only held shut against the forces of firing by the recoil spring.
It does have an extractor, unlike the Taurus and Beretta line of DA (or DAO) tipping barrel pistols. Those pistols rely on the rearward momentum of the fired case, after firing the gun, to extract the case from the chamber. The TPH uses a hooked piece of metal to mechanically remove the case. This makes clearing jams or defective ammo much easier in a critical situation. Ammo related problems are common in .22 LR weapons; the .25 ACP may have less power than the .22 LR, but it is offered in this pistol partly due to the greater reliability of centerfire ammo, which is critical in a weapon such as this which in general is used for personal protection, although of course it can be used for fun as well. I make such observations not to impugn others choice of a backup type defense gun, or choice of caliber, but to highlight important issues in this area.
The Walther TPH, like other Walther pocket pistols (PP, PPK, PPK/S) has a excellent slide mounted safety, which locks the firing pin, and physically moves a metal obstruction between the end of the firing pin and the hammer when on safe. When the safety lever is angled in relation to the axis of the bore the safety is on "safe" (the red dot is covered). When it is parallel to the bore, and the red dot is showing, it is on "fire". The safety also functions to decock the hammer, should it be cocked, and it disengages the trigger from the lockwork operating the hammer. With the safety engaged the trigger moves freely, engaging nothing. The gun has no magazine safety, it will function with the mag removed from the gun. The TPH does not have a firing pin block which is disengaged only by full travel of the trigger, as other Walther PP type pistols do, to prevent the weapon from being fired by accidentally dropping it with a round in the chamber, and the inertia of the firing pin having sufficient force to fire the gun. However the firing pin is spring loaded, helping to counteract such forces.
Stripping the TPH is easy, as with all Walther PP type pistols, and the Makarov. However the TPH must have the mag removed first, unlike the Makarov. Remove the mag, cock the hammer and swing down the trigger guard, it is hinged where it meets the butt of the gun. Gently hold it down, or try and get it to stay down by resting the block that is at the end opposite the hinge point to one side of the hole it goes through in the frame. Mine won't do it, and I have to hold it down, to keep the block on the end out of the frame. This permits the slide to be drawn rearward further than allowed in normal operation. When it is drawn all the way to the rear, with the trigger guard down, it comes off the back of the frame, and may be angles up and off the barrel, and frame. This is all the stripping needed to clean the gun. Firing it is intuitive, insert a loaded mag, rack the slide and pull the trigger. If nothing happens, put the safety on fire. :) The slide will not stay open on the last shot, you need to count rounds (6 in the mag, 1 in the chamber in .22).
My sample works very nicely, few failures to chamber, none to fire a chambered round, none to extract or eject. In general hotter ammo seemed to work better, but the muzzle flash and blast are hefty with some types of ammo. Accuracy is acceptable; the test target that came with my gun claimed it was fired at 15 meters, I think that is a little far for the purpose of this gun. I have never fired mine seriously for accuracy, I can keep the shots on the target at 15 feet, that is good enough for me. The rear sight is adjustable for windage by drifting it in a dovetail. The sights have orange dots on them, which are supposed to be lined up on top of each other for correct sight alignment. I think they are pretty good sights for a pocket pistol, although a little sharp and prone to snag on clothing if the gun is carried loose.
Generally speaking this is a very high quality pistol compared to a lot of its competition, and has a significantly higher asking price. The USA made TPH's have a reputation as being of poorer quality than the German made versions. They use investment castings a lot in the stainless version (and maybe the blued one as well), and some have complained about weaknesses in them. Mine certainly loosened up a LOT after I fired about 100 rounds through it. But it does not seem to have affected accuracy or reliability yet. The German made ones are available on the civilian market, but command a premium, are not stainless, and are harder to find. They will likely be used as well.