The PPK's K never meant short, and an American law reshaped it
Walther's PP pistol of 1929 was built for European police and packed safety ideas that later became standard across the industry. Its compact offspring, the PPK, is often assumed to carry a K for kurz, German for short. Walther actually meant Kriminal, after the detectives who carried it in plain clothes.
The letters PP abbreviate Polizeipistole, simply police pistol. Carl Walther's design is a semi-automatic that works by blowback, with a visible hammer, a double-action trigger, a single-stack magazine, and a barrel fixed in place that doubles as the guide for the recoil spring. Several of its features were unusual when it appeared: it could fire double-action and then single-action, its hammer spur was rounded so it would not catch on clothing, it showed when a round was chambered, and applying the safety also lowered the hammer safely.
The PPK followed in 1931. Its grip, barrel and frame were all trimmed, magazine capacity dropped, and a two-piece wraparound grip panel hid the back strap. Being easier to conceal, it suited investigators working out of uniform, which explains the Kriminal in its name, a reference to the Kriminalamt criminal investigation office.
America, the family's largest market, forced the next change. The Gun Control Act of 1968 blocked imports of handguns that failed a points test based on size, weight and sporting features, and the PPK fell short by exactly one point. Walther's fix was to marry the larger PP frame to the PPK's slide and barrel, producing the PPK/S. It stands 104 mm tall against the PPK's 100 mm, weighs 51 g more, and takes one extra cartridge in its magazine, and that small gain in heft earned the missing point.
Domestic manufacture of the original PPK was legal in the United States even when importing it was not, so licensed production began there in 1983, sold through Interarms. Today's American version comes from Fort Smith, Arkansas, with a longer grip tang added by Smith and Wesson to stop the slide biting the shooter's hand. The original PP itself returned in 2025 with modern updates.
Source: Walther PP
