ericp
.327 Meteor
Posts: 500
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Post by ericp on Feb 22, 2020 20:43:18 GMT -5
I have two Smiths, a model 19 and a 58 which have been carried roughly about the same amount as a Ruger Flattop 45. All are carried in similar well fitting holsters from Simply Rugged. The bluing on the Ruger is in terrible shape and missing over a large portion of the gun while the Smiths wear is limited to the first 3/4" of the barrel or so and the leading edge of the cylinders.
Is this due to different processes used for bluing or is it from the superior prep work on the two Smiths which are clearly better polished? The wear is even similar on the Smiths despite the 19 being high polish and the 58 being more of a matte.
I guess the crux of my question is what makes for durable bluing?
Eric
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Post by bradshaw on Feb 22, 2020 23:28:50 GMT -5
I have two Smiths, a model 19 and a 58 which have been carried roughly about the same amount as a Ruger Flattop 45. All are carried in similar well fitting holsters from Simply Rugged. The bluing on the Ruger is in terrible shape and missing over a large portion of the gun while the Smiths wear is limited to the first 3/4" of the barrel or so and the leading edge of the cylinders. Is this due to different processes used for bluing or is it from the superior prep work on the two Smiths which are clearly better polished? The wear is even similar on the Smiths despite the 19 being high polish and the 58 being more of a matte. I guess the crux of my question is what makes for durable bluing? Eric ***** Eric.... not all bluing is created equal. While I haven’t a definitive answer, some experience may help. Bought a new Model 29 6-1/2” in the mahogany box in the early 1960’s. Except for when I wore it, wiped it with a Garcia Silicote Gun & Reel Cloth each time I handled it. The revolver is an extreme statement of fine gun making, brilliantly polished & blued. Fashioned my first holsters with some guidance from Chic Gaylord, a main instigator of the modern water molder holster. Water molded "English saddle leather"----cowhide----for the M-29. I’ve never seen better tanning. Evidently, the skin is “stuffed,” a term I first heard on Singleactions or Rugerforum.com. Stuffed means impregnated with beeswax. Soaking the cut form in warm water took hours to soften enough to work; water could barely penetrate the leather. “Frenchback” or other vegetable tanned hide molds very close to a revolver’s detail. This stuffed hide hasn’t a chance of duplicating the graphic look. But stuffed is far more durable of years of Hill & Dale, falling in a stream or lake, etc, and it holds its shape. Bought a book by Charles Askins in my youth, don’t remember the title. Somewhere in there he mentions a tight holster. Ole Askins rubs graphite inside the hide and I remember his words: on the draw the revolver "jumped out like it was on springs.” I applied a mixture of pure neatsfoot oil & graphite inside the cured scabbard----for a different reason. My motive was more in mind of preserving the beautiful bluing than shaving a few hundredths off the draw. Applied my mixture sparingly, so as to preserve the open holster’s excellent retention. Today that Model 29 has better bluing than later Smiths had after a year of daily carry and generous leather slapping. On tour of Smith & Wesson soon after I bought the .44, I was shown barrels of yet-to-be-assembled revolvers packed in charcoal, the same process used to blue my sixgun. (The yoke is blued at the same time as barreled frame.) Bluing on a couple of finely polished Super Blackhawks held up very well, but not close to bluing of that early 60’s M-29. I’ve put high mileage on other revolvers, none with bluing lasting so well. Bluing on a K-22 built earlier than that M-29 has held up very well; not quite so well as the .44. My periodic treatment of holsters includes inside & out, every nook & cranny I can reach. David
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jt
.30 Stingray
Posts: 113
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Post by jt on Feb 23, 2020 0:36:19 GMT -5
I would be willing to bet the bluing that's standing up better might have been applied by means of a charcoal blue, vs any standard hot dip blue that likely was done to your Ruger. Or any Ruger for that matter.
I have one single single-action that's been blued by means of the old fashion charcoal bluing process and that-revolver is holding it's own for retaining the blue, best. I carry that one more than any, and aside from the flute edges on the cylinder, ejector housing end & the opposite side of the barrel that rests right against my holster leather, it still shines like new. Even the backstrap isn't showing handling wear ... I was told that all of this is because charcoal blue is more/less baked into the steel, completely unlike any sort of dip just adhering to a guns absolute surface the way hot tanks do their work.
Charcoal blue is supposed to be the most durable blue of all, because of that difference.
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Post by buttebob on Feb 23, 2020 10:38:04 GMT -5
Charcoal blue is a more delicate blue than standard blue, and must be kept oiled. It will turn a smoke grey with use and age.
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Post by bradshaw on Feb 23, 2020 11:37:11 GMT -5
Charcoal blue is a more delicate blue than standard blue, and must be kept oiled. It will turn a smoke grey with use and age. ***** buttebob.... I’ve heard similar claims. Against that, we have my old 6-1/2 inch Model 29 which aside from the gross mileage of its life in leather, somehow managed to slip in & out of the holster a few times. For whatever reason, its bluing has survived that life in better preservation than any revolver I know of approaching experience. My 4-inch M-29 has has its own odometer reading, mileage accumulated in a inside-the-belt thumbreak holster fashioned by my hands, and a most excellent and durable outside-the-belt thumbreak made by Strong in the late 1970’s. Bluing on the 4-inch, however, hasn’t matched durability of older 6-1/2 inch. I don’t know how the 4-inch was blued. Other revolvers, with fine hot tank bluing, haven’t matched refinement of the old charcoal 29. It’s possible other S&W revolvers blued in charcoal were not alotted the time applied to my 6-1/2 inch. During my mid-60’s tour, mention was made of the charcoal process requires TIME. Dirty Hairy and Handgun Silhouette hadn’t come on the scene. The market for .44 magnums had yet to explode. David Bradshaw
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Post by buttebob on Feb 24, 2020 13:43:13 GMT -5
bradshaw....that's interesting. So time affects the durability of the blue and the depth of color, as I have never seen a Model 29 that wasn't a deep blue. I wonder what the difference in time between your 29 and a new charcoal blue Uberti.
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ericp
.327 Meteor
Posts: 500
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Post by ericp on Feb 25, 2020 18:39:32 GMT -5
Thank you all for the thoughts. It is incredible how much the processes differ in terms of end result, very interesting.
Eric
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