Men have been engraving their arms for generations, all the way back to Achilles and perhaps before. Virgil even describes (with 20/20 hindsight) the arms and shield of Aeneas, forged by Vulcan himself, who also created Achilles' armor.



I can't help it. I love engraved arms, but not for using. For collecting. But some guns lend themselves to it more than others. If I ever got a shot at a mint S&W 66-no dash, I certainly wouldn't engrave it as it's a work of beauty in itself.

Hate to break this to you, but when you hit 65 (like me), you're suddenly going to sit up in bed one night and realize, "Oh, sheeeeit...I'm not gonna be able to take 'em with me when I go!" (It's going to happen pretty quickly, turning 65 that is.) Ten years go pretty quickly as you get older. Then who are you going to leave 'em to? Some kid who's going to sell your Model 5906 so he can get a Glock? Heaven forbid!


The movie SNEAKERS featured a S&W 659.

Most people here tend to like their 5906s and there's nothing wrong with that. You like your 3rd gen and that's fine, but the later models with the black hammers and triggers have little appeal to me. And few people hear sing the praises of the 2nd gen pistols, which is a pity because the old 659s are actually more desirable than the 5906s as far as I'm concerned. I have a nice 5906 and wouldn't trade it for a 659, but only because I have two 659s and wouldn't trade either of 'em for a 5906. I see a lot of 659s on television and in movies, and that because they're beautiful. I have a 3906 and love it, but if someone offered me a 639 for it, I'd trade it in a heartbeat!