I've never had a gun with a nickel finish. They look great when perfect but...

Is nickel a really bad idea for a gun that I intend to shoot?

Also, should nickel command a price premium for a Model 29-2 ( for example)? Are there clues to look for to see if it is a factory finish or was done later?

Thanks in adventure for any advice and suggestions.

As long as the nickel is intact,it's a great finish for a shooter.

The ones in the pictures shown below are a 1977 Model 19 and a 1967 Model 10. If you take care of them, they will keep looking good for a long time.

Thanks guys! That was not the answer I was expecting but I like it!

Regarding the 29-2, i would personally prefer a nice specimen in nickle over blue and for me it's worth more.

I have yet to see nickle finish that looks as good as S&W's. It's bright and the impressions in the metal are sharp. Aftermarket finishes that I've seen are dull and lifeless, and if it needed re-finishing, it probably had rust and the logo impressions are polished out.

I like nickel. But a worn blued gun is not as disturbing as is a worn nickel plated one. No reason to avoid buying a shooter in nickel or shooting a plated gun.

This one was carried on duty for 19 years before I bought it and started shooting it.

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This 44 Magnum is nearly 57 years old and has its original finish. It has been shot some, but not a lot. Nickel holds up very well if taken care of properly.

Bill

This is my 1980 29-2 "After' a range session and good cleaning yesterday. I Love the Nickel finish.

As the post above shows a factory nickel gun will have a "N" stamped on the back of the cylinder PLUS under the left grip, at the bottom, there will also be a "N" stamp into the frame.

I use Renaissance wax on my Nickel ( and blue) guns to protect the finish.

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I bought a 4" 19-3 from a LGS. It was cloudy and nasty, got it pretty cheap. They swore it was chrome plating gone bad. Polish and Renaissance wax made it look new. I did not take it back by there to gloat. Bad karma, they would try to stick me on the next bad looking gun.

I carried a Colt Python when a LE for 7 or 8 years. 4" Nickel. I hunted with it, took it camping and fishing. It looked great all the time.

I am not a bling kind of guy. But a fair portion of my S&W revolvers are in nickel . I just likes its looks and function, and especially in this era of revolvers it just suits me.

S&W did some great deep blue jobs. Those from the 60s are just deep blue and great appealing finishes.

S&Ws nickel work was tops for even longer in my estimation.

I have exactly one nickeled S&W - a 29-3. I prefer the blued finish, but the nickel still looks like new. Everyone recommends using Renaissance wax, but plain old Johnson's paste wax has always worked just fine for me, and I have used it for many years. Seems to me wax is pretty much wax no matter whose name is on the label.