I ADDED PICS IN POST 18

I was looking at pics of Mod. 10-5s and came across this one.

I've never seen any S&W with this deep of a finish. It almost looks black.

I know lighting sometimes plays tricks. Is this the case here?

Or has this been refinished or otherwise altered from the original finish?

And yeah, those pearlies kinda turn my stomach too. I might buy the revolver just to rescue it from those grips.

Attached Images

Studio_20180713_212838.jpg (22.9 KB, 380 views)

I think clearer, closer, and crisper photos are needed to answer your question. I enlarged it as best I could but still couldn't see enough to form an opinion.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

I cant tell from that pic if its refinished or not.
But the cylinder release latch and screw dont match the blueing on the frame.
Also pertaining to that seller. A month ago I asked them question thru that site about a gun.
I'm still waiting for an answer and that auction ended 3 weeks ago.

Not an expert but that finish looks superior to what a 10-5 would have. I have seen some guns with a Ford's master class refinish that look like that.

The contrast of the very light colored stocks may fool the eye into thinking the gun is darker than it really is. But to me it looks very deep, almost liquid. The service grade revolvers generally weren't this pretty.

But it is hard to tell from one photo and I could easily be wrong.

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No life story has happy end.

I have a 10-5 from 1965 that has an absolutely beautiful finish as you describe. I bought it used at an estate sale about 10 years ago. It was like new and I know it was not refinished. The internals had that new gun internals feel when I bought it. Prior to my purchase, it had resided in a dresser drawer for many years and had been shot very, very little. In addition, it has the tightest lock up of any of my revolvers and it shoots very tight groups. The finish is so beautiful that I almost avoid shooting it. ; )

I'm in the same boat. I've been calling and emailing them for six days. All calls go to voicemail and emails remain unanswered.

All I can do is ask here for more opinions and then make a judgement call.

Thanks.

opinion from one pic? impossible.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

gmb,

Don't be a coward. Just take your best guess.

I’m gonna guess it is original. There were some nicely finished guns in that time period. If the markings look polished out I reserve the right to retract.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

My opinion is a definite "maybe".

Couple that maybe with the lack of response.
Should give you a direction.

Venturing a guess here, you asked the seller the same as here. It appears that seller doesn't like certain questions. 6 day wait on a response is a red flag.

Thanks for the opinion. I'm guessing original too.

If we're wrong, we're wrong. No big deal.

These guys are famous for their unresponsiveness, yet they have nice stuff to sell and sell a lot of guns.

The hammer and ejector rod look to maybe be blued too deeply which is seldom factory. My opInion from this less than perfect picture.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

The hammer is case hardened steel and is not blued at all.

Am I missing something here, or are you?

No dog in the hunt here, but, if pre sale customer service says anything, just imagine the post sale customer service..... Just saying.. I won't do business with folks who act/think this way of customers...Kyle

I have no time for sellers who want to sell but treat potential buyers as if they are an annoyance.

We’re looking at the most common variant of the most common S&W revolver ever built. There are lots of them for sale at any given time.

This hardly warrants gut-wrenching indecision. If it is a screaming deal price-wise, roll the dice; it’s likely original. If it’s priced relatively high, pass and buy one of the many other nice-condition specimen out there from another seller.

I hope these pics help determine if this is original blue or not.

I don't think we can be certain, so take your best guess.

I blew them up as much as I could but I overdid it in pic #3 and lost some crispness.

Attached Images

	Screenshot_2018-07-14-23-57-59.jpg (26.5 KB, 136 views)
	Screenshot_2018-07-14-23-56-38.jpg (25.5 KB, 132 views)
	Screenshot_2018-07-14-23-55-15.jpg (23.2 KB, 122 views)
	Screenshot_2018-07-14-23-54-27.jpg (23.0 KB, 118 views)

What makes me question it is the depth of the blue. It almost looks black.

Have any of you folks ever seen S&W factory bluing so deep and dark in color??

Looks original

Walt

That looks like a model 10-5 that I would buy without hesitation.

terry

As others have indicated, it does look original, but to me price would be everything. Forum rules prevent discussing price on auctions not yet closed, but I can tell you that at one of my LGS yesterday, there was a 10-5 and it had that same stunning deep blue, and I would say 95-98 % condition, no box or docs, priced at $399.00. Also had a Model 25-2 95-98% at $899.00 and these guys are always at "high end" of retail on used guns but you can negotiate after it sits in their case for minimum 30 days, so I don't know where the auction will take you but consider the buyers premium and transfer and shipping fees on top of whatever the knock down price ends up and add to that the $60 to $85 bucks a decent set of factory Magnas for it to wear in public...and you may be way out of line for what it is really "worth".

My opinion is simply like others posted...if it is a screaming deal jump on it.

PS: just for the record, I passed on both the Model 10 and the Model 25 as I already have them and these were at "high end" but I am not into duplicates.

Wish you all the best of luck and let us know if you do bid and win this guy as to the final say on original finish.

Attached Images

	M 10-5 left side prop.jpg (43.9 KB, 26 views)
	M 10-5 right side prop.jpg (36.2 KB, 25 views)
	M25 left side.jpg (40.2 KB, 26 views)
	M25 right side.jpg (37.8 KB, 23 views)

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Charlie B
SWCA#3083, SWHF#570

IMHO, if you have to look that closely it doesn't matter.

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Creation Continues

Some "Smith guys" won't look twice at a handgun that has been refinished.

So, if I buy and ever want to resell it, this has to be taken into consideration.

I've seen Colt guys look over guns with magnifying glasses. I'm sure Smith guys do that also when it's a rare model ANIB. But this is a Model 10-5 with changed-out stocks. It looks beautiful. What year is it? What's the action like? What's the asking price? My 10-5 (1968) is a deep polished blue, but is not black looking. I way overpaid for it because it is ANIB. I bought it because I wanted it, but it will not be a safe queen (I've already added a turn line). It is not an investment. I just wanted an original gun (as you do) and that was one way to guarantee I got one .

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Creation Continues

I want to see the factory grips.
A near new slightly used gun should have grips which look the same.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

You may be over-interpreting this. Standard bluing isn't really that blue (except for certain variants like Colt's "Fire Blue"). And the blue background emphasizes the black effect.

I see a high-condition original blue. The stampings are exceptionally crisp. Based on the new photos you posted I'm as sure it's original as one can be with someone else's pictures.

Looks like the standard factory blue as S&W used to do it; nothing here indicating otherwise, pictures are just a little dark.

I wouldn't overthink the finish, I'd reflect on the seller's unresponsiveness. The Model 10 is probably the most plain Jane and ubiquitous S&W revolver in the world. You can find them anywhere and in all conditions at good prices from sellers who make time for their customers.

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Pickpocket