Has anyone ever heard of a model 25-5 in stainless? I saw one this week that appears to be stainless. I thought it might be satin nickel but i removed the side cover and scratched the inside and it appaears to be stainless. The serial number is N6788xx. What year would that be.

Welcome.Unless it is a mismarked gun, it is not stainless.A nickle gun will have a "N" on the cylinder,elsewhere too I believe.The gun may have been refinished too.
All stainless guns start with a 6 in the model number.There is a 625.

Yes I know about the 6 in the model number there is no N on the cylinder but there is the letters X3.

Perhaps it had been refinished in hard chrome.

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Lynnie, Professional Pest

They did make a 625-5 - for about a year and a half. If it is a .45 Colt chambered gun, and a dash 5 at that, it'll have a full underlugged barrel. If it doesn't, it's been re-finished in some type of after market finish like metaloy, hardchrome, etc.

Look under the grips as well and see if you find a "N" stamped on it

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N 600000 would have been a 1979 gun. The X3 is an assembler's or fitter's stamp and doesn't indicate a finish type. If it has a satin finish, agree it probably has been hard chromed or otherwise refinished.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

A stainless gun would have a model number beginning with the numeral 6. As in 66, 686, 0r 625.
A model 25 would not be stainless.

A stainless steel, 4 inch standard barrel .45 Colt is one gun that S&W should have made but never did. I kept waiting for them to do so. Good thing I didn't hold my breath!

Guys I have purchased this gun and totaly disassembled it. I may be new to the S&W forum but I have been in the firearms business for 25 yrs. I know about the "N" for nickel and the "6" for stainless. I removed a small amount of metal from the sideplate with a file and the finnish goes all the way thru.I am totaly baffled by this gun and may spend the money to get a factory letter. Thanks for all the info and will let you know any other info I find and would appreciate any and all feedback. After looking at ordinary run of the mill stuff all day at the shop it is refreshing to see something interestig

Can you post photos?

I suspect you're looking at a gun that has been bead blasted and is now in the 'white'. The bead blast would give it a matte look.

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

I believe that if there isn't any other markings to show anything other than a 25-5, S&WIowegan nailed it. I know you are hoping that in spite of what everyone says here that you have something rare or special, but there are enough hardcore S&W collectors here, that if one in SS ever had been made, they'd know about it and it most likely would have went to someone very special or been some sort of backdoor deal. Lettering it would be 99,99% pointless.

Just thinking... If you scraped off some of one of the hard chrome or industrial nickel finishes, wouldn't the metal underneath be silver, too? It is just chrome moly.

I've got a similar 25-9. It looks identical to my 624 and 629 except for the front sight. No letter or tests yet. Serial# BFR01XX. It has a black insert front sight. Top strap appears to be bead blasted, everything else appears to be polished. Stampings are very crisp. Hammer and trigger are case hardened. I haven't taken it apart. I got it about a year ago. It shoots good. If it ain't stainless it oughta be.

That was my thought too, when I read that. It would be very difficult to scratch the surface of a hardchrome type finish without going right on into the bare steel under it, which would also appear "white/SS".

Try sticking a magnet to the sideplate, that should solve the riddle.............

Magnets won't work. The stainless alloy Smith uses is just as magnetic as the carbon steel...well, as far as I can tell, I'm sure a calibrated magnetic test may prove other wise.

Scratch through the finish and put a drop of cold blue on the scratch. Stainless steel and regular steel look the same, but, only carbon steel will change color.

I am virtually certain you have a hard chromed 25-5.

Reminds me of the mismarked model 64 I have with the blue finish...........

Maybe is is a 625 but the 6 did not get stamped for some reason.

This is another of those once or twice a week threads. The probability that the gun has an aftermarket hardchrome or satin nickel finish is about 99.9%, especially if the gun is clearly marked M25-5 in the frame's yolk cutout. The factory stainless steel finish has easily discernible grain from the buffing wheels while hardchrome almost universally has a soft matte, bead blasted finish.



Bruce

I have a buddy (yes I do have some) that got one off GB site and it had been bead blasted to bear metal, be easy to find out, take off the side plate and put one drop of water on it (the inside - side) and let dry and see if it starts to rust or no rust would mean a chrome finish. And Yes I'm more than a pretty face LOL.

You could have a stainless 25. I have one! I sent for a factory letter which stated it was blue.
I ran a material composition test on mine and it came back at Fe 74.56,Cr 24.63
I also have a 547 Stainless, which the letter says blue, Composition says Fe 82.06, Cr 12.06
I ran a blue gun which was Fe 99.9
I will be in Reno with them.

Zombie thread.

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I reckon so

Understatement. It's well over seven years old.

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Oh well, what the hell.

You know, they (whoever "they" is) say that P.T. Barnum said...

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Centennial Every Day