The Ford's name comes up here often and I know I'm not the only fan of their services. I'm fortunate to live within driving distance of Crystal River, FL and have enjoyed getting to know the Ford's folks a bit over the past couple of years as they've refinished 6 revolvers for me during that time.
At times I've been reluctant to sing their praises too much since the wait is already running 5 to 6 months and I've had things in que or planning to put in que and I didn't want the rest of you guys gettin' in my way.
p) But I'm in a lull right now with nothing needing the spa treatment at Ford's so I'll let the rest of ya'll have at it for a while.
I'm not a serious collector and how refinishing affects collector value doesn't really interest me much. I like to find nice old shooters that are still in good mechanical condition but have suffered some poor mishap that has really hurt the cosmetics. If I can find something and buy it right due to the cosmetics I let Ford's work their magic and I end up with a beautiful revolver that I can shoot and enjoy and also feel like I rescued a fine revolver from becoming somebody's truck gun or boat gun or barn gun. I realize I have more money invested in these old guns than they're worth but I don't really care - I love how they look, how they shoot and the intangible value they have to me.
Since most of these examples fall into this forum (S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980) I'm posting this thread here. But the first gun is my old 1-liner K22 from the late 1940's This was a pawn shop rescue that turned out to be such a sweet shooting revolver I felt it deserved a better fate than to look like a rusty old wreck.
This 19-3 was another pawn shop deal. The owner called me and said he had an old Smith I oughta come see. I went right over and he brought out this 19-3 that actually didn't look too bad. Until you turned it over and saw that one side had been stored in contact with something that ate the bluing badly on that side. He didn't even want to put it in the gun case and sold it to me for cheap. Too nice a gun to let suffer so off to Ford's it went.
When I found this 4" 27-2 it was a nickel example with a lot of cosmetic issues from poor handling, cleaning solvents, who knows. It was wearing an old Pachmayr grip with some rust under the rubber. I've always admired the old "pinto" guns and decided to have Ford's do the Pinto look. They surprised me with a few unexpected touches - the side plate screws are nickel, the barrel pin is nickel and the cylinder stop is nickel. I didn't give them specific instructions but rather turned them loose to create a pinto as they saw fit. Here's what they came up with. (Not trying to faithfully copy an original, this is Ford's own interpretation.)
I have a thing for the 27-2 and I'm always looking for a "deal" on one. Often the "deal" is because the gun looks tired, has finish damage and has damaged stocks. Perfect!
4" 27-2
5" 27-2
8 3/8" 27-2
I don't have any before pictures for most of these as I just didn't think it important at the time. I'm kicking myself now for not documenting them before they went off to Ford's but it's too late now.
I've had nothing but the best experience working with Ford's. The rates are a bargain in my opinion and the work is first rate. On most of these I paid the extra fee to have the hammers and triggers sent out for new case coloring, something Ford's doesn't do in-house. The results speak for themselves. Actually these guns look better in person as my camera skills aren't so terrific.
Sorry to be kinda long-winded but I wanted to share my Ford's experience and post up some photos of them. I was thinking I had done 5 but putting them all together I see I have 6. FWIW if you have 10 done the 11th one is free......
At times I've been reluctant to sing their praises too much since the wait is already running 5 to 6 months and I've had things in que or planning to put in que and I didn't want the rest of you guys gettin' in my way.
p) But I'm in a lull right now with nothing needing the spa treatment at Ford's so I'll let the rest of ya'll have at it for a while.I'm not a serious collector and how refinishing affects collector value doesn't really interest me much. I like to find nice old shooters that are still in good mechanical condition but have suffered some poor mishap that has really hurt the cosmetics. If I can find something and buy it right due to the cosmetics I let Ford's work their magic and I end up with a beautiful revolver that I can shoot and enjoy and also feel like I rescued a fine revolver from becoming somebody's truck gun or boat gun or barn gun. I realize I have more money invested in these old guns than they're worth but I don't really care - I love how they look, how they shoot and the intangible value they have to me.
Since most of these examples fall into this forum (S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980) I'm posting this thread here. But the first gun is my old 1-liner K22 from the late 1940's This was a pawn shop rescue that turned out to be such a sweet shooting revolver I felt it deserved a better fate than to look like a rusty old wreck.
This 19-3 was another pawn shop deal. The owner called me and said he had an old Smith I oughta come see. I went right over and he brought out this 19-3 that actually didn't look too bad. Until you turned it over and saw that one side had been stored in contact with something that ate the bluing badly on that side. He didn't even want to put it in the gun case and sold it to me for cheap. Too nice a gun to let suffer so off to Ford's it went.
When I found this 4" 27-2 it was a nickel example with a lot of cosmetic issues from poor handling, cleaning solvents, who knows. It was wearing an old Pachmayr grip with some rust under the rubber. I've always admired the old "pinto" guns and decided to have Ford's do the Pinto look. They surprised me with a few unexpected touches - the side plate screws are nickel, the barrel pin is nickel and the cylinder stop is nickel. I didn't give them specific instructions but rather turned them loose to create a pinto as they saw fit. Here's what they came up with. (Not trying to faithfully copy an original, this is Ford's own interpretation.)
I have a thing for the 27-2 and I'm always looking for a "deal" on one. Often the "deal" is because the gun looks tired, has finish damage and has damaged stocks. Perfect!
4" 27-2
5" 27-2
8 3/8" 27-2
I don't have any before pictures for most of these as I just didn't think it important at the time. I'm kicking myself now for not documenting them before they went off to Ford's but it's too late now.
I've had nothing but the best experience working with Ford's. The rates are a bargain in my opinion and the work is first rate. On most of these I paid the extra fee to have the hammers and triggers sent out for new case coloring, something Ford's doesn't do in-house. The results speak for themselves. Actually these guns look better in person as my camera skills aren't so terrific.
Sorry to be kinda long-winded but I wanted to share my Ford's experience and post up some photos of them. I was thinking I had done 5 but putting them all together I see I have 6. FWIW if you have 10 done the 11th one is free......
