Need Help With Odd Damage on a 19-5

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Bluesmoke9

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I bought a very nice looking 19-5 from someone recently. When I looked really close, however, It appears the left side of the trigger guard was filed flat and blued over. It's just odd because if you were trying to hide damage you could've easily done a much better job. Or, is it possible that it came from S&W like this? Any opinions?

SampW%2019-5%20001.jpg


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It would be from the early 80's? If so I would go with the former theory. If so be careful using Flitz, etc.
 
It is likely the gun came with a sharp edge on the trigger guard and a prior owner filed it flat to remove the sharpness and then cold blued it. He should have at least polished it with some 400 grit or finer Aloxite paper to remove the file marks. Sharp edges on trigger guards are very common, most people don't worry about them!

All you will accomplish with metal polishes is removing the blue, as it is.
 
Alk8944 said:
It is likely the gun came with a sharp edge on the trigger guard and a prior owner filed it flat to remove the sharpness and then cold blued it. He should have at least polished it with some 400 grit or finer Aloxite paper to remove the file marks. Sharp edges on trigger guards are very common, most people don't worry about them!

All you will accomplish with metal polishes is removing the blue, as it is.
Click to expand...

I suppose that's as likely as anything else. Still an odd area of the gun to be concerned about. And the tapered ridge of a Smith trigger guard isn't exactly sharp. I may try to find a good gunsmith who can make it less noticeable and see if he can do it without rebluing the entire gun.
 
The damage might have come from a vise or fixture when the gun was being manufactured. It could also have been in a vise at a repair shop or from a previous owner.

There is really nothing that can be done to smooth the metal out without removal of bluing so you will have to just learn to ignore it - unless you have the entire gun re-blued which would hardly be worth while IMHO.

I have seen a few Smiths that had similar defects right out of the box - just so you know it's not impossible.
 
chief38 said:
The damage might have come from a vise or fixture when the gun was being manufactured. It could also have been in a vise at a repair shop or from a previous owner.

There is really nothing that can be done to smooth the metal out without removal of bluing so you will have to just learn to ignore it - unless you have the entire gun re-blued which would hardly be worth while IMHO.

I have seen a few Smiths that had similar defects right out of the box - just so you know it's not impossible.
Click to expand...

You're probably right about the cost, but I'm borderline OCD when it comes to stuff like this on a gun I may keep forever.
 
That kind of damage can be caused as well by a certain type of holster with a retaining clip.
 
I own a Mod 66-1 with identical markings, but on both left and right sides of the gun, around the front and sides of the trigger guard.

I am the only owner of this gun. I bought it new directly from S&W (1980 I think) and it has a wider target trigger, wider than the trigger guard. I am RH, and I carried this gun in only two holsters, a Bill Jordan Border Patrol, and a Safariland 229, neither of which come in contact with this area of the gun. I have both holsters today.

My memory isn't clear about one point, but I am trying to recall. I also used a Safariland key chain. One so long, I would stuff my keys into my right rear pocket to keep them quiet, but they often came out and banged against my gun. I cannot establish that my frame marks (as stated, "like a file would leave") came from the keys but I thought it was worth a mention.

The same marks you show in your photo are on my gun, but I'm not that handy with a camera, sorry. Seems to me, the previous owner(s) of your gun tried to do a little body work, but should have left things alone.

The marks were present on the gun when I got it, just figured all these years that this was the way it came. Was no deal to me, it was going to (and did) see a lot more abuse than just that.

Hope this helps, y'all be safe.
 
Is the trigger guard thinned out at all? Bill jordan used to file down the trigger guard some for easier access for his fingers to the trigger. Its another possibility that someone tried to do that.
 
Bluesmoke9,

Welcome to the forum.

Photos can fool one, but that doesn't look like cold blue to me. And I've seen plenty of trigger guard edges just like that, tool marks not polished out and flat, un-tapered edges when new. Especially the newer guns in the 19-5 era. It's factory IMO.

Best solution is to look for an upgrade gun, then sell this one. Unless you're going to put wear on it; in that case, taper the trigger guard edge to match the other side then touch up with Nu Blue and a hairdryer. Or Oxpho Blue cream.

NU BLUE:
See products test here: Evaluation of several cold bluing products (w/pics) | Gunsmithing | 24hourcampfire
Buy Nu Blue here: Welcome to the Stock Doc Store
 
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I have no theory about your 19-5. I have a 15-6 1990 or so vintage with some obvious factory issues. The left side edge of the trigger guard is much thicker than the right side and thicker than any of my other Smiths. The end of the trigger is blunt instead of tapered. The right side of the of the top of the trigger has deep machining marks that were polished out on the rest of my revolvers. So things like that can come from the factory when the QC guy is on break or hung over.
 
Hondo44 said:
Bluesmoke9,

Welcome to the forum.

Photos can fool one, but that doesn't look like cold blue to me. And I've seen plenty of trigger guard edges just like that, tool marks not polished out and flat, un-tapered edges when new. Especially the newer guns in the 19-5 era. It's factory IMO.

Best solution is to look for an upgrade gun, then sell this one. Unless you're going to put wear on it; in that case, taper the trigger guard edge to match the other side then touch up with Nu Blue and a hairdryer. Or Oxpho Blue cream.

NU BLUE:
See products test here: Evaluation of several cold bluing products (w/pics) | Gunsmithing | 24hourcampfire
Buy Nu Blue here: Welcome to the Stock Doc Store
Click to expand...

If it did come from the factory like that, any guess as to what S&W would say if I sent it back and wanted it fixed at their expense? I'm guessing they'd say, after thirty years, no, we don't have an obligation. I like your option of upgrading and selling this one, but I like the idea of learning something in the process.
 
CO_Kid said:
Is the trigger guard thinned out at all? Bill jordan used to file down the trigger guard some for easier access for his fingers to the trigger. Its another possibility that someone tried to do that.
Click to expand...

Wrong side of the trigger guard for that, unless the prior user was a lefty. That said, not near enough material missing to be that modification.
 
Bluesmoke9 said:
If it did come from the factory like that, any guess as to what S&W would say if I sent it back and wanted it fixed at their expense? I'm guessing they'd say, after thirty years, no, we don't have an obligation. I like your option of upgrading and selling this one, but I like the idea of learning something in the process.
Click to expand...

That's a good question. We'll only know if you call and ask.

If they do accept it for repair, the repair may look better, the entire gun will be re-blued, and will the refinish look as good as the present bluing?
 
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