I felt compelled to buy something...

[Truckman]

The pickin's were slim at this weekend's gun show, but at closing time yesterday this one appeared at my table...Obviously reblued, but not hideously...It was clean and tight, no mechanical problems observed...So I made a deal for it...

I got it apart today and all parts are numbered the same, even the right hard rubber grip panel...No factory service marks anywhere...The saving grace is that Roy tells me it's older than I suspected, shipped November 1927...S/N is 411930 for anyone tracking these...

Sometimes we just take what the gun show gods offer us......Ben

[walter o]

Some times rthey smile and sometimes they poop

[S&W ucla]

Hard to tell from the pictures, but possibly original finish on everything except cylinder, crane, etc? Sideplate and screw holes look good, pins are proud not flat, and crane looks to be different color from frame. A late gunsmith in our area would re-blue a plum cylinder without polishing and make it darker. Naval jelly? Said incorrect temp of bluing salts can result in plum color, sometimes taking years to turn (Ruger) Looks like a fun shooter as-is!

[Tijeras_Slim]

I have a 1917 in very good condition that the cylinder turned plum. Who knows? Also a mid-50’s Winchester 94 with a plum receiver.

[MelvinWalker]

I have a 1950's Stevens 16 gauge double barrel shotgun that has a formerly blued, but now turned to deep plum receiver.

[Frailer]

That gun is a beautiful thing; a mechanical jewel.

[Truckman]

In person it looks all the same shade of blue...The beveled area on the front of the ejector rod knob was the tattletale for me...It would have been left in the white from the factory......Ben

[mikepriwer]

The extractor rod nob, and the upper half of the rod, are all one piece. I think that whole rod was blued, from the factory. For the earlier gun that had the screw-on nob, the front face was indeed white, and the body of the nob was case-colored.

I think what you have is factory.

Regards, Mike Priwer

[Truckman]

Originally Posted by mikepriwer

I think what you have is factory.

Regards, Mike Priwer

Mike, on this particular subject your opinion is close to gospel until proven different, so I'll concur along with my appreciation...The only clues I can offer in support of it being factory is the beginnings of 100 year old handling wear on the sideplate and opposite side of the frame...It does not appear to be blued over...And in good light the bluing is uniform throughout the gun......Ben

[mikepriwer]

Ben

Thanks for your kind comments, but in this case, I may be wrong. Your comments inspired me to check some of my guns, and with one exception, the end of the mushroom nob on the one-piece nob-and-rod are all polished. I also noticed that on somewhat later guns, with the barrel-shaped nob, the end of the nob is also polished.

It's possible that the upper half of your extractor rod has been replaced , and that replacement was fully blued.

I have a 32-20 4" target revolver with serial number 40070, and it was shipped around 1910, with the screw-on extractor nob. I have pictures when I received the gun, and the end of the nob was polished, as it should be. It was in dire need of gunsmith attention, so I sent it to Dave Chicoine, who did a lot of work on it, and then refinished the gun. When it came back, that case-colored nob was completely blue.

That should not have happened in his shop, but it did. I soaked it in Naval Jelly for just a minute, and that removed all the blue, bringing it back to the case coloring.

The bottom line is that, with careful application of Naval Jelly, or something similar, you can clean up the front end of the nob. That may be a good option for you.

Regards, Mike

[Truckman]

Thanks Mike, I know the effects of Naval Jelly on bluing, and may try it carefully with a Q-tip...I'll have to choose a day when my eyesight and shaky hands cooperate, and when the sun is out on a clear day...And days with all three are hard to come by......Ben

[handejector]

Originally Posted by Truckman

Thanks Mike, I know the effects of Naval Jelly on bluing, and may try it carefully with a Q-tip...I'll have to choose a day when my eyesight and shaky hands cooperate, and when the sun is out on a clear day...And days with all three are hard to come by......Ben

Don't do that. It WILL break the line at the edge of the bevel.
Just pull the rod, lay a piece of 600 grit flat on a piece of glass or stone counter, and carefully twirl the rod with the fingers of both hands with the bevel flat. It won't take much.

[Truckman]

Thanks Lee, I thought about the effects of the naval jelly on the nearby surfaces, and I think I'll try your method first...But only on one of my "good" days......Ben

[glowe]

Overall, the finish is well done, but the bright plum color on the cylinder certainly seems to be the effects of a relatively recent blue job. The heat treating of the cylinder at the factory leaves the metal denser and harder, not taking bluing as fast as the rest of the gun. The cylinder needs to stay in the bluing tank longer in order to create and maintain the deep blue finish. Most gunsmiths do not recognize this issue, so colors don't match and can turn plum soon after.

While 1920s era guns have a very nice blue from the factory, but I believe they are not the mirror finish as your gun seems to show. I also see something that looks like shallow pitting that was not polished out on the sideplate, but they look blued with the gun. I would be curious if the muzzle is blue or not? It is said by some that the muzzle of factory guns was not blued due to the way the barrels were placed in jigs that prevented the bluing from reaching that end of the barrel when blued. Not able to document this, so may or may not be true.

I find that 1000 grit leaves a nice polished look to the knob end & bevel plus is very easy to accomplish with the rod out of the gun.

[Truckman]

The muzzle is blued, Gary, and I just don't see the plum color in the cylinder, or any inconsistency in the color at all...Maybe my eyes are just not as attuned to the difference as others...I have seen plum colors in other guns many times, particularly Rugers...I'm just going to clean it up and display it, letting others draw their own conclusions...It's no better than shooter grade anyway......Ben

[glowe]

Originally Posted by Truckman

The muzzle is blued, Gary, and I just don't see the plum color in the cylinder, or any inconsistency in the color at all...Maybe my eyes are just not as attuned to the difference as others...I have seen plum colors in other guns many times, particularly Rugers...I'm just going to clean it up and display it, letting others draw their own conclusions...It's no better than shooter grade anyway......Ben

Look at the first picture you posted. It may not look that way in person, but you can see the plum color on the cylinder in that image? Also, look closely at the light pitting on the sideplate and the scratches on the other side of the frame. All looks blues, but it original, those pits would be red and the scratches would be white metal?? I do agree that the gun presents very well.

[handejector]

The gun looks original to me. Digicams often make parts look plum that do not appear so in person.
Cleaned pits often do not look rusty or white. They stay dark because not all oxidation is removed from them.
The rod may have been replaced before the gun shipped and required no fitting or it may have been replaced later.

[S&W ucla]

"It's no better then shooter grade"? That's the most fun grade!! Bring it to Tulsa and do a poll...original or reblued. Out of 100 members you should get at least 150 opinions

[Truckman]

Originally Posted by S&W ucla

"It's no better then shooter grade"? That's the most fun grade!! Bring it to Tulsa and do a poll...original or reblued. Out of 100 members you should get at least 150 opinions

Only 18 posts in this thread so far, and I may already have 150 opinions!...

I cannot make it to the symposium this year, but I still look forward to my first...Maybe next year...I would like to thank everyone who responded here, and each comment is valuable to me......Ben

[Truckman]

Regardless of whether any or all of it has been refinished, or is original, it seems to have enjoyed its spa day at Dunkin Gunwash...It says it would like to meet the public at Brenham next weekend......Ben