current s&w engraving quality

fivetwo · Sep 1, 2014

I am thinking of buying a new centennial 640 and having it fully factory engraved.
I am a collector and would like a nice engraved revolver for my collection. I have seen several engraved smith and Wesson revolvers on the website gun sales, but they are either not exactly what I am looking for, or the price seems high for the condition of the revolver.
from what I can gather, a smith and Wesson revolver engraved by a factory craftsman is worth more than a smith and Wesson revolver engraved by someone else.
my question: has any forum member recently had a revolver engraved by smith and Wesson engravers, and, are you satisfied with the price and the quality of work.
thanks.

Doc44 · Sep 2, 2014

Smith & Wesson has a Master Engraver on their staff that does very good work. You should call customer service and discuss your project with them and obtain a cost estimate. Be sure to tell them you want a hand engraved revolver by their Master Engraver and not a machine engraved revolver.

Bill

roundgunner · Sep 2, 2014

I have watched the engravers at S&W work and it is impressive. I'm no expert but it sure is pretty.

I posted these a while back, some may have seen them. Not done by S&W but its on a S&W.

Sure wish I could do something like that.

flundertaker · Sep 2, 2014

roundgunner said:
I have watched the engravers at S&W work and it is impressive. I'm no expert but it sure is pretty.

I posted these a while back, some may have seen them. Not done by S&W but its on a S&W.

Sure wish I could do something like that.

Being a Gator myself, I love the Florida theme. Very nice.

Rad29 · Sep 2, 2014

FiveTwo:

I had a Model 35 engraved at the factory several years ago by Dave Masarak (sp). He did a very food job and I thought the price was fair. Had the barrel lettering, barrel and cylinder rings inlayed in gold. I was very satisfied with his work. Ask for Pat Frates (x3216) in customer service as she works with the engraving department.

Bob

fivetwo · Sep 3, 2014

Rad29 said:
FiveTwo:

I had a Model 35 engraved at the factory several years ago by Dave Masarak (sp). He did a very food job and I thought the price was fair. Had the barrel lettering, barrel and cylinder rings inlayed in gold. I was very satisfied with his work. Ask for Pat Frates (x3216) in customer service as she works with the engraving department.

Bob

would you mind my asking how much of your revolver was engraved and what was the cost?
thanks

Texas Star · Sep 3, 2014

Before you go any further, get some back editions and current edition of Gun Digest and study the engraved guns in the appropriate section and who did them. Also see books on Colt, Ruger, Beretta, and other guns. Look for the master engravers whose names became famous: Kornbrath, Prudhomme, Russell Smith, John Warren, and others.

That will let you see what good engraving looks like and some themes. Many of today's so-called engravers are just average or worse.

fivetwo · Sep 3, 2014

Texas Star said:
Before you go any further, get some back editions and current edition of Gun Digest and study the engraved guns in the appropriate section and who did them. Also see books on Colt, Ruger, Beretta, and other guns. Look for the master engravers whose names became famous: Kornbrath, Prudhomme, Russell Smith, John Warren, and others.

That will let you see what good engraving looks like and some themes. Many of today's so-called engravers are just average or worse.

I don't know if this picture will turn out, but this is the kind of engraving I have in mind. I don't know if smith and Wesson did the engraving on this revolver, but this is the kind of quality I am looking for and hope s&w can deliver this kind of work.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x157/hhclark/SW632-1-1.jpg

colt_saa · Sep 3, 2014

fivetwo said:
I don't know if this picture will turn out, but this is the kind of engraving I have in mind. I don't know if smith and Wesson did the engraving on this revolver, but this is the kind of quality I am looking for and hope s&w can deliver this kind of work.

Nice looking revolver.

Gatorbaiter · Sep 3, 2014

None of these are factory engraved, but will give you an idea of what to look for:

vrichard · Sep 3, 2014

Here is a S&W model 66 factory class A engraved.
Dick

fivetwo · Sep 4, 2014

vrichard said:
Here is a S&W model 66 factory class A engraved.
Dick

very nice looking.
two questions: how much did smith and Wesson charge; and I notice that a lot of engraved revolvers don't have the cylinder engraved behind the fluting.
I think this gives the cylinder an unfinished look;I think some clever engraving in this area would help to hide any cylinder ring, if the revolver is going to be used beyond being a prized collection.

vrichard · Sep 4, 2014

fivetwo said:
very nice looking.
two questions: how much did smith and Wesson charge; and I notice that a lot of engraved revolvers don't have the cylinder engraved behind the fluting.
I think this gives the cylinder an unfinished look;I think some clever engraving in this area would help to hide any cylinder ring, if the revolver is going to be used beyond being a prized collection.

Sir,The gun cost me $995.00 plus $54.30 tax.total $1059.67 in 6-23-79.
That would be appr.$3,475.30 in todays money.I had the gun allmost 34
years & never shot it yet.

Dick

Mike 49431 · Sep 4, 2014

Fivetwo, you should check out the fega.com website to learn a little more about engraving. Click on the engraver tab and select masters tab. a list comes up and you can look through their portfolio. I'm not trying to knock the factory engravers in any way but if you are looking to have a custom job you may want to select your own engraver. Quality does have its price.

T.May · Sep 4, 2014

This is an example of S&W factory engraving. I bought the gun used and don't know which engraver at S&W did the work. These model 60's fully engraved are still available on their web site...is this what you are looking for?

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...my-first-ever-s-w-revolver.html#post137373846

rwsmith · Sep 4, 2014

Those pics are nice.....

Those pics are nice engraving jobs, but I don't see the point in paying to have my guns scratched up.

DRYHEAT · Sep 4, 2014

I had my Model 60 engraved by Wayne D'Angelo who is a Master Engraver for both S&W and Colt. It is 75% coverage and was $875 (engraving only) in 2006.

Check his work here:
http://dangeloengraving.com/
He is very well known on this forum.

jward 73 · Sep 4, 2014

S&W 640

Why not start with a 640 from the performance center? I have a Paxton Quigly 640 that would make an excellent canvas for your art work..

RKmesa · Saturday at 8:05 AM

roundgunner said:
I have watched the engravers at S&W work and it is impressive. I'm no expert but it sure is pretty.

I posted these a while back, some may have seen them. Not done by S&W but its on a S&W.

Sure wish I could do something like that.

Warren:

That gun may not have been engraved at the factory, BUT it was engraved by an engraver who at one time was a S&W Factory engraver. Your gun was engraved by Domingos Joaquim ("DJ" as he was known). He engraved a lot of Model 60s, his style is very distinctive, and he loved working an eagle into most of his work. He also worked an occasional nude into his scroll. Here are a few seller photos of a recent acquisition of another Model 60 that he engraved (I will do my own photoshoot shortly and post a thread on this gun).

Thanks for sharing,

roundgunner · Saturday at 10:00 AM

RKmesa said:
Warren:

That gun may not have been engraved at the factory, BUT it was engraved by an engraver who at one time was a S&W Factory engraver. Your gun was engraved by Domingos Joaquim ("DJ" as he was known). He engraved a lot of Model 60s, his style is very distinctive, and he loved working an eagle into most of his work. He also worked an occasional nude into his scroll. Here are a few seller photos of a recent acquisition of another Model 60 that he engraved (I will do my own photoshoot shortly and post a thread on this gun).

View attachment 760517

View attachment 760518

View attachment 760519

View attachment 760520
View attachment 760523

Thanks for sharing,

Every time I see one of these magnificent pieces of art it makes me just feel great. I can't explain.
That is a beautiful gun, probably the best I have ever seen.
Thank you for sharing! And thanks for reviving this thread.

current s&w engraving quality

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