nickel/chrome plating model 10

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Bubba55

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My great grandfather was a chief deputy and carried a model 10 that was nickel plated and had an ivory handle. Sadly this gun has been lost in the family. I would like to buy a new model 10 that looks like that gun. Sadly however, they do not make them nickel plated anymore or even offer a stainless steel version. Therefore I was wondering if it is possible to nickel or chrome plate a new blued model 10 to make it look to part.

1. Is it possible to have a new blued model 10 nickel or chrome plated with a polished finish?
2. If so where is a good place to have this done?
3. Are there any cons to such plating? what about pros?
4. Would it be feasible for me to do it myself properly to save money?
5. Is there a newly made stainless steel model 10 version available that I am just not seeing?

Thank you.
 
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Well hold on there. Have you looked around for a used nickel one? That would be my first choice. Second would be to look for a Model 64, the stainless equivalent to a Model 10. Third would be a refinish. There are gunsmiths that do refinishing to nickel or hard chrome, which gives a look more like a stainless gun than a shiny nickel finish like you are probably interested in. They aren't cheap. Some that I've seen charge in the $200 range, give or take a few $ (mostly you give, they take.)
Do you have any other info about the Model 10 you're looking to replace? There are several different barrel lengths and 2 styles of grip frame. What combination did he have?
It's too bad someone lost the original, but the 10 is probably the most plentiful model out there, so you won't have too much difficulty finding one.
By the way, I didn't mention doing a refinish yourself because it's something beyond the abilities of most of us, unless you have experience in commercial plating.
 
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Original Nickel plated M10's are relatively scarce - almost rare because back in the day when most respectable LEO's carried them, most departments would only allow Officer's to carry blued models. There were some exceptions across the nation and there were a handful of Officers working near salt water or harsh environments did carry them - but certainly not the Lion's share of them. As I have heard the story many times..... if in regular plain clothing a man was pointing a Nickeled Revolver - he was the bad guy because legitimate LEO's carried blued guns. The other reason which is true is that Nickel does reflect light much more than a blued gun. That would be a detriment to a LEO at night and in other situations during the day.

Blued M10's are easily found and having one Nickeled is still possible if that is the route you would like to go. Polishing up a Stainless M64 won't give you the "reel feel" or "flavor" of a Nickeled pencil barrel, half round front sighted original M10, aka the S&W M&P Revolver. The M64 wasn't manufactured until later on and usually came with a bull barrel and ramp sight.

Original vintage specially grips can also be found on eBay and elsewhere.
 
Bubba55 said:
My great grandfather was a chief deputy and carried a model 10 that was nickel plated and had an ivory handle. Sadly this gun has been lost in the family. I would like to buy a new model 10 that looks like that gun. Sadly however, they do not make them nickel plated anymore or even offer a stainless steel version. Therefore I was wondering if it is possible to nickel or chrome plate a new blued model 10 to make it look to part.

1. Is it possible to have a new blued model 10 nickel or chrome plated with a polished finish?
2. If so where is a good place to have this done?
3. Are there any cons to such plating? what about pros?
4. Would it be feasible for me to do it myself properly to save money?
5. Is there a newly made stainless steel model 10 version available that I am just not seeing?

Thank you.
Click to expand...
First, welcome to the S&W Forums!

As to your questions,
1. Yes.
2. There are many, but Ford's gets very high marks.
3. Cons=expensive, Pros=corrosion resistance and it's pretty.
4. Not likely, you will spend a lot on equipment and materials and need to practice on scrap parts to learn how to do it right.
5. The Model 64 is still on the S&W website, MSRP is $693.

It might be more cost effective to locate and purchase a used, nickel plated Model 10 or a Model 64.
 
Thank you for the responses. I’m not really interested In buying a used model 10 that was nickel plated, especially online because I feel like you never really know what your getting with such things. I.e. the finish might look decent but the bore could be shot out or pitted. So I’d just like to have it newly made to have something really nice. Someone asked if I knew anything else about the original gun, all we really know was that it was definitely not a snub nose but we don’t know the exact length. It was not like a bull barrel either. As far as the grip goes it was ivory and was a small profile, similar to the wooden ones that come on the model 10 available today. The most important thing is the finish to me. I don’t have to get an exact copy of the original. As long as it looks similar enough.

Thank you again for the information.
 
Bubba55 said:
Thank you for the responses. I’m not really interested In buying a used model 10 that was nickel plated, especially online because I feel like you never really know what your getting with such things. I.e. the finish might look decent but the bore could be shot out or pitted. So I’d just like to have it newly made to have something really nice. Someone asked if I knew anything else about the original gun, all we really know was that it was definitely not a snub nose but we don’t know the exact length. It was not like a bull barrel either. As far as the grip goes it was ivory and was a small profile, similar to the wooden ones that come on the model 10 available today. The most important thing is the finish to me. I don’t have to get an exact copy of the original. As long as it looks similar enough.

Thank you again for the information.
Click to expand...

True, you often do not know what you are getting with online auctions/sales. I don't think I have ever seen a 38 Special with a barrel that shot out. Ed McGivern said it could be done, but he fired many tens of thousands of 38 Special rounds through his S&W Model 10 every year and much of it was rapid fire. Pitting in the bore? Possible, but in the era of non-corrosive primers and smokeless powder, that has become rare.

Someone might go to the trouble of covering up surface pitting with nickel, but that is expensive to do and to get the steel polished well enough to remove the pits will also make the roll markings shallow and smear and round their edges, making it pretty easy to spot.
 
There is no nickel finish quite like a S&W nickel finish from the days that they did them. There are many great used guns out there. I would not and have not hesitated to buy nickeled S&W's through on line auctions, sight unseen and have not been disappointed yet. You just have to know what you are looking at and looking for. There is nothing newly made that can compare.
 
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