A crying shame.

[mojave30cal]

I came into possession of this S&W 29-3 Elmer Keith Commerative back in December of last year. I found it by accident on Gun Broker. You could say it spoke to me.

It is obvious it was in a fire, and suffered smoke damage. This is enough to make Doc44 cry. LOL.

These were made in 1985, a year after Elmer Keith passed away. They made 2500 of these revolvers, with the first 100 being the "Deluxe" models with pre ban African elephant ivory factory magna grips. This revolver is number EMK0014. I bought it mostly for the grips, with the idea I could also have a cool looking shooter if it had not lost the metal temper due to the fire.

The first thing I did was find a YouTube video on how to disassemble this revolver. I found a great one and proceeded to take it apart. I got the side plate off and removed the internal parts. There was gunk in there, but the only part that had some rust on it was the rebound slide. I soaked it and the rest of the parts in a penetrating oil. A piece of bronze wool removed the rust. I applied the penetrating to the exterior, barrel, cylinder chambers, side plate and where the internal parts were. I discovered that all the springs still had their temper, which is good. After drying all surfaces and parts, a small amount of oil was applied to a few spots, and I reassembled everything with no problem. The action is smooth and everything works as intended.

I plan on shooting this revolver in the spring with. 44 Special cowboy loads. Not planning to shoot .44 Mag. in this revolver. It is going to be my truck gun. I have a set of factory N frame magnas I will install on the gun.

The other thing I would like to do is find someone experienced in working with ivory to lighten the staining in the ivory grips. I have contacted some of the companies that have done ivory grips, but so far no luck. If anyone knows an ivory expert, please let me know.

 

[lihpster]

Scarred but still a survivor. Like most of us. I would leave the grips as is. Part of it's story. I know it's difficult and expensive, but if you must have real ivory grips, I'd still keep looking. But that's just me. Good on ya for rescuing it!

 

[GaryHK]

Scarred but still a survivor. Like most of us.

Most true thing I've read today. Well said.

@OP have you contacted Boone Trading?

 

[mojave30cal]

GaryHK..yes, contacted Boone Trading. They referred me to several people who work with ivory. They did not want to try to lighten the smoke stains. Said not worth the cost.

 

[GaryHK]

Wonder if you can light sand and buff. Be interested to know if this can even be done with ivory and how deep the smoke/patina goes.

This is just thinking out loud, I have zero experience with ivory.

 

[mikerjf]

<<Scarred but still a survivor.>>

Uh, like Elmer himself, no?

That's almost creepy coincidental. I'd keep it as is just to avoid disturbing any juju present.

 

[DGNY]

Congratulations on a very commendable rescue of that Elmer Keith piece. Many of us remember when those came out and longed for one, save for family expenses!

I did a quick search on DuckDuckGo under "what will lighten stained ivory". Looks like a few good ideas to explore if you care to. Not sure I would go with strong acid! As someone already mentioned, the staining is indeed part of the history of the revolver - that you have brought back from a very sad state. It all looks of one piece as it is right now, thanks to your diligence.

 

[OldSarge21]

This might sound stupid, but what about using a soft toothbrush and some whitening toothpaste?

 

[mojave30cal]

I had planned on installing these ivory magna grips on my 1950 nickel pre-27, but the fit at the bottom is not great.

 

[Geronimo Jim]

As many of you know Elmer was burned severally a child. Just a great
gun. You will enjoy that gun more that all the other people who have a
perfect gun setting in the safe. Would you mind telling us how much
you paid?

 

[lihpster]

I had planned on installing these ivory magna grips on my 1950 nickel pre-27, but the fit at the bottom is not great.

Then i would save them, put some others on the gun to shoot with and find some others for the 27. That's just me though. Anyway you go it's a cool gun!

 

[mojave30cal]

Yes. I paid $831.00 plus shipping.

 

[llowry61]

Did you try talking to Rick Bowles ? He is on the Colt website and does scrimshaw work. He seems pretty knowledgeable about all types of ivory and might be willing to give you some advice.

As others have mentioned, I immediately thought about the fire Elmer was in when he was young. Nice story and great job saving this piece as it is worthy of your efforts.

Take care and good luck.

L

More about the fire Elmer survived:

...."The Hotel Fire That Changed Everything
In 1911, Keith was burned very badly in a fire in Missoula, Montana. These were scars that he wore for the rest of his life and the fire would likely have killed just about any other man. But Keith refused to die. It was so bad that his chin became fused with his right shoulder and his left hand was turned completely upside down. His father contacted several doctors in the area to perform a surgery to fix his hand, but they all refused, saying that he probably wouldn’t even live to see 21 anyway.

It finally fell on Keith’s father to break his hand and reset it. After a trip down to the local liquor store to get a bottle of 100-proof Old Granddad, Keith told his father to break and set his hand no matter how much he passed out or screamed. Keith was then fitted with a special glove, and over the course of two years, regained the normal use of his hand through a lot of painful use. The hand was deformed, but Keith could use it to both rope steer and shoot pistols."....

 

[Oscar Zulu]

I think those grips look great! At least in the pictures...... I think I would have bought the gun for the grips also.
If an attempt to to polish them back to white fails, (which I wouldn't try myself),
worst case scenario I think the grips could be worked down to K frame dimensions by someone who is an artist in that field. I would think it's kind of a get it right the first time sort of deal. Of course, there is the J frame....
OZ

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

I like a good rescue story - especially for S&W shooters.

 

[K Frame Keith]

I wouldn't try to change the grips. I kind of like the color as is. Definitely one of a kind and impossible to replicate.

 

[Loyaljeeper]

I was watching that one and almost jumped in on the bidding. I was still holding out for a 625 for my chop project. That seller had a bunch of guns that had been in a fire to include two highway patrol commemorative model 19s. One was a THP commemorative 19.

 

[ameridaddy]

I'd leave the ivory as is. It just looks to me like the grips were made a long time ago, and have aged gracefully.

 

[Inusuit]

Another vote here for leaving the ivory alone. Were it mine, I would be concerned that any attempt at "improvement" might result in making things worse.

Ask me why I have this opinion.

 

[mojave30cal]

OK....would like to hear about your ivory improvement experience.

 

[reedman]

I know this is out of left field, but I suggest you might talk with a good violin bow maker/repair person. GOOD bow people have lots of experience with ivory bow tips and frogs (the part of the bow that the hand touches), as well as restoration of ivory. Looks like you are in Utah. Salt Lake City has a good shop--Peter Prier and Sons. (801) 364-3651

 

[handejector]

The other thing I would like to do is find someone experienced in working with ivory to lighten the staining in the ivory grips.

The smoke damage is on the surface and has probably not penetrated deeply. I'm not looking at them, and don't know if they got wet from the water or possibly foamed, both of which could possibly carry the staining slightly deeper into the ivory. First thing I would try is Flitz on an old tee shirt. Use one washed in detergent with no fabric softener- you just want clean cotton. Put them on a flat surface and rub with moderate pressure. If you get good results, keep going.
Are they stained on the inside? If so, try it on the inside first.

 

[walter o]

I haveI would try the Mothers Mag .Polish made several sets of Ivory grips . I would try the Mothers Mag .Polish as Lee suggested .I have sanded some with 1000and 1500wet /dry paper also then polished with mothers . Don;t know if i would want them to turn white ,as i like the yellow tent that Ivory turns. I am waiting for these to turn

I have removed some of the natural yellowing in some of the raw Ivorywhile making grips . You could also use baby (mineral)oil on the sand paper to keep it from clogging .Mineral is used to soak Ivory in once a year to keep it from cracking It will not hurt IVORY

 

[Snapping Twig]

Check out dental tooth whitening products.

Maybe Oxyclean?

 

[Tytan01]

I came into possession of this S&W 29-3 Elmer Keith Commerative back in December of last year. I found it by accident on Gun Broker. You could say it spoke to me.

I know what ya mean. I found mine via a local fellow in my area who was thinning out his collection. I kinda like your "seasoned" grips. I think I'd leave just like that are. Maybe rub a dab of vegetable oil on them to help put some moisture back in and keep them from cracking?

 

[mojave30cal]

These grips do have some staining on the inside. I'll try there first and see how it goes. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[boykinlp]

This may be a stupid question, but do the grips smell of smoke?
Larry

 

[mojave30cal]

I can't detect any smoke smell.

 

[jaymoore]

Since the plastic front sight insert survived, it's reasonable to conclude that the revover suffered no heat treat damage. .44 Magnum loads would be fine, if you like the recoil. (I had an Anaconda given to me years ago that had been in a fire hot enough to burn the grips off and make the springs go soft. It digested quite a bit of .44s (after some remote controlled test firing) before someone else wanted it more than i did.