Bring Back the Nickel Finish

[BigBill]

The only revolver that's being offered in nickel finish is the m29 4" barrel.
What's up with that?

The classics that should be offered in the nickel finishes are;;;;;

Model 29-10. 44mag. 6 1/2" barrel
Model 57. 41mag. 6" barrel
Model 27. 357mag. 6" barrel
Model 27. 357mag. 4" barrel

Is the nickel finish being phased out? The nickel finish goes way back to the turn of the last century. The nickel finish is well rooted in the history of s&w.

Can any revolver that's being offered today be ordered in nickel finish if it's not offered in nickel.

The way things are going we will only see the stainless being the only finish that's offered soon.

I wish we could have some s&w answers here?

Come clean as to what the finishes will be offered in the future. We are loyal s&w customers. We should talk to each other.

 

[loeman]

My sentiments precisely BigBill. I'm not particularly interested in the current lineup but maybe I would be if I could have what I want in nickel. I just wish I could find more vintage Smiths in nickel. I was fortunate to find two nice ones within the past year or so. One is a 6 inch Md 19 and the other is a Detroit Police Md 10 that I'm pretty sure is unfired since the factory. I stupidly passed on a Md 29-2 w/8-3/8 in barrel. Man that gun had A LOT of shine!

 

[Mike McLellan]

I concur. Nickel just screams "Class Act". I too, have a Detroit P.D. nickel Model 10. I think advances in technology should enable the industry to offer wear-proof, flake-proof, freckle-proof nickel finishes that last forever.

 

[BigBill]

Stainless is awesome for abuse and hunting. Nickel screams awesomeness.

There's something special bout a nickel gun.

I been buying old but mostly brand new s&w n frames in nickel. My lgs has nothing left.

 

[Retired W4]

I'm with you BigBill. That would be killer.

 

[P33v3]

I think they should offer Semi-Autos and Revolvers in Nickel again.

 

[BigBill]

Offering the nickel finish in revolvers and autos would be awesome.

The WORLD FAMOUS SMITH & WESSON NICKEL FINISH is the best quality nickel finish we could purchase at one-time. This process is well over 100+ years old. It's well rooted in the history of Smith & WESSON as the s&w name itself. Let's bring back the quality of the nickel and blue finishes to where they once were too. Please don't cut corners on the quality of the finishes. Let's keep it as real as the Smith & WESSON name. I don't mind paying when I'm purchasing the highest in quality that s&w can offer. Let's get the quality back to where it once was. The trade mark is S&W let's return it to the best in quality as it once was. The n frame revolver is awesome let's do the outside finish right. Your working on your second century and should start thinking into your future of your third century.
If you make it your highest in quality now the future generations of our families will still buy new s&w firearms think about it. Your products genes is imbedded in our bloodlines in the past and future generations in this country.

 

[williamlayton]

I disagree.
There are better finishes.
Blessings

 

[BigBill]

Well right now nickel finish is being phased out. Next blue finish will be gone too. The only thing left will be stainless. My LGS warned me about this. I like all the finishes but I like nickel the best. Lately the blueing process has changed quality wise too. Some manufacturers are using a epoxy paint. I've tried some in light gray park. It held over a decade.

 

[BigBill]

Will the only gun finishes be epoxy paint and stainless in the future?

 

[BigChief52]

I'm going to make a prediction. At some point, not too far off, S&W will not only offer nickel finishes and old style bluing, but other long gone design features from what enthusiasts consider the high point of their DA revolver design as well. I'm basing this on the history of other manufacturers who, at some point, made products that achieved classic status. Right now, the company is going through a phase where whiz kid engineers with CAD CAMs think they are boldly marching into the future stuffing these wonderful "improvements" right onto the classic design. They consider these improvements the key to staying current and hip, when in fact, they are drifting further and further away from their core customers tastes. They don't get this yet. They think complaints they hear come only from a small band of purists that are stuck in the past and just don't realize how cool things like slab sided barrels and internal locks are. The day will come when they figure out that they can apply modern production techniques to classic designs and make money doing it. Consider: How many people would ever want an old fashioned air cooled, overhead valve V twin engine in a motorcycle in this day and age? Answer: Plenty.

 

[BigBill]

If Indian motorcycles ever offered there inline four cylinder motorcycle again I'd be all over it.

If S&W ever offered the n frame revolver in the 3/8" barrel in 357, 41, 44 & 45 I'd be all over this too.

Now nickel finish in S&W 1911 I'd buy that too.

 

[BigChief52]

The double action revolver reached a high point with Smith & Wesson's designs. Nobody else ever matched the combination of elegance and practicality of their products. They are an American classic and will always be highly valued for that reason even though technology has moved the world into the age of semi auto handguns. Colt also had an American classic in their company history. The SSA. Although the company is in the business of manufacturing thoroughly modern firearms, they still offer the SAA sans unwanted improvements and a nickel finish if you want it. There's no disconnect from their customers. One of the things that's still right about life in America is that you can still save up and buy a real Colt Single action Army revolver. I believe an exact or close reproduction of S&W classic period DA revolvers would be a commercial success even if they carried a premium price.

 

[BigBill]

I don't want the Colts I want to own the history that made S&W famous around the world. There revolver designs are over 100 years old and have stood the test of time. They adopted the hole thru cylinder and that changed the history of revolvers for going three centuries. I own what our ancestors owned back then. The world famous S&W nickel finish has been offered for over three centuries so why change now?
Even the Russian Zar's son purchased some 44 Russian revolvers in the nickel finish making the S&W nickel finish world famous.
I'm sorry but I cherish my nickel finish S&W revolvers. I'm holding a three century old idea on gun finish.

 

[mogwan]

S&W had (and still has) the ability to do that with the 'Classic' line of Revolvers. However, they're not as 'pure' as they should be and probably the biggest factor in S&W's manufacture of these is cost of hand labor.

They brought back the Mod 27; but the top-strap checkering is now cut with a different type of machine (so I'm told as the 'old' original one wore out) and the finished cut is nowhere near as nice as the originals. Also, they should have dumped the locks. I own one Walther with a lock and i use a trigger lock instead.
OK, back to my rant... Today, S&W manages to cover a eyry wide product range pretty well and their offerings are extensive. It looks like they have spun off the Performance Center to become synonymous with a 'higher level' of Custom available when purchasing new, current firearms, without having to send them to the PC for the usual stuff...

So... following this logical business move, there is NO reason why S&W cannot do the same with the S&W Classic Revolvers...they are apparently selling... So why not do a line of Deluxe Classics that would retail for, say, 25%-30% more to cover the cost of the additional polishing for a 'correct' bluing or Nickel dip along with 30min to 1hr of trigger work, etc?

Remember, this is not an easy business decision as their Classic Model 17 is already the most expensive .22lr revolver available. They would have to start slowly to test the waters-but they have the technical ability & distribution to do it.

Just look at COLT. Very possible they will go bankrupt before the end of Dec as they owe $47 million bond payment. Many have said they should bring back the revolver "Snake Guns' like Python and Diamondback... Some of you will remember when the last Pythons rolled off the line there...they were the 'Python Elite" series and were garbage. As mentioned, ALL the original equipment for making these is long gone; probably sold for scrap. And try to even find parts....this is why i sold mine last year... you can't shoot them frequently cause even Colt will either be out of business or out of parts...

So, S&W- are you listening? - DO A HIGH END CLASSICS LINE! Start a small division to handle these orders and DO THEM RIGHT and people will line up to buy them!

 

[BigChief52]

I do believe high end reissues of classic designs could happen someday because there's money to be made from them. The thing to understand is that, in the context of classics, small details become very large. To be effective, the products would have the same emotional effect on customers as if they were buying a genuine vintage S&W. All the details would have to be there. I'm tired of hearing that things can't be done, the good times are over, we can't make products like the old days. I've never been in the gun business, but I was a tool and die maker for 40 years. Don't tell me what can't be done anymore. We're still Americans. We can build anything if the pencil pushers stay off our backs.

 

[BigBill]

I purchase brand new S&W N Frames as well as a few older ones. I'm happy either way. But when the nickel finish is disappearing on the new offerings I'm concerned. I prefer the nickel finish.

 

[BigChief52]

I'm not happy either way. I'm not ever buying one with the new internal lock. That's a deal killer for me. It's not really internal. It requires an external component...a key. So where's the advantage over a regular trigger lock? A regular external lock has a zero chance of disabling the gun. The chance of the internal mechanism interfering with the normal operation of, especially a high recoil gun like a 44 is not zero. To me, it adds up to stupid. I don't pay good money for stupid. I really hope the day comes when they bring back the classics. And nickel finishes

 

[BigBill]

I haven't had malfunctions with my new m58 at all. She's a sweet piece of machinery. My S&W I prefer not to holster them. I carried my m58 at first.
I carry(ccw) a cz82 or a ruger revolver.

 

[poordevil]

Nickel is my Meat! I am looking only for nickel S&Ws now. I had my blue M36 Nickeled after 30 years of hard use as a blue gun, now it looks better than new.