Just adopted a homely 34-1

[Odessaman]

This followed me home from from a local pawn shop yesterday. The pawnbroker made me a deal I couldn't pass up, after I spent 20 minutes looking it over and speculating whether it was salvageable or not. As bad as the finish (or lack thereof) looks, the gun is amazingly tight and sound mechanically. The crane mates up tightly to the frame and it doesn't appear that the sideplate's been removed (or at least, it's not boogered up.) The bore is sharp and clean, and there's no pitting anywhere on the gun, to my surprise.

Once I get it to the range, I'll determine whether to use it as practice for home bluing or invest in a refinish by Ford's, which is just an hour north of me.

 

[Camster]

Whatever course you take, I think it will shape up nicely.

 

[Bloodhound]

Very nice score...a great little revolver...congrats

 

[H Richard]

Makes you really wonder about the history of a piece when you see one with that much bluing loss. It appears to have been well "loved". I'd bet it is a great shooter.

 

[Pilgrim]

It's not homely.

I'd call it 'distinguished'.

 

[Gary]

You might try investigating one of the bake-on finishes. My brother recently competed a refinish on an old Marlin .22 rifle. The original finish was in similar condition to your revolver. It came out real nice. It is sort of a satin black that is almost scratch and wear proof. It comes in a spray can and he bought it from Brownells. Much better than cold blue.

 

[DON1937]

Nice old gun with lots of personality!.. Out here in West TX. with the low humidity I'd leave it like it is but in Fl. it might need some protection against rust. It'd probably be ok like it is if you wiped it down with a very light coat of oil or maybe a silicone cloth before you put it away.

 

[Frank237]

Send it to Fords for a reblue.

Give it a 2nd life.

 

[jglsprings]

Every dog needs a good home. Let us know what you decide.

 

[M29since14]

If that gun shoots, I would send it back to Springfield and have it refinished. It has no sentimental value to you as-is and there is almost no original finish remaining, so you can't "hurt" it. People on this forum sometimes rant and rave about refinishing revolvers like it is some sort of crime against nature. When I was a young fellow, sending them back for tune-ups and refinishing was pretty common. That one needs to make the trip if it's a good shooter.

 

[Smith357]

It's not homely.

I'd call it 'distinguished'.

I like it and I agree it has a lot of character.

 

[Odessaman]

I can ballpark what Ford's will charge for refinishing. I would have them do Deluxe Bluing (not the Master Bluing) and re-case color the hammer and trigger. Does anyone have an idea what the factory would charge for the same work, assuming no mechanical repairs are needed?

 

[KEN L]

I vote for factory nickel. With a nice set of vintage stags and a polished aluminum Tyler T. Now THAT would be DOKE!!

 

[VinnieL]

I need to start looking around for some of these deals on old revolvers I want to start a collection of revolvers.

 

[Bat Guano]

Now that's an "experienced" gun. If you do send it off to Ford's it would certainly be interesting to see "before" and "after" photos.

To tell the truth that gun is more interesting than the usual safe queens.

 

[4864]

It has some great charterer to it. The grips look real good compared to the metal. Nice find!

 

[okie john]

That one's just getting broken in. I'm guessing it will shoot like a rifle.


Okie John

 

[michael thornton]

hard crome it and never look back

 

[dkees]

Now that is a piece of machinery! Ask some shooting buddies over and have it laying on a table as is. See what reaction you get. Then re-finish, re-blue, polish, and shine.
Try another group and see what they say, if they say anything at all. Probably like an '82 Corvette, a yawner.

 

[Odessaman]

I finally got around to this little project. A guy sold me some ammo and threw in a bottle of Brownell's Oxpho Blue Cream as a "free bonus," so I figured I'd give it a try. I must say, I'm very happy with the results. I wasn't looking to turn this into a show piece, just give the metal a little protection and make it a little less homely. I purposely stopped with two applications, polishing with OOOO steel wool between coats. Then, I soaked all the parts in a jar of motor oil for a few hours and did a final polish with a soft rag. The high spots, backstrap and trigger guard came out with a nice patina that I wasn't able to capture with my cheap digital camera. Here are the "after" shots:

 

[knighthawk]

That came out really nice looking. You done a nice job on it.

 

[ColbyBruce]

I have a Colt Woodsman that needs that same treatment. Does the Brownell's stuff smell, like regular old cold blue, or is it odorless ?

 

[Odessaman]

It says to use it in a well ventilated area, but I find it less noxious than Birchwood Casey. I used the cream formula, not the liquid, so that may make a difference.

 

[revolvergeek]

It looks like a nice working gun; nothing homely about it. I would have jumped on it in a second! Great score. You cleaned it up very nicely.

 

[smitholdtimer]

Odessaman

Your photos from the first post remind me of one I adopted with the 2" barrel. It was so "Homely" but did and does have the smoothest action (kinda uncommon for a J frame). I opened it and found that the internals are from the older revolvers having a ball on the end of the bar as opposed to the fork on which the main coil spring operates into the hammer. My preference of the designs so far. Mine is just like it was, ugly and very,very much appreciated for its ease of carry and smooth action. I like to have usable firearms as opposed to those that never see light outside of the safe. Congratulations on the job you did, does look nice without looking so nice that it becomes a "Safe Queen".

 

[Smee78]

Looks like you gave new life to a great revolver, good work.

 

[WyoStillhunter]

Good work...nice save! So, how does it shoot?

 

[Nevadadvx]

I can't imagine how it could lose that much bluing. It almost looks like someone took some steel wool or some chemical to it. Are those the original grips? Most 34's I've seen have magnas, although I put a set of targets on my model 63 and love them. Much more comfortable to shoot than the matching number magnas.

 

[Odessaman]

Good work...nice save! So, how does it shoot?

Thanks - I'm ashamed to say I haven't shot this one yet - but that will soon change.

Are those the original grips?

They're unnumbered, so all I can say for sure is they were on it when I bought it, and they'd been on it a long time, judging by the imprints on the inside of the grips. Looks like part of the frame finish leached into them. I agree they feel great, compared to square butt J frame magnas, and I think look correct for this model.