Percent Bluing

[Wengayoo]

Hi All,
I have been trying to sell a few guns lately, and I am not adept at evaluating the % bluing. Can anyone explain how this is determined? I see many adds with the percent bluing included, but have no idea how to perceive this, and I have not found any useful information on the internet. It would be great to hear your input.
Thanks, Brian

 

[Sevens]

I have zero intent to offend, but I've been handling guns for decades and when I handed one of mine to a professional, he found a handful of things in moments that I could not see or notice or understand until he explained what he was seeing and looking for. That man was John Fugate and this is simply my expanded way of saying that most folks who try to grade a gun and especially by way of percentage are horrendous at it.

Many want to talk it up as if sellers are shysters, I believe it is much more a case of many sellers just being complete amateurs and what they have is genuine ignorance more so than being dirty or deceptive.

I don't believe that the average gun consumer is qualified to rate finish percentages.

I think in your situation, your best bet is to take as many pictures as you can stomach, in hi-res with fantastic light, and be available to answer any specific questions or take directions on specific extra pictures you could take.

I believe it's best for all parties if you avoid using a percentage if you aren't a top-shelf gun grader. Certainly we have a handful of folks on this forum that are qualified, but we almost surely have 95% or more of our enrolled members that are wholly unqualified to properly grade a blued finish.

Someone reading this will be offended, haha, but that's my view.

 

[22hipower]

For the most part I agree with Sevens comments; that it is difficult to get agreement on a condition percentage even among knowledgeable long time gun owners. And that's because it is a very subjective call. I haven't bought a new edition of the Blue Book in ten years or more but it has, or use to have, a rather good section in the front about grading condition. Might be worth the purchase price if you don't already have a copy.

Something to keep in mind is that grading varies depending on the vintage of the gun. Something made in the last few years called 98% should, in my opinion, have few if any visible detractions and most of us can probably agree after handling such a piece. But pick up something from another era, pre-war N frames for example, or pre-1900 Winchesters/Marlins and it becomes much more difficult to reach agreement on percentage of original condition.

Occasionally someone will post here that they're looking at a 90% gun and wonder what we think it is worth. I immediately wonder what 90% means to the poster; to me it means quite a bit of blue/finish loss on the usual wear points. Often when the poster ads pictures we see a gun closer to what I'd call 97/8% than 90.

As Sevens says, perhaps best to rely on pictures and question any sellers percentage rating, especially one without pictures. Even with pictures lighting is critical as it can both hide blemishes and over emphasize very minor issues. Good luck.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

 

[rct269]

Given that percentage of remaining finish is an objective description of a subjective evaluation, my suggestion is to say nothing; other than to note the areas with finish loss------and provide close-up photographs of those areas.

And as an aside (from an admittedly lunatic fringe collector), my opinion of a nickel gun with ANY loss is it's junk---and should be avoided at all costs---primarily because it's almost certainly going to get worse-----no matter what you do or don't do.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[diyj98]

I hate using %. I think we can all agree on 0% and 100%, but anything else gets into opinions.

 

[Benchrest1]

I'm not into percentages and there is different kinds of wear. I have no problem with any gun that has what I consider good honest wear. What I'm not going to give a second look is an abused gun.

 

[Tu_S]

When it comes to grades assigned to used guns online, I focus on the description of the imperfections and if there are detailed pictures to show them. For me, I guess it's about judging the honestly of the seller.

While an auction house like Morphy's or Rock Island will have a professional that has seen enough used guns to know what they're doing, I know I wouldn't be good enough, and would just point out what I see as flaws and document them (which is something I try to do when selling anything online,) along with more pictures to let the potential buyer make their own judgement or ask for a better view of something they might have spotted and I missed.

 

[boykinlp]

I hate using %. I think we can all agree on 0% and 100%, but anything else gets into opinions.

You would think that this would be correct, but in the case of refinished guns, it really isn't. Since refinished guns actually have 0% original finish, and many folks will list them as 98-99%. You always need to make your own determinations.
Larry

 

[chief38]

When I sell a gun I always list bluing and finish at a conservative percentage. I always want the buyer to be pleasantly surprised rather than unpleasantly p'd off.

Don't know if there are any actual guides to percentage ratings, but common sense, a good eye and an honest opinion is where it's at. After that, deduct a few percentage points and you should never have any issues with buyers. They will be pleasantly surprised and appreciate your honesty. Someone who likes your honesty could also be a potential repeat customer which is more important than scalping every last dime out of sale.