Question about J-frame Magnas

[Jcon72]

Recently I picked up these rosewood J-frames for a project because they were fairly cheap. They have silver washers and no serial, so that should place them from the early 80's, right?
While in good structural condition with no chips or cracks the finish was badly worn. Today I stripped the old finish then gave them a good soak in acetone. Both of them have a certain flatness on top (visible in picture #1), and I am wondering if this is 100% due to wear or if possibly they came this way from the factory. Picture #2 shows some small scratches in this area which are exaggerated due to the lighting. Without intense light these can barely be seen but I'll of course carefully sand them out before finishing.
Just curious if I should worry about trying to sand the corners of the flat areas to blend them and minimize their appearance or just leave them as they are?
Also wondering just how uncommon it is to find these in rosewood.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Any maker marks?

 

[Jcon72]

Any maker marks?

Well, they appear to me to be OEM S&W.

 

[murphydog]

I think they are factory S & W Goncalo Alves stocks from various models of the mid-1980s to early '90s, including the model 640 and 60-7 Lady Smith among others.

 

[Alk8944]

Any maker marks?

Did you not see the S&W medallions that are riveted to the stock washers? No after-market stock maker uses the steel stock washers that S&W does! They are factory S&W!


Murphydog, are you talking about the very slight mark at the bottom extreme corner of each stock? Probably just carry wear and if it really bothers you just lightly sand to restore the radius no harm done.

 

[Jcon72]

Murphydog, are you talking about the very slight mark at the bottom extreme corner of each stock? Probably just carry wear and if it really bothers you just lightly sand to restore the radius no harm done.

Assuming that you're talking to me, no, I'm referring to the slightly flat area that runs the full length of each one. See first picture.

 

[jeffrefrig]

Jcon72, those look pretty nice. I'm curious as to what you use to finish them, meaning the final coat of whatever? Or, do you simply remove the finish and clean them up. Whatever, they look nice. I have very minimal experience refurbing wood stocks. I've used clear polyurethane on 2 or 3 and they came out pretty nice. (They looked okay after cleaning but I made them shiny.) Murphy's oil soap cleans the wood up nice after old finish is gone.
I didn't notice the slightly flat you're concerned about until I did a double-take. It's not that bad, but I'm not a detail woodworker like most of you guys are. That looks like some nice-colored wood.

 

[Jcon72]

These pictures depict bare wood after stripping them and soaking in acetone to remove any residue. I agree; it's beautiful wood and appears to be rosewood rather than the typical Goncalo Alves.
As usual, I will apply several coats of Tru-Oil. My goal isn't a glassy mirror finish but rather something closer to a factory sheen. My biggest decision for this set is whether or not to try to sand the corners of the flat areas to achieve a fully rounded profile.

 

[Jeroenw114]

I would sand to a round profile