Reparked?
- Thread starter JS Esq.
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kwill1911
Member
You're asking for a lot from one small, out-of-context picture. More pictures, showing the whole gun and a serial number or range would get us out of the "haircut over the phone" situation. If it is a Victory Model it wasn't parkerized to begin with.
Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
The utility (Victory) finishes are notoriously hard to photograph well, and judge from photos, especially in direct artificial light. To add to Kevin's suggestions, some natural light would also help.
I believe the OP was referring to the thumbpiece, which is blue, versus the body which appears to be phosphate finished. The simple answer is the thumbpiece has been replaced. But, it is impossible to tell from that photo which is the correct finish. So, we need more complete pictures of the gun to gauge if the finish is original.
Well, while I was waxing eloquent, the OP posted it is a 1943 Victory. To me that means the thumbpiece has been replaced.
Well, while I was waxing eloquent, the OP posted it is a 1943 Victory. To me that means the thumbpiece has been replaced.
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Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Having retrieved this view of the same gun, I think it illustrates what I said above about lighting. On the other pictures the difference in coloration is barely noticeable, the latch is clearly not polished, and this is quite possibly only a case of variations between batches of parts. Just my opinion, of course 
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kwill1911
Member
Except for a very small experimental run, the Victory Model did not have a phosphate finish. They are blued (Black Magic brand) over a sandblasted metal finish. Some small parts were blued and the hammer and trigger are color case hardened, of course.
So, Kevin, is this incorrect?
kwill1911
Member
Yes, the parenthetical phrase is incorrect. Unfortunately, there has been so much confusion, for so many years, that it is hard to believe how simple it actually was. Roy published the official report to the Ordnance Dept in the S&WCA Journal a few issues back that made it clear but decades of misinformation won't go away anytime soon.
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I must have missed that article. I'll look back and see if I can find it.
Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
The "similar to parkerizing" is also a matter of definition.
Yes, the Sandblast Black Magic looks a lot closer to what people consider parkerized than to standard polished blue. But the surface prep also matters. To my knowledge we have not yet positively identified one of the 2187 DSC-shipped pre-Victorys that were actually trademark-"parkerized". We simply don't know how different they appear.
Yes, the Sandblast Black Magic looks a lot closer to what people consider parkerized than to standard polished blue. But the surface prep also matters. To my knowledge we have not yet positively identified one of the 2187 DSC-shipped pre-Victorys that were actually trademark-"parkerized". We simply don't know how different they appear.
Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Granted, I'm *far* from an expert, but to me the finish in this photo looks more like the parkerized guns I own than the blued ones (including the one Victory I already own, but which has very worn finish). Which is why I brought this question to those who know more than myself.
Having retrieved this view of the same gun, I think it illustrates what I said above about lighting. On the other pictures the difference in coloration is barely noticeable, the latch is clearly not polished, and this is quite possibly only a case of variations between batches of parts. Just my opinion, of course
I do not collect Victory revolvers, but did the originals have pins and studs polished flat?
No. They protruded and were rounded on the outside of the frame. This is no different than all the prewar and immediate postwar M&P, until the threaded hammer pivot stud was eliminated by order of January 18, 1946.
So the gun in question has been refinished at some point in its life?? I see two flattened pins in the image supplied. I also see the hammer stud recessed so far that it would remain rounded even if refinished.
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Guys, I'm not going to argue this point. But, I suggest you go look at the guns in the Victory Database thread. I see a few guns that have proud rebound slide studs and many that have it polished down, frequently flat. I have never seen the trigger and cylinder stop studs not polished down. YMMV.
Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
I'm not sure how pertinent the pins are.
Here's a comparison to a 1944 Victory which I can guarantee to be original and never refinished. There seems to be no obvious difference to those you pointed out.
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Knowing a little about the government's propensity to refinish guns, I wonder if many or most Victory's were refinished during their time in service??
kwill1911
Member
Certainly a lot of them have been refinished, many by S&W at the end of the war, but there are plenty of nice original finish guns available on the market.
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