[Wolfeye]

I was looking into buying a new model 629, then I noticed that only performance center models come with chromed hammers & triggers. I thought they used to be standard? Are the non-chromed ones susceptible to rust? I plan on taking it hiking & boating in SE Alaska, and the idea of oiling parts of the gun every night just isn't appealing to me.

[Brian Williams]

Stainless is not rust proof, you will need to keep it in a waterproof container and never open it up or wipe and oil each and every night and sometimes at noon and the morning also depending on the amount of salt and how often it gets wet.

[blkbrd666]

That's strange...the blued model looks like it has stainless hammer and trigger. My Model 57 is blue and it has stainless hammer and trigger, yet the nickel Model 29 has them blued or black. Never noticed that.

[dfariswheel]

When S&W first introduced the Model 60 and 66, the hammers and triggers were actual stainless steel.

They decided they didn't like the wear characteristics of the stainless they were using so they went back to carbon steel hammers and trigger, only with a flash plating of hard chrome so the parts would match the rest of the gun, and still be more rust resistant.

About 10 years ago or so, S&W stopped applying the hard chrome plating as a cost savings.

So, only very early Model 60 and 66 S&W's had real stainless hammers and triggers, all later "stainless" parts were actually hard chromed.
Later guns had un-plated color case hardened hammers and trigger, and the newer MIM cast parts have a case hardened coating that has a dark, mottled black finish.

[Bullet Bob]

"That's strange...the blued model looks like it has stainless hammer and trigger. My Model 57 is blue and it has stainless hammer and trigger, yet the nickel Model 29 has them blued or black. Never noticed that."

I believe someone has replaced, or plated, you 57 hammer & trigger.

[blkbrd666]

No, they're not plated, they're just not blued. So far, all the blued model 57s I have seen have been the same way...trigger and hammer in the white.

[.41Dave]

S&W hammers and triggers are either case hardened or flash chromed (or as dfariswheel stated, a small number of actual stainless ones). If you see an S&W revolver with blued or "in the white" hammer or trigger, it was done after the gun left the factory.

[Oro]

+1 to what Dfariswheel and .41Dave said. New ones are going to be case hardened over the MIM. Older ones (pre late 90s I think), will be flash chromed over forged steel. Anything blue or "in the white" is something hacked or a bush-league gunsmith job.

The case hardened takes a little more maintenance than the stainless finish on the gun or even blue, but not lots - wouldn't stop me from buying it. Since you live in WA, unless you are working on a fishing boat or living 1/2 the year in AK in the field and not coming indoors for a week or two at a time, this isn't a big deal. I carry my SS S&W's in just-as-wet western WA and I've never had a problem.

[Moonclip]

I hate how S&W modifies and cheaps out stuff sometimes. The 3rd gen autos also got blue triggers and hammers at one point. I'm glad my 1006 has stainless or at least silver colored ones:)

If I buy stainless I want stainless. I like how on some Ruger revolvers I have everything seems to be stainless except the front sight and grips.

[Bullet Bob]

Forgot the 3rd option - someone polished that 57 trigger/hammer, and left it in the white, and maybe polished through the micro-thin case hardening, leaving the softer metal underneath,