Restoring/Upgrading an old pistol

The pistol in question is an FN Model 1910 in 32 Auto. My grandfather brought it home from the Pacific after WWII. The bluing on it is pretty meh. There is clear holster wear. The original FN marked (bakelite?) grip panel on the right side is damaged. There is some minor pitting but nothing catastrophic. The safety lever is in need of a little work as it no longer is capable of holding the slide open.
While it's an interwar era gun, its not exactly rare nor was it common issue for any military, so not really a milsurp. There are thousands and thousands of these things floating around.

I was debating stripping the bluing, removing the pitting where possible, polishing the steel and rebluing for a high gloss finish. I might replace the grips with a set of original FN grips although I have a really nice piece of shoestring acacia leftover from another project that would make nice grip panels.

There is some sentimental attachment although this particular gun just sat in grandpa's sock drawer in California for 60 years.
Whatchu think?

Monac said:

It's your gun, and you can do whatever pleases you to it or with it. The usual advice is to leave it as it is, because that is closest it can ever be to how your grandfather got it, and that preserves it as a piece of history. But it's yours, and you can't please everyone, so you might as well please yourself. I think that, besides cleaning it up, nothing you do to it will increase its value.

By the way, Japanese officers (I think in all branches of their armed forces) either had to buy their own sidearms, or had the option to, and the FN was a popular choice. It was lighter and less bulky than the Type 14 Nambu. I don't know if there are known serial number ranges that went to Japan.

Also by the way, the grips might be hard rubber, but they are more likely to be animal horn. The Europeans found that horn made a good cheap substitute for hard rubber pistol grips during WWI. It was steamed, dyed, and pressed in molds. Horn is stronger than hard rubber, but moisture can make it de-laminate, and there are bugs that eat it the way termites eat wood. I forget if they used cattle horn or sheep horn, or both. The grips could also be post-war plastic replacements, of course.

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Yeah, my grandfather joked that he got it from a Japanese soldier that didn't need it anymore. He speculated that the Japanese guy probably found it the same way he did but I don't think he knew that Japanese officers had to buy their own sidearms. I have to do at least a little repair work to it so the safety lever is able to hold the slide open, because as it is now, it will drop the slide as soon as you take your finger off. Which of course, makes it worse every time the slide rakes over that teensy little metal part. I think I can fix it with a little file work but I might need to source a replacement or have a welder add some material to it.
The gun isn't really a piece of history though. There were hundreds of thousands of these things produced from the 1910s all the way into the 1970s or 1980s.
I'm not really looking to improve its value as I don't plan on selling it, and like I said, they aren't exactly rare. You can find them all day on gunbroker for $300-$500 for standard run of the mill models. I didn't know about the use of horn though, I assumed the grips were bakelite, so that's good to know. I'll definitely keep them safely stored away.
Regardless, the one on the right side is damaged and needs replacement.

I also have a leather holster for the gun. complete with a spare mag pouch and a leather flap that covers the back. The holster has no markings on it though so I assume it's either a home made job or just a generic PP/Baby Browning/one-size type deal.

reddog81 said:

I’d leave it as is other than the grips and slide lock/safety lever.

Are you planning on sending it out for a high gloss finish? That’ll cost much more than the gun is worth for a good job. If you’re planning on doing it yourself you’re going to need a variety of polishing wheels and lots of experience.

How are you planning on removing the pitting?

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I have most of the compounds and bits I'd need to polish the surface. For the pitting, I was going to start with a fine wire wheel to see where that got me. At the very least I'm going to be removing some of the surface finish to get the pits out. If I go back with rust bluing, it will all blend because chemistry.
I suspect a good bit of it will clean up with some fine wet sanding. Same method I've used to pretty up old knife and razor blades. Followed by more super fine wet sanding and then high speed buffing on a wheel with polishing compounds.
Then rust bluing.

gunlaw said:

I’d just get it shooting if it can be made safe. The condition is part of the story and what makes it a family heirloom.

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There is nothing unsafe about it. The safety works in the Safe position. The only thing that doesn't work is the safety lever's ability to hold the slide back for disassembly. In terms of shooting, she's really nice.

wiscoaster said:

That IS a historically significant gun. The same make and model was used to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, thereby triggering WW I. I think such firearms have a special place. I have a Rohm 14GS - make and model used by John Hinkley to shoot Ronald Reagan and three others, and a Carcano M91/38 - used by Lee Harvey Oswald to (supposedly) kill JFK. I have the FN 1910 on my radar, and tried to acquire one once on GB but got outbid. It was a Vietnam bringback without import back and pretty beat up, but it got a good price anyway. It's yours to do with as you wish, but I hope you'll take into account its pedigree. If you change out any parts such as grips, be sure to keep the originals. If you need to sell it, your buyer is going to want them.

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wanna buy a gun? Comes with 2 factory mags and a leather holster.

gunlaw said:

A working safety doesn’t mean the pistol is safe. Get it checked out and enjoy it.

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Checked out for what? Functionally, the thing is flawless other than not holding the slide open for disassembly. The safety works with the slide closed. The grip safety works. It feeds reliably. Shoots as accurate as one of these things can with its sight.

Pics as requested.

and yes it has sights, sorta. There is a grooved channel on the top of the slide with a raised nub at the muzzle and a simple notch at the back.
But they're basically worthless and impossible to see in low light.

Monac said:

Thanks for putting up the holster pictures, Ivy Mike. I don't recognize that as a distinctively Japanese style, but my holster knowledge is pretty minimal. Somebody ought to have a clue.

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It looks similar to some others on the intertubes. It looks like a factory FN holster.

indy1919a4 said:

My bet some or alot of the pitting and finish loss is because it was stored for years in that holster. Some of that old leather has chemicals in them that is brutal and eats the finish of side arms when they are stored in the holster long term.

I have seen that same kind of finish wear on similar stored pistols..

to OP.. Damn nice holster, has a nice look. Also cool story. Thanks.

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Could very well be. My grandparents lived in San Pedro, CA not too far from the ocean. Lots of metal things get that look after a while. Humidity rises, then falls and salts deposit.
The pitting itself isn't bad and there are only a few spots where the pitting has any real depth that might pose a problem. I don't think I'll lose any of the markings.

indy1919a4 said:

If that leather has the gun hating chemicals in it, you could store that anywhere and it will do its nasty... Have seen "Sock Draw guns" stored in the holster from Indiana to Florida all the way to Yugoslavia (in Yugoslavia they were not stored in Sock draws but behind walls) and they look the same.

I.E Bet the magazine you show that has its bluing that you picture nearest the pistol grip was the one that was inside the pistol grip.. It was protected from those chemicals.

Have a couple and they are good shooters.. If you strip it you should not see any damage to parts inside the gun, that leather just hates finish..

It is just so awesome how guns travel.. So neat that a European arm goes to Japan to serve in WW II... How the heck did that guy get ammo for it during the war...??? There were ways, its just not so nicely documented. Cool Piece.

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I have a few more pieces he brought back. He ended up as an MP for a while with the occupation force so it was a little easier to get the papers to bring back trophies.