JohnBiltz
Member
The purpose of a finish is and always has been rust prevention for the vast majority of gun owners. There pretty much always has been a market for high end finishes and nice wood as well, but most gun manufacturers would be out of business if that was their only market. So they would sell special high grade pretty models alongside their bread and butter and people would pay premium prices for them.
I've seen the transition from blued steel and wood to what we have today and what really led the transition was people willing to pay extra to remove blued steel and wood and replace it with a more durable rust resistant finish and replace wood with plastic by aftermarket offerings. The manufactures saw they were missing out on opportunity and started offering what was available aftermarket in house at first at a higher price. They sold big time. Before long it pushed blued steel and wood aside.
I've heard people say it was manufactures trying to save bucks but that just isn't true. It was the market speaking and they listened.
I've seen the transition from blued steel and wood to what we have today and what really led the transition was people willing to pay extra to remove blued steel and wood and replace it with a more durable rust resistant finish and replace wood with plastic by aftermarket offerings. The manufactures saw they were missing out on opportunity and started offering what was available aftermarket in house at first at a higher price. They sold big time. Before long it pushed blued steel and wood aside.
I've heard people say it was manufactures trying to save bucks but that just isn't true. It was the market speaking and they listened.