K-38 Reblue or not Reblue? Advice Please

Status
Not open for further replies.
L

LA GUN

Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2008
Messages
14
I have a Smith & Wesson K-38 built in 1955. I bought it last year for $350. It locks up tight, and is an accurate shooter.

It has what I would estimate to be about 80% / 85% of it's blueing still intact. There are no scars, scratches or marks on the gun only honest holster wear, and a fair amount.

The finish does not appear to have ever been bright.It looks like the matte dull found on the Model 28's, so either age or the factory dulled it down.

I am thinking of sending it off to Fords Gun Refininshing in FL and having them put a nice blue on it. Not BRIGHT PYTHON, but a good blue. Cost is about $200 to $250. I don't expect to get my money back if I sold it, but I do feel I got a bargain at the original price $350.

I am curious if the thought process has changed at all over the years. I know for a long time people said NEVER! It will ruin the value etc.

I like the gun though, and I think it deserves to look better.
 
That gun, while an excellent revolver is, IMHO, too recent to be a real collectors' item. If you want to have it reblued, go ahead. The original finish is likely from one of the "downturns" in S&W when they were in a cost-cutting mode.

As to the quality of Ford's (or anyone else except S&W), I can't judge without seeing their work. But you might ask them a simple question: Do they polish the frame with the sideplate and crane installed? Of they say no, I would find someone else, as polishing those parts separately will lead to "dips" in the finish at the joints and look like heck.

I do know S&W does a very good blue job and you might call them. I don't know if they take any bluing jobs separately, or only as part of a factory rebuild.

Jim
 
I like the gun though, and I think it deserves to look better.
Click to expand...

Is the gun destined to be a safe queen or a shooter?

Safe queen - yes, re-blue.

Shooter - do not re-blue. It is going to get scratched anyway.

Honest finish wear, not talking about abuse nor neglect here, adds character to the piece. You will also find that you'll get some nice comments at the range as well. If it were me, I will not bother to re-blue, safe queen or shooter.
 
Is the gun destined to be a safe queen or a shooter?

Safe queen - yes, re-blue.

Shooter - do not re-blue. It is going to get scratched anyway.
Click to expand...


I was thinking exactly opposite. If you think it will one day be a collector's item, original condition is much more important. If you are going to use it often and want it pretty then by all means make it pretty.
 
I was thinking exactly opposite. If you think it will one day be a collector's item, original condition is much more important. If you are going to use it often and want it pretty then by all means make it pretty.
Click to expand...
My way of thinking exactly
 
Re orchidhunter

Quote
Have it Nickel plated. orchidhunter


Now why didn't I think of that!

Actually Fords http://www.fordsguns.com/ has some great photo's of a K-22 that was nickeled.

Thanks for all the counsel, I've never bought a gun I wouldn't consider shooting regardless of how collectable it might be so, I think I'll go forward and have the work done.
 
Honest finish wear, not talking about abuse nor neglect here, adds character to the piece. You will also find that you'll get some nice comments at the range as well. If it were me, I will not bother to re-blue, safe queen or shooter.
Click to expand...

I would NOT mess with it. Unless the finish is in such bad shape that it is danger of rusting, I would leave it alone. There is no handgun in this world that looks meaner/nastier than a well worn, blued revolver, IMO. It would be a shame to wipe out over 50 years of history, IMO. You can always pick up a pretty, mint blued S&W or Colt later.
 
Shoot it and forget about the color.
You might want to darken the sights.

If it has a dull blue, It might have been reblued in the past.
 
I agree. Re-blue it and you'll lose any collectible value. It is a wonderful pistol that will inevitably go up. Use it and enjoy it as is...that's my $.02.
 
It may not look like it now but you can bet in the 50's it came from the factory with a high polish blue.
Click to expand...

That is almost certainly correct. However, the factory finish of the time is closer to the "Deluxe" level they offer than the "Master" level. The master level is more like the finish on a 27 from the period.

Make the gun look the way you want. It's yours. Some people don't ever wash their cars. Some wax them once a month. Make it look the way it makes you happy.

Collector value: If it doesn't have the original grips and box, then it's collector value is going to be hurt to start with. No; you won't "make back" the cost of the blue job if you sell it, but then you get to enjoy it while you have it. Isn't that the point?

Ford's: One of the top refinishers out there. I have seen their work, and it is excellent, and there are few places that do as nice a job. The factory may re-blue it (they don't repair guns that old, but they may take them in for refinish). Their work is very good, and "collectors" seem to value a factory refinish higher than others. They also have a very affordable system for shipping that saves lots of money on transfer and shipping fees. Again, they may not do a revolver that old, but it would be worth checking.

Pre-check: Make sure the gun is worth that level of refinishing. Is it mechanically excellent, with a nice tight lock up, solid action, reasonably b/c gap, etc? I wouldn't want to put a lot of effort in to a refinish on a mechanically worn gun until that was addressed, first.
 
Shoot that one. Find another old S&W, not necessarily a M 14, with a beautiful blue job to keep in the safe and ooh and agh over at once in a while. :)

I have a 25-2 that is gorgeous, but I shoot it now and then.
 
I'm with the "go ahead and refinish the thing" crowd. Moreover, I'm of the opinion that the stigma associated with the practice will be largely gone in the next couple of generations if something more dire doesn't happen.

The U.S. seems unique in attaching a stigma to properly refurbished firearms and it's my personal conjecture that this is at least partially related to the fine firearms that were molested by the "buff and blue" shops that were everywhere in the middle part of the 20th century.

I've been given to understand that a similar stigma was associated with classic car refinishing until a couple folks started doing it right. Frame-off restos now add, rather than reduce, value.

For firearm restoration to obtain the level of acceptance of classic auto restoration, we'll need a few more Turnbulls, Adairs, RGSs and few less corner shops with buffers and a will to use them. IMHO. But it'll come.
 
The U.S. seems unique in attaching a stigma to properly refurbished firearms and it's my personal conjecture that this is at least partially related to the fine firearms that were molested by the "buff and blue" shops that were everywhere in the middle part of the 20th century.

I've been given to understand that a similar stigma was associated with classic car refinishing until a couple folks started doing it right. Frame-off restos now add, rather than reduce, value.
Click to expand...

Bang-on analysis there, Hawk. Bad re-finishes are just unpleasant. A good job, like Ford's, is pleasant. I now see finely refinished firearms pull top dollar at auctions.
 
It depends on which YOU value more,the S&W or the money it can be exchanged for. Just being old isn't enough for a collector ,it also needs some historical signifigance. Was it involved in a historical event? A major battle or a high profile crime? Otherwise it is just one of many. I say do what you want(I would blue it,myself).
 
Re-blue or not to re-blue?

Its a toss-up. If you go with the re-blue option and you live in Florida or close to Florida there is only one guy I would take the gun to:

Rick Sawyer
775 31st Avenue North
Saint Petersburg, Florida
Business (727) 823-5802
Cell (727) 423-1167

This guy's work is simply unbelievable. He does 95% of his work by hand...will not round any edges or raise any letters. He will re-cut or re-engrave any letters, proof marks and logos. Re-checkers the grips and matches the original luster and shade of the original factory finish. When he's done it will be nearly imposssible to detect that the weapon has been refinished.
 
Last edited:
I like having a nice gun that isn't pristine. That way, I can shoot the heck out of it without a worry. Refinishing will definitely diminish the dollar value of the piece. Those K-38s are climbing in value, too, so I'd go for the carefree-shooting-and-not-diminishing-the-value option by leaving it as is, were it my choice.
 
This would be #21.

............................................

Restoring or rebuilding guns.

21. If you are asking about refinishing a worn looking gun or rebuilding a beater gun, in the vast majority of cases the cost will exceed the value of the finished product. Just rebluing a revolver will run $250 or more by the time you add shipping costs and refinishing the gun will actually lower its value in most instances. If the gun is an heirloom, or has some special meaning, and you want it looking like new and the cost be damned then go for it. But most times refinishing a gun is not economically feasible.
 
Gee, I hate it when someone calls a 1955 gun an old antique collectible.

I bought guns in 1955 (not a K-38, I got mine about 1967), so I guess I am an old antique. But I like my finish as it is, so put away that grinder!

Jim
 
It's the shovel we're getting ready, Jim, not the grinder. What'dya think we are, a bunch of butchers? :)

I've got 1948, 1952, 1972,1974, 1976, and 1978 K22's, K38, M17, M14, and M25 Smith &Wesson revolvers. I don't think they put quite the same level of polish on the models made in the 1940's or 1950's that they did on the 1970's guns. Neither of my older ones are worn - they're just not as shiny. The later polish does look like the polish they always did on their top of the line 27's and 29's.

These 22's and 38's were not expensive guns. I bought my Model 14 in 1978 for $99.95. A Python at that time was around $300.

So reblue if you want to because it's yours to do as you like best. But I don't think you have the price right at Ford's if you expect to get a master level finish done. They have a different price structure for the high polish stuff as they should - it's a lot more difficult to do the fine polishing needed to get a good result.
 
I've got a Mod10-6 that I won new at the 1994 NRA Police Nationals. I took it unfired and had it built into a PPC-Limited match revolver.

It's now got over 500,000rds (and MANY trophies/guns won with it) through it, and on 3rd barrel. Frame/cylinder have never been reblued. (but has had endshake/lockup "tuned" several times.....)

Considering it'll get another 300,000+ rds before I call competiton "quits", I wouldn't think of re-blueing it. Wouldn't be worth it.

Just shoot it, and keep it wiped down occasionally.... FWIW, I had Stainless guns rust under the grips when I was "on the job". The scratches and wear are just "character"..........

My 6" "Distinguished" gun has original blue. My 4" "Service" M14 (4-screw 1958) was rebarreled in 1998 by the Perfromance Ctr when I had it rebarreled.

If getting an S&W reblued, I'd definitely have S&W do it. (BTDT). Their cost will be competitive with a quality shop.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

G
  • Locked
Smith & Wesson K-22 Masterpiece, 1955
2
Replies
28
Views
13K
PhilRich01
P
J
  • Locked
Your Advice: Refinishing a Colt Lawman Mk III .357 4"
Replies
3
Views
1K
dfariswheel
D
D
  • Locked
Colt Python
Replies
24
Views
3K
Guillermo
G
B
  • Locked
S&W .38 info
Replies
5
Views
396
Buckeye2B
B
M
  • Locked
Let's see those K-38's
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
Black_Talon
B
Back
Top