Question about Smith and Wesson's "Case Finish"

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Howdy,

I'm seriously eyeballing another Model 36 to compliment my Nickel Plated 36. It's also available in Blue or Case. I don't know anything about the Case finish. Can anyone enlighten me? What exactly is it? How does it hold up to holster wear, better than Blue? Why is it more costly?

Thanks!
:eek:
 
I believe the S&W 36 case color is by Turnbull Restoration. They use an "original bone pack method" of CC which has been "tweaked" to work well with modern steels.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_168_28/ai_112685763

It's more costly because Turnbull doesn't work cheap. I notice that Turnbull's current price for a DA (frame only?) is 150.00 which is about what S&W bumps their M36 MSRP for.

Hold up to holster wear? Good question. I suppose it couldn't be much worse than bluing. I believe Turnbull hits his CC with a coat of violin lacquer unless directed otherwise by the OEM. I don't think the old classic CC were lacquered but could be wrong. STI has taken to warning folks about solvents in re: the Texican.

A good way to open a can is to ask about CC fading from sunlight. There seems to be little agreement on this point. I tend to think exposure isn't an issue at least with what I own but I'm unlikely to live long enough to tell.

The original M36 didn't need case hardening so the current version sure doesn't need it - it's a replica of something that never existed and is presumably offered strictly as an aesthetic lick. Probably worth it if you like the looks.
 
Hold up to holster wear? Good question. I suppose it couldn't be much worse than bluing. I believe Turnbull hits his CC with a coat of violin lacquer unless directed otherwise by the OEM. I don't think the old classic CC were lacquered but could be wrong.
Click to expand...
Nope, they were indeed lacquered, but it's seldom seen because the coat was so thin - like an oil film.

The rainbow/oil slick colors come about when the part is quenched, and the pattern of colors is unique on each part (frame or whatever). Therefore some are more colored then others and you never know in advance what you're going to get. So far as the colors and wear are concerned, they do tend to fade over time, and holster wear will burnish the finish.

From a personal point of view, case-colored D.A. revolver frames don't turn me on, but a single action Colt is another matter.

So... if the Smith & Wesson in question is intended to be used I wouldn't pay extra for the case-colored version, but if you plan to keep it as a safe queen then it might be a good investment over time. There will never be a lot of them.
 
Thanks so much for the replies!

I was leaning towards the Blue finish but I might have paid the extra cash if the Case finish was much more durable. This will be an EDC replacing my 442 so it sounds like the Blue is my best option.

:cool:
 
Frankly, if I was buying a revolver for EDC, I'd pick an older one with a slight bit of holster wear. The so-called "classics" are extra high priced and aimed at the collector market. When it comes to a model 36, I don't see where they offer a user anything that would justify the price, and under the skin they have all of the various changes that were made for the sole reason of lowering manufacturing costs.

But to each his own... ;)
 
It's another attempt to 'create' a collectible, but in truth it's unlikely to ever generate much collector interest.

Like the Colt reproduction 1918's they're just not the real deal, they're reproductions and all future collectors will know that.

They do have an appeal though. The blued versions are better looking guns than the black coating covered ones, and the "Classic" model 40 is one of the very few issues that does not have the internal lock mechanism.

I thought that the case colored versions were interesting enough to buy one until I saw some guy's photos of one in GB. The pistol's case color finish didn't come out right and the gun just looked weird. After seeing that one I decided that I didn't want to chance ending up with one that was that bad.
 
I bought one of those new blued 40s, mostly to record my one small "blip" on their no-lock sales radar. Surprisingly, the polish on the frame was actually better than some of the older S&Ws I had. The Altamont stocks and barrel polish weren't quite up to the standard the frame polish exhibited.

I have troubles getting case color to photograph well - of course, I'm camera challenged in any event. The case colored 40 at the LGS looked like typical Turnbull color though I'm sure there's a "blah" one that slips through every now again.

The colors came out pretty good on this - must've gotten lucky for once:
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=77711&d=1209953885
 
Oh yeah, that's gorgeous, Hawk, and I've never seen you post an image that would cause me to think that you were 'camera challenged' as you put it.

The SAA Colts actually WERE case colored, or rather case hardened with consequent coloring when first sprung onto the world which gives an authenticity to the newer so colored/hardened issue.

Not so with S&W revolvers though, is it? I've never seen of one that came that way.
 
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