S&W 28-2 Nickel

[Steve Milbocker]

Here’s another gun I inherited from my dad. He bought it at an auction and it resided in a holster stashed in his pickup for years. It was really rough when I got it so I cleaned it up as much as I could. There seems to be a controversy as to whether these revolvers were ever finished in nickel or not. Hopefully you guys could tell me. It appears to be original to me.

 

[AZAndy]

Boy howdy, that's a mighty fine piece of equipment there. The serial number indicates that it shipped in 1973. According to the Catalogue, there were only five produced with nickel finish, so the finish on yours was likely done later. I'm not sure if that's nickel or not, somebody might have had it chromed. Somebody with more experience in judging photos would have a better idea. Nickel usually has a yellowish cast in photos and I'm not seeing that, but I'm easily fooled when it comes to that kind of thing.

Now go shoot that thing! I look forward to hearing how it does.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Is the *N* not indicative of factory nickel - even if not standard?

Could be that's a wives' tale but I've heard it often enough to wonder.

S&W forum wonks would know.

Todd.

 

[Steve Milbocker]

”S&W forum wonks would know.“
Nobody seems to agree there either from what I’ve read. When I got this gun the finish looked like dirty flat primer grey. With some easy polishing with Mothers it shined right up. The top strap, back and the trigger guard would not shine up however. They retained that flat look.

 

[Steve Milbocker]

She’s a bit of a beater but has a great trigger

 

[ontarget]

A Beater?! It looks fine to me. I'd be proud to put it in my holster.

 

[Steve Milbocker]

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[Steve Milbocker]

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[Steve Milbocker]

On target, the pics make it look a little better than it is. The “nickel” has a fair amount of freckling. However I’ve seen much worse!

 

[.38 Special]

That is an interesting gun. Were it mine, I'd considering having it lettered. That is probably the only way to be sure about the finish.

 

[Jonesy814]

The N on the butt is part of the serial number. All the later 28-2s start with an N, even if blued. An N stamped inside a triangle of the side of the grip frame would indicate nickel.
There was a small number of 5 inch nickel plated Highway Patrolman revolvers made for the Florida highway patrol, but their serial number would start with an S.
There were 5 made as salesmanship samples, but they were a satin nickle

 

[bannockburn]

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[bannockburn]

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[bannockburn]

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[bannockburn]

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[bannockburn]

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[bannockburn]

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[NIGHTLORD40K]

Oops, as much as I like looking at Bannockburns shinys there, I think theres a glitch in the Matrix!

 

[bannockburn]

Well that was certainly different! As I was saying haven't ever come across a factory nickel plated Model 28 before but it's possible I guess. Anyways I prefer Flitz on plated guns and Mother's Mag Polish, which I believe to be slightly more abrasive than Flitz, on stainless steel guns.

Now let's see if we can keep this as just one post!