Stainless vs Blued

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Can anybody explain to me why there are so many blued guns and so fewer stainless ones? In this day and age, wouldn't it be just simpler to make everything stainless rather than spend more time on blueing and extra finish? :rolleyes:

P.S. I am particularly bitter about it because the San Bernardino Turner's Outdoorsman pothead messed up my order and shipped me a blued Ruger P89 instead of the stainless I ordered and his colleague requested for me. :banghead:
 
Some people actually prefer blued. I'm not saying I do. As far as the extra time spent on bluing and finishing a blued gun as opposed to just building a stainless one in the first place, it must be cheaper because new stainless guns are generally priced a little higher than new blued ones. Maybe stainless is harder to machine or something. Or maybe it's a plot and the gun companies are all in it together to rip us off. :D
Sorry to hear you didn't get what you ordered though.
 
Stainless is more user friendly. But I don't like silver guns for work (cop) I also don't like them for carry in general. They are easy to see. I prefer black guns. But blueing is a poor choice for a black finish. They have much better finishes now like Rogard, Armor Tuff, Titan ext. I do like blue guns for aestics on non working guns that are for fun and plinking. Suck as my Colt Cowboy and my Colt Python ext.
Pat
 
As a LEO, why do you care if your gun is seen? Your uniform, especially if you are PD instead of sheriff's, is already very distinctive and you have other shiny stuff like the badge, cuffs, etc.
 
As a LEO, why do you care if your gun is seen? Your uniform, especially if you are PD instead of sheriff's, is already very distinctive and you have other shiny stuff like the badge, cuffs, etc.
END QUOTE

Well sometimes were dressup in raid gear to kick doors in and such where being stealthy up until entry is very important. Also sometimes when your a patrol officer you do bulding searches and its nice if your gun does not reflect light. The badge is shinny but the cuffs are in their carries so thats not an issue. A lot of departments are going to more subdued uniforms because of these tactical issues. Its not a huge issue but overall I would rather not have a shinny gun.
Pat
 
Maybe stainless is harder to machine or something
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That's part of it. The other part is the finishing work. Parkerizing covers alot of blemishes. Bluing means the surface only has to be smooth, not evenly colored. Steel changes color at different temps, and holds that color. Blueing will cover the difference in shades. Stainless guns have to be evenly shaded, no dark or tinted spots. This is a combination of answers I have gotten from the same qusetions and my own knowledge of metallurgy and machinework.

IMO, this is one of the resaons the Witness' and Baby Eagle's are so affordable. They parkerize them, but underneath there are a ton of tiny blemishes. I had to eliminate all of them when I polished my Baby Eagle. That was about 16 hours worth of sanding and buffing. :eek: Imagine how much that gun would have cost if IMI did that work.
 
Parts of this have already been said however, Blued guns doesn't refer to parkerized, polymer coatings or nitride coatings. Your post stated that there are "so many blued guns". Maybe it's just a style thing in your region. I was at my local gunshop today and there was only three truly blued guns in the case. The rest were some other coating. I would say that the distribution was about equally split between stainless and those with coatings. Now as for reasoning. I'm not sure if you're aware of this but S&W hardly makes true blued guns anymore. Before you guy's get in a panic, I'm not counting the ultra light revolvers which have some kind of coating on them. Frankly speaking, I think tradition has more to do with the color of guns than anything else. Black or blue is easier to hide at night and they show less dirt than other colors. I like stainless guns quite a lot however they are frequently too bright to hide easily. I really like Rugers "Target gray" finish on their stainless guns. I hope that they start a trend that spreads to other manufacturers.
 
In this day and age, wouldn't it be just simpler to make everything stainless rather than spend more time on blueing and extra finish?
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Yes it would be easier, but some of us actually prefer the blued finish.
 
Simply, the process and cost of making a quality blue like they used to would cost too much. In the old days when blues were polished to a mirror finish such as the Colt Pythons, commercial 1911s, S&W Revolvers etc... it was much cheaper to accomplish than it is now.

Next, stainless is easier to maintain for gun dealers. No worry of rust or blemishes in the finish. Stainless of course can still rust, but not as likely as a blued gun.
 
Despite my name, I actually prefer blue to stainless. Nothing against stainless, just an aesthetic preference. Stainless tends to remind me of medical instruments.
 
I very much prefer the blue finish from an appearance point of view, and I think carbon steel is a better material for guns. Just my opinion.
 
420, my stainless gun can easily become a medical instrument in a pinch. :D

I actually prefer stainless steel. I know I am in the minority on that score. Stainless steel is much easier to care for- rust is pretty much a nonissue, and there is no coating to wear off. If you get a matte finish on the steel (as my Bi-Tone LW 1911 has), although it reflects light, it isn't exactly a beacon.

Any increased visibility of the weapon (what, you wouldn't be using a flashlight in the dark?) to me is more than offset by the easier care for the firearm.
 
Looking at websites for "production" 1911's, for example, and I see more stainless steel offerings than carbon now. Springfield in particular.
Didn't S&W drop a lot of their carbon steel revolvers?

Kimber uses a lot of stainless frames even though they are blackened.

My impression was that stainless was "taking over".

I prefer blued carbon steel. :)
 
I like stailess guns, coz I've been carrying on duty my stainless 1911 hi-cap for the past 10 years and it still looks like new.It has some scratches on it but it's still okay. :)
 
Can anybody explain to me why there are so many blued guns and so fewer stainless ones?
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I'm not sure what you're talking about. At the gun shops and shows I attend stainless seems to outnumber blued by large margins. Especially in new revolvers.
 
I'm surprised that some people think blue outnumber stainless because I haven't seen that anywhere. I really have to look for blued guns, especially in revolvers. One of the main reasons I got my father a 3" GP100 is because we don't have Taurus in this state and S&W doesn't make blued guns anymore. I prefer the look over stainless, not for carry reasons, but because it's a sharper looking gun in my opinion.

In pistols, I like stainless and two tone but black guns always seem to have an edge.
 
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I agree with Mastrogiacomo, it seems to be getting more and more difficult to find firearms with blued finishes.

One of the resons they dont just make all guns from stainless is because some of the parts they make CANT be stainless. Mant of the internal parts that have to be hardned are carbon steel.

I am one of the people who much prefer the looks of steel/wood to stainless/plastic, although stainless/plastic has its place
 
The extra dollars for a stainless always comes back to you in the resale value department.
 
I am one of the people who much prefer the looks of steel/wood to stainless/plastic, although stainless/plastic has its place
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I am kind of with you on this, although I have seen more than one gun that looks particularly handsome in stainless with wood trimmings. Stainless and plastic of course represent a very stable combination, but criminy, I am tired of seeing black plastic stocks.

Timbo
 
I've had a couple of my Model 28's re-finished with a Parkarized finish and then a polymer coat applied. I left the other one blue. The finishes are wearing very well. I've had no trouble with flaking etc. Each gun cost me $125.00 and in addition the gunsmith gave them a complete cleaning - basically a tune-up for no additional cost. Just click on the link to see what they look like. Just an option if you can't stand your gun's current finish.


http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=26995
 
Is there any difference in barrel life of carbon steel vs. stainless? Not only in handguns, but more especially rifles?
 
Stainless is slightly more wear resistant, but a high pressure rifle round will make pretty short work of either material. I cannot recall the last bench rifle I saw with a carbon steel barrel, but there must be some still around.
Stainless is significantly more difficult to machine, and does not harden nearly as well as appropriate grade of carbon steel (not all carbon steel can be hardened).
Sulfur is added to barrel grade stainless to improve machinability, at some sacrifice in ultimate strength. Stainless is not as strong as typical grades of carbon steel for firearms and cross sections must often be increased.

And a lot of folks still like blue.
 
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