Uberti Walker refinishing

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Berkley and other THR Whitneyville-Walker fans:

If one checks the coltforum.com posts on Walker sns, there is a pretty comprehensive listing of known existing Walkers. These are largely based on the 1953 WF Quick list, the Turner Kirkland no.132 1983 catalog referred to in Whittington's 1984 book on the Walker, and the Texas Gun Collector Association's 2003 Parade of Walkers. Interestingly enough, Co. A sn 210 is not included in this list despite its fabulous condition and exceptional provenance, which goes to show there may be other
Walkers left out "there somewhere".
 
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White Walker, Your Walker looks awesome, I may do that to my first Walker. I use it as a backup when hunting.


I like the look of the Walker with the cylinder in the white. Here is a before and after picture of my second Walker:

new_walker2.jpg

new_walker4.jpg
 
Dang! Well all be a box a rocks!!!

Looks like I'll be bleaching my Walker's cylinder when I get it to match the period correct finish! :D

OP, I'd keep it the way you made it, looks good AND authentic!
 
WW
I found that Cabelas Gun Library Walker again. It is a Co. A rather than. Co. C. I can't paste in links via my phone. Search using "Cabelas Gun Library, Whitneyville-Walker, reproduction". I'd post a pic but I cant grab a pic from the site to my phone. I've heard these are the best " tribute" Walkers ever made. I read one of these was taken to the 2003 Texas Gun Collectors Association Parade of Walkers, but did not fool the panel of experts.
 
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So before I ruin my new Uberti Walker, it would be period correct to remove the bluing from the cylinder to make it "in the white"? If so, I will do it to mine!
 
Well, the barrel and back strap and barrel wedge would have to sport a Charcoal blue finish for a somewhat closer finish to what the Walkers had. The current hot blue that manufacturers produce isn't Anywhere close to what the originals had though.
 
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Ch... cha... CHARCOAL BLUE!?!?

If I remember right, Cimarron does offer a Walker with optional charcoal blue for 70 bucks more than the standard blue one. So I should get that then whiten the cylinder?
 
That particular arrangement will give you a similar finish of what was on the original Colt Walkers coming out of the Whitneyville Factory. However as to form, your Walker still won't be identical to a genuine Walker because of all the differences that the Uberti Walkers have from the originals. Cylinder, trigger, trigger guard, hammer, rammer, back strap, loading port on the barrel lug. And then there's the detail of the contour of everything.
But yes, you will have a more realistic finish on a Uberti Walker if you get one with a Charcoal Blue finish and then whiten the cylinder.

Fred
 
Thanks for the info White Walker!

I didn't know the Ubertis were so different from the genuine article... I thought most of Uberti's guns were quite authentic?
 
If they were, I wouldn't have needed to put in over 80 hours on reshaping virtually every contour of my Walkers to conform to the profile of an original. Each brand today has different pros and cons. However they all are made so that counterfeiting one would be difficult. Look at the two original Walkers in post #21. Look at every photo you can find of original Walkers. Train your eye to pick out the differences between them and the replicas.
 
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The current hot blue that manufacturers produce isn't anywhere close to what the originals had.
Click to expand...
Neither is their charcoal blue, which is actually nitre or fire blue. Real charcoal blue has to come from a high end refinisher like Turnbull. Which is always a nice option if you want it to look like the real thing did, back when it was new.

I had Turnbull refinish this Cimarron Open Top in full charcoal blue (carbona) with color cased hammer, trigger and fire blued screws.

IMG_2324b.jpg
 
Nice Craig! I just looked at Turnballs coincidentally, dang that looks nice! How does the charcoal bluing they do hold up? I take it it is more like the original Colt finish than the standard bluing on an Uberti 1851 Navy?
 
Real charcoal bluing is actually very durable. More than modern hot salt blue It's just more labor intensive to produce and thus, more expensive. It has a slightly bluish tint but you can see above the color difference between it and more peacock blue of nitre bluing, which is what the import makers market as charcoal blue. Due to the process, it's not done over a mirror polish but more of a soft, brushed luster. Probably more evident in this pic of an USFA Pre-war.

IMG_0953b.jpg
 
See, there are those who say the barrel on an authentic Walker did not have US 1847 on it. If that is a real pic of one, that proves that statement to be false.
 
Civilian and military Whitneyville-Walkers were marked US 1847 on the right barrel lug above the wedge screw. The screw partially covers the 4 and 7. The 7 has a slight hump in it, rather than being straight across. Also, it seems that the 8 is upside down with the top of the 8 slightly larger than the bottom of the 8.
Oode
Last year I came across a gumsmith in Harpers Ferry I recall that caters to the ACW reenactor folks that makes defarbed replicas. He had a pic of a repro Walker that looked pretty good. I recall that he even could supply cartouche stamps for wood stocks.
 
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