Question ?? ON GUN BLUE

[spnner]

Hi guys can some one give me some pointers on original ww2 bluing and post war refurbished blue ?
spnner

[tracman]

At the risk of appearing quite naive, what firearm are you talking about? As you likely know, different manufacturers from different nations used different types of bluing, sometimes changing the formula as the war went on...

[spnner]

cz27 ser no 25xxxx onwards

[spnner]

gun blue

Hi been offered this and yes ok its deact but thats not a problem .

[spnner]

I would like to say sorry to international collectors but us in the uk can only collect deact crap my friends

[spnner]

1.smell
2.over staining.
Thats all i know.
Any other opniions ?
3.complete blue its the smell.
By the way im a novice please educate me .
thank you in advance
spnner

[spnner]

Any one on this deact please ??/

[BryanD]

I would like to say sorry to international collectors but us in the uk can only collect deact crap my friends

Have the murders been stopped in the UK yet?

[spnner]

silly billy what murders
yes its tame

[spnner]

moderator please delete thread its silly
thank you.
spnner

[tracman]

You asked a good question and didn't deserve to have your question hijacked. Basically, the first step in understanding if a firearm has been reblued is to familiarize yourself with known original examples, and study them. The best is to first read up on the firearm in question, and then if you can, find a collector who will let you inspect his/her collection.

If that isn't possible, you should be able to find good books and related reference material, often in specialized firearms publications, that will at least give you an idea of what sort of finish you should be looking at in original condiiton. Once you understand that, then you can look for rebluing clues. These include: worn lettering/numbering, as many firearms are polished prior to being reblued; uneven bluing (this can be detected by looking carefully at larger surfaces and comparing them with small parts, or removing small parts and looking to see if the finish underneath is even), wrong coloring (for example, US WW2 parkerizing was much different than postwar parkerizing), uneven or too even wear, and in the case of a brand new rebluing job, some chemical taste/smell.

If the firearm's finish is original, and assuming it was issued and not factory boxed and sat around untouched until you acquired it, it's lettering should be even and strong. It should have some wear on its sharp surfaces, where it would have rubbed in a holster for example, or on other rub points. Unless it was totally stripped, you should find some older oil/lubricant residue, and if you can't see any, you should be able to smell it. You should consider removing the grips and looking carefully at the metal under them to see if the finish is even.

It helps also to understand how bluing is done: it's an industrial process meant to provide durability and some standardized finish to firearms, and there are specific techniques for it. In the same vein, it's important to understand how rebluing is done: basically, it can include polishing a weapon to make it smooth and dipping it in a bluing tank to have a shiny (but historically nearly worthless) piece; professionally dismantling it and carefully refinishing it with products that nearly perfectly mimic the original; using cold bluing tools to retouch damaged areas, in the hopes this will blend in with the original finish; or totally refinishing the firearm to extend its service life. The time and costs vary: the first three might be done or commissioned by a private individual, the latter is more akin to what a military arsenal orr contractor may do. Some countries, to include the UK, were kind enough to mark when a firearm was refurbished/refinished for continued service. Keep in mind that many WW2 firearms continued to be used well after the war by various belligerents, which means many were rebuilt and refinished along the way.

If all of this sounds easy, it really isn't. You need some patience, and you need to do your research so that you know what to look for in terms of original finish, and go from there. As you doubtlessly know, most German-issue pistols made during the WW2 timeframe, to include those made at foreign factories and producing indigenous designs, saw the quality of the metal polishing and bluing change considerably during the war, with early examples demonstrating near commercial levels of finish, with so-called "last ditch" models exhibiting basic polishing, thin bluing or parkerized finishes, and sometimes parts in the white.

Hope this helps a bit, and again regret that your request for information was not properly respected.

[spnner]

Thank you tracman
Any other opinions welcome.

[wolfcastle]

Hey. Just hammering home a few basics. Smooth, shiny metal is generally a no no. You are looking for a deep blue, not black. Some guns have thin finish due to aging/wear and take on a gray, even whitish appearance which is OK but reduces value. A sulfuric smell can be a bad sign.

[wolfcastle]

BTW, my first gun was a CZ 27. It was an early one with nice blueing. Still, I find the late war phosphate ones more interesting as it shows the turning fortunes of the Wehrmacht. The Czechs designed a nice little gun here. I have taken it to the range and it's pretty accurate. You can see it in Schindler's List when that piece of s**t camp commandant at Plaszow tried to execute an inmate but it misfired and he was spared. Don't recall mine ever doing that.