Back when the stainless steel S&W M60 came out, I remember everybody wanting one, and prices getting high among the police crowd. My father was the president of our local police reserve organization, and he used to tell about cops trying to talk each other out of M60s as soon as anybody laid hands on one. The competition among buyers to actually own one was similar to that for the .44 magnum M29, also a tough gun to find at a reasonable price at that time.
The Chief's Special M36 was very popular all by itself, but the M60 was the Holy Grail because of that magical and unique stainless construction. Gun writers of the era were testing the guns by dunking them in seawater and then cleaning them in their household dishwashers, then writing it all up for those of us out in the provinces who had only read about these mythical guns.
Stainless steel handguns are old hat now, and it would be strange to go into a gun shop and not see any on display.
But it seems that a preponderance of gun fanciers always prefer the appearance of blue steel over stainless. There are attractive stainless finishes to be sure, in any level of shine desired, but I believe blue is cherished for it's inherent beauty, and stainless more for its durability.
Why can't we have a truly durable blue finish? One that could simply be polished by hand to get a scratch out, and that would not be marred by a holster? Would it be possible to have a blue steel that is simply made blue through and through?
Is there a bake-on or some other application type of finish that really comes close to this concept? A finish where the surface gleams like like the paint job on a Porsche Carrera but is tough? One that could be refreshed easily by the owner? If so, which one?
If there was a magical, "eternal" blue would that ruin the very idea of bluing as an attractive finish? Is the essence of blue's beauty its fragility, its temporary nature, like the beauty of Autumn?
The Chief's Special M36 was very popular all by itself, but the M60 was the Holy Grail because of that magical and unique stainless construction. Gun writers of the era were testing the guns by dunking them in seawater and then cleaning them in their household dishwashers, then writing it all up for those of us out in the provinces who had only read about these mythical guns.
Stainless steel handguns are old hat now, and it would be strange to go into a gun shop and not see any on display.
But it seems that a preponderance of gun fanciers always prefer the appearance of blue steel over stainless. There are attractive stainless finishes to be sure, in any level of shine desired, but I believe blue is cherished for it's inherent beauty, and stainless more for its durability.
Why can't we have a truly durable blue finish? One that could simply be polished by hand to get a scratch out, and that would not be marred by a holster? Would it be possible to have a blue steel that is simply made blue through and through?
Is there a bake-on or some other application type of finish that really comes close to this concept? A finish where the surface gleams like like the paint job on a Porsche Carrera but is tough? One that could be refreshed easily by the owner? If so, which one?
If there was a magical, "eternal" blue would that ruin the very idea of bluing as an attractive finish? Is the essence of blue's beauty its fragility, its temporary nature, like the beauty of Autumn?
