Tommy Vercetti
New member
I proudly prefer stainless
Practical Snobbery: The Case Against Stainless Steel
- Thread starter Hand_Rifle_Guy
- Start date
Roadkill Coyote
New member
Every new innovation has teething problems. Stainless steel in firearms was no exception. It has come a long way since then, and market forces suggest it's here to stay. You might as well rail against horseless carriages, cell phones and Karaoke while your at it.
Besides, it's shiny
Besides, it's shiny
mete, citori and hand rifle guy:
you guys opened the pandora's box of metal finishing,
time for full disclosure:
tenifer, various nitriding, chroming and ceramic or plastic coating options
with details of techniques, and benefits/short comings for use in guns
so that when we order work by Robbie Barkman or Cylinder&Slide or
Hamilton Bowen on that classic Colt we want
we will have a
CLUE what we want/need and WHY!
Please and Thank you,
doc
you guys opened the pandora's box of metal finishing,
time for full disclosure:
tenifer, various nitriding, chroming and ceramic or plastic coating options
with details of techniques, and benefits/short comings for use in guns
so that when we order work by Robbie Barkman or Cylinder&Slide or
Hamilton Bowen on that classic Colt we want
we will have a
CLUE what we want/need and WHY!
Please and Thank you,
doc
Stainless is good.
Sometimes, a gun is only offered in stainless, there's no blued steel equivalent. Like a certain Wichita Silhouette Pistol in Gewehr98's collection:
Speaking of high-tolerance stainless steel, I've flown with more than a couple H-P countertop mass specs on our fleet of air-sniffing jets, and used several in the Air Force forensics lab I managed. When I retire, one of the big things that has the BATF trying to hire me is my training in the darned things. If you think the tolerances in those mass specs is tight, you should see what the tolerances are inside a JEOL scanning electron microscope, Cameca electron microprobe, Air Force-built thermal ionization mass spectrometer, X-ray diffractometer, and a Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscope! I just wish I could've kept one of each when they closed my unit on McClellan AFB several years ago.
Sometimes, a gun is only offered in stainless, there's no blued steel equivalent. Like a certain Wichita Silhouette Pistol in Gewehr98's collection:
Speaking of high-tolerance stainless steel, I've flown with more than a couple H-P countertop mass specs on our fleet of air-sniffing jets, and used several in the Air Force forensics lab I managed. When I retire, one of the big things that has the BATF trying to hire me is my training in the darned things. If you think the tolerances in those mass specs is tight, you should see what the tolerances are inside a JEOL scanning electron microscope, Cameca electron microprobe, Air Force-built thermal ionization mass spectrometer, X-ray diffractometer, and a Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscope! I just wish I could've kept one of each when they closed my unit on McClellan AFB several years ago.
The hardness comparison between stainless and carbon steel is kind of a red herring when it comes to firearms.
Neither steel is hardened to anywhere near it's limit in a firearm. Barrel steel (whether it's carbon or stainless) is typically hardened to the low to mid 40s RC. If I'm not mistaken, the typical firearms stainless alloys can easily be hardened into the mid to high 50s RC without getting too brittle.
This also means that a lot of the "experience" about stainless and carbon steels as it applies to knives (hardened to the high 50s, low 60s RC) doesn't really give you a good idea of what's happening in firearms.
The galling issue is easily resolved. The solution is to avoid having sliding friction between two parts of the same alloy.
Stainless alloys have a broad variance in their propensity to rust. Some rust fairly easily, some hardly at all. For that reason, anecdotal evidence about a particular stainless gun or knife that rusted is really only applicable to that particular kind of gun or knife. Another maker might use a completely different alloy which is much less prone to corrosion.
Any material has drawbacks and limitations. If the design takes material properties into consideration in the proper manner it's not an issue.
Neither steel is hardened to anywhere near it's limit in a firearm. Barrel steel (whether it's carbon or stainless) is typically hardened to the low to mid 40s RC. If I'm not mistaken, the typical firearms stainless alloys can easily be hardened into the mid to high 50s RC without getting too brittle.
This also means that a lot of the "experience" about stainless and carbon steels as it applies to knives (hardened to the high 50s, low 60s RC) doesn't really give you a good idea of what's happening in firearms.
The galling issue is easily resolved. The solution is to avoid having sliding friction between two parts of the same alloy.
Stainless alloys have a broad variance in their propensity to rust. Some rust fairly easily, some hardly at all. For that reason, anecdotal evidence about a particular stainless gun or knife that rusted is really only applicable to that particular kind of gun or knife. Another maker might use a completely different alloy which is much less prone to corrosion.
Any material has drawbacks and limitations. If the design takes material properties into consideration in the proper manner it's not an issue.
crashburnrepeat
New member
Stainless is great. And it's stainless. Or stain, less.
I like stainless, I'm not a metallurgist or a scientist so I don't give a whisker about hardness, galling, etc. I just care that my firearm goes "bang" every time it's supposed to and that it won't rust in ten minutes carried IWB like my Sig P220 would.
I have several handguns in stainless and most of my target rifles are stainless with teflon over the top of them to darken them.
I like blued but if it can get wet and I don't have to worry as much about it, stainless is awesome.
I like stainless, I'm not a metallurgist or a scientist so I don't give a whisker about hardness, galling, etc. I just care that my firearm goes "bang" every time it's supposed to and that it won't rust in ten minutes carried IWB like my Sig P220 would.
I have several handguns in stainless and most of my target rifles are stainless with teflon over the top of them to darken them.
I like blued but if it can get wet and I don't have to worry as much about it, stainless is awesome.
GunsnRovers
New member
Well you'll hate me for this post then...
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=90870
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=90870
stainless vs blued
I think 2ND amendment hit the nail on the head it's all about what the individual likes or needs. It's like the name says stain-less. I have a Ruger 10/22 mag with a 1" fluted stainless barrel, Hogue overmoulded stock, volquartsen trigger, matte finnish 3x9 scope. The package looks and shoots great and it's easy to clean as well. I also have black guns and blue ones as well, my favorite?.... the one that shoots the best.
I think 2ND amendment hit the nail on the head it's all about what the individual likes or needs. It's like the name says stain-less. I have a Ruger 10/22 mag with a 1" fluted stainless barrel, Hogue overmoulded stock, volquartsen trigger, matte finnish 3x9 scope. The package looks and shoots great and it's easy to clean as well. I also have black guns and blue ones as well, my favorite?.... the one that shoots the best.
I have a SA stainless 1911 with 10,000 + rounds through it. Recently had it gone over by a gunsmith, no sign of galling or wear and the slide feels like it's on ball bearings. I attribute this to the lubricant I use, a product called Lubriplate. a mil spec grease. It's on page 251 of the current Brownell's, a 14 ounce can is $7.15 and will last a lifetime.
Tommy Vercetti
New member
people who presume to tell you what sort of gun you ought to have and not have are in no short supply in Massachusetts, California etc..nor are they welcome in my house
myopicmouse
New member
On rifles I think your right, but on pistols SS is just so... beautiful, esp Colts.