Have you defarbed your percussion revolver?

[Stantheman86]

Not one person who does any research will be fooled by a defarbed replica, the Tucker & Sherrards , Spiller & Burrs and Griswolds done by Lodgewood are for extreme enthusiasts or collectors who want a shootable Confederate revolver that doesn't have a paragraph of text stamped on it , and has the correct markings.

The intent of "aging" a percussion revolver is usually not to make it look 170 years old but to give it honest service wear . Either for a reenactor who doesn't want to display a fresh out of the box Uberti 1860 Army or for people who just want a "hard used" look.

Cimarron offers the Old West finish because there is a demand for the "well used" look.

This "Schneider & Glassick" looks like a gun that was carried and used. I just fired it today, removing the blue enhances my enjoyment of it.

Uberti also sells guns in Charcoal Blue to be more historically accurate. But that blue is extremely delicate.

Do what you like, that's why this is a hobby.

 

[M. De Land]

I’m sorry, but this is just BS in my opinion. My enjoyment of owning the firearm is significantly degraded by having to look at Made in Italy, Black Powder Only and the other crap that is stamped all over import guns.

If you buy a reprint of a famous painting does it have to say Copy of Van Gough across the middle of it?

Not to mention the legal paragraph Lyman stamps on their guns.

Uberti apparently gets it. My full fluted 1860 I bought last year has all the roll markings under the loading lever.

All of the “stop liking what I don’t like” by posters on this board gets really old sometimes.

On the other hand reading about purposely aging a gun (which I can usually spot across the room) gets old to some of us as well and so we say so. How is it any different from your opinion statement........... You like the practice and others of us don't?
I don't like the Gettysburg address on my barrels either but one can always re-barrel or get out the draw file.

 

[Bob McBride]

Sometimes new is HC and sometimes old is HC. Choose what works for you and let the critics choke on it. My opinion.

 

[Stantheman86]

The ultimate irony: people who collect and shoot reproductions of firearms made in the 1870s and prior, but don't want to hear about people making them look old or well used.

 

[Lonewalker]

Modern replica guns are much different from originals, No serious collector would ever be fooled.

EXACTLY ,

 

[Crow Choker]

I never could quite figure out the whole "fake wear" notion on gun finish. Shoot the gun regularly, care for it properly and it will develop it's own "real" patina very naturally. It doesn't need any help from it's owner to age prematurely. One mans opinion!

Agree with that. Do I like seeing Made in Italy-Black Powder Only, various inspector stamps? Not really, but they don't take away the enjoyment of shooting the various replicas of yesteryear, nor do they cause me any lack of sleep or frustration. When shooting I don't even pay any attention to them, nor do I contemplate having them on the firearm. I don't think "I gotta defarb this thing". I have better things to do than draw filing a dozen cap revolvers, taking away metal and having to refinish. I've seen a few where someone just filed away the stampings leaving sort of a swamped barrel effect, looks worse than the stampings. Antiquing is one thing, defarbing is another. Get a kick otta some shooters on a cowboy action shooting forum who whine and complain about such things and/or shooters who "are not period correct" on this and that, but yet those same guys are wearing the latest high dollar glasses, Hanes underwear, and use modern methods and equipment to load their guns that the boys in the 1800's didn't use or even know about. JMO, yours may vary, but I'll not slam ya for it.

 

[Stantheman86]

They're Italian made reproductions, have fun with them . Leave them as is, antique them, let them age naturally , I do all of the above depending on what I want to do with that particular gun.

I removed the blue on my Walkers' cylinders because the originals had gunmetal cylinders. It just looks "right " to me. As they get handling wear they'll look even better.

The "fake CSA" gun thing started before any of us was alive, when Bannerman started stamping C.S. on original surplus firearms.

Then in the 50s-60s people started "faking" Griswold and Gunnisons with the early Italian brassers.

Now we have the internet at our fingertips. There's a Dance revolver on GunBroker right now , that I assume is an original, but no one is spending $19,000 without either being an expert or having an expert physically inspect it. I'm fairly certain it's not a Pietta. But not certain enough to buy it from pictures alone.

 

[RJMiller]

I like Pedersoli guns they still have to be defarbed though they are worth the price.

I live fire my Pedersoli flintlocks and percussion and they are very true to the mark. I have a Pietta 1858 repro of the Colt that needs a vinegar bath. How much vinegar should I use? Just enough to immerse the parts in an undiluted bath?

As for defarbing a good defarber is John Zimmerman. He is in Harper's Ferry and is quite reasonable considering what all he does.

Rommel

 

[Stantheman86]

I like Pedersoli guns they still have to be defarbed though they are worth the price.

I live fire my Pedersoli flintlocks and percussion and they are very true to the mark. I have a Pietta 1858 repro of the Colt that needs a vinegar bath. How much vinegar should I use? Just enough to immerse the parts in an undiluted bath?

As for defarbing a good defarber is John Zimmerman. He is in Harper's Ferry and is quite reasonable considering what all he does.

Rommel

I take a tin foil baking pan and put all the parts except the bolt stop, trigger spring and mainspring into it, then fill it with vinegar. It only takes a few hours and all the blue comes off. Might want to wear rubber gloves. Take the parts out and an orange rust film appears.

I wipe everything down with Eezox but any blackpowder safe solvent will work. Dry everything off carefully and reassemble. The metal will have a natural uneven gunmetal tone to it. You could shine it up with Mag Polish or just leave it.

I don't know if it's gun show lore or not but I've heard for years that polishing revolvers bright was kind of a trend in the 1860s. Kind of like the endless debate of some Confederate units ordering men to have their Enfields "struck bright" and some reenactors still Polish their Enfields bright because they feel it's period correct.

 

[Dashing Leper]

As I understand it, modern replicas have modern thread pitches. No matter how comprehensive the superficial defarb job is, nobody is going to be able to pass an Italian replica off as an antique unless you really work at it.

 

[FishDFly]

Do people remove all the markings from their vehicles, i.e., GMC on the front grill and tailgate? Would make as much sense as defarbing.

 

[Stantheman86]

Do people remove all the markings from their vehicles, i.e., GMC on the front grill and tailgate? Would make as much sense as defarbing.

Yeah , ummmmm......ok

Either you get it or you don't......there's also Felons on YouTube making videos of themselves making tactical rigs for cap and ball revolvers because they can't own cartridge guns , so they're probably not interested in defarbing either . If you're the kinda guy who just uses these as $180 blasters then probably shouldn't even concern yourself with such topics.

Reenactors and Enthusiasts are concerned with Defarbing , because they want to be authentic or they just want to have guns that look more historically accurate. Spending thousands of $$ on Uniforms and equipment and then having a musket and a revolver to let the public handle with a huge logo on it makes you kinda look like a knob.

Some reenacting Units even require Defarbed weapons. You can't even take part in events with an "out of the box" weapon . Some even go as far as to require the correct screws, sling swivels, barrel bands, the stock to be the proper contour , etc because many repros aren't 100% Correct. There's a reason places like Lodgewood offer Defarbing Services. I'm honestly happy there are Reenactor groups that are that Die Hard about this because someone has to keep our history alive. What's next, reenactors on their smart phones wearing Nikes and blue sweatpants? I mean, I can't believe people actually think "Defarbing doesn't make sense " it's not that big of a deal to most people but to a Reenactor it is important .

I do Living History and it's not as stringent, but I use a Pedersoli 1795 Springfield which doesn't have much extra stuff stamped on it. I take the time to put together a period correct outfit and a persona.

 

[Justin.44]

Do people remove all the markings from their vehicles, i.e., GMC on the front grill and tailgate? Would make as much sense as defarbing.

Actually yes, it's called debadging.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debadging

 

[FishDFly]

"Either you get it or you don't",

Should folks defarb originals where the maker put his name on top of the rifle barrel?, makes as much sense?

 

[Packrat]

The problem with "DeFarbing" IMO is, trying to make something new look old,
When the musket, revolver sword, whatever was issued, IT WAS NEW

 

[jonathan butcher]

Hrt4me is exactly correct. I too like the look of well worn and authentic looking 18th and 19th century firearms, particularly Civil War firearms with a focus on CW handguns.

Likewise I prefer the look of well used holster leather and saddles. I like patina'd brass and faded blue. I prefer the look of old and well used guitars too, called 'relics' in music parlance. I love the look of old wood.

Some conflate 'well worn' with abused or 'drug-behind-a-truck'. I do not. Mine is a personal preference, having nothing whatsoever to do with defrauding someone else. It's just what I like.

Simultaneously I understand those who prefer keeping their guns/ guitars/ whatever new and shiny. I get that. I don't aesthetically like it for me but do understand and accept that others will have their own personal preferences.

At my age I'll probably never own a vintage Colt 1847 Walker or Dragoon Originally examples are prohibitively expensive and finacially out of reach for a guy like me. But I do very much enjoy shooting my defarbed import Dragoon that has been tuned for smooth cycling. Shoots like a new gun, looks like an old gun. And any collector of Colt percussion guns will spot exactly what this one is- and isn't within 5secs of examination.

I think the majority of shooters who defarb their pistols, muskets, revolvers, rifles, etc. do so because they like the look, and not to deceive...

 

[James C. Burnette]

"Do people remove all the markings from their vehicles, i.e., GMC on the front grill and tailgate? Would make as much sense as defarbing."




Back in the 1950's and 60's that was one of the first thing hod rodders did to their vehicles. Removed them, filled the holes and blended it all out. Guilty of that myself. It was our way of changing the appearance of something to conform with our own sense of esthetics. I feel defarbing of guns is just another way of changing the appearance of something we own to look the way we want it. I think the majority of people defarbing/ageing guns are not doing it to claim the gun is actually older than it is, but simply revising the finish to look the way they want it. Are some people going to do it for misrepresentation? these people are in the minority and more than likely not forum members. If people are going to be upset because I put a 327 with 3 dueces and a cam in it under the hood of my externally stock 29 tudor and accuse me of misrepresenting the genre of antique vehicles, that's too bad. THERE ARE ALWAYS people that are going to find something wrong with whatever it is we do and always have good solid reasons for telling us that we shouldn't be doing that. I'm building a precision muzzle loader for long range shooting, chassis type stock, high power scope, extra long barrel false muzzle etc. There are people who will tell me that's wrong, not in the spirit of black powder shooting etc. Think I care? No because this is my way of expressing myself. That's all revising the appearance/defarbing of a gun really amounts to, expressing our desire to have something we own meet our personal requirements of appearances.

 

[springfield art]

What is the difference between defarbing and antiquing?

Defarb would be making it like the original. Replacing un-authentic finishes and parts. Antiquing is artificially aging something.

 

[springfield art]

I’m sorry, but this is just BS in my opinion. My enjoyment of owning the firearm is significantly degraded by having to look at Made in Italy, Black Powder Only and the other crap that is stamped all over import guns.

If you buy a reprint of a famous painting does it have to say Copy of Van Gough across the middle of it?

Not to mention the legal paragraph Lyman stamps on their guns.

Uberti apparently gets it. My full fluted 1860 I bought last year has all the roll markings under the loading lever.

All of the “stop liking what I don’t like” by posters on this board gets really old sometimes.

I second that!

 

[nkbj]

Preferring blue jeans and a tee shirt (more so overalls lately to take the belt pressure off) I had to farb a search engine to see where defarb came from. Never knew there were goldfarbs. About defarbing a revolver, no, I haven't tried to make them look more authentic but I have made them into different calibers and better rifling twists which could be goldfarbing, or not.
Got the chemical salts and reagents to completely brown a Pietta "1860" with brass frame but I've been working my tail off gardening and landscaping. There's so much less time for hobbies after retirement. So far today I had to take May Bell for a walk (it's an every day thing since I'm home)

inspect the garden, torch the burn pile and pick basil (the better 2/3's is baking olive bread). When I get a break maybe dodge the rain and get to town for the concrete I need. Somehow shootin' time is hard to come by.