I don't know for sure but I'll tell you this. I first left my jaeger in the white, then I browned it now it's blued/blackened with BC Perma Blue or whatever it's called. Why so many finishes? Because I kept reading different sources of info with different results. The germanic builders used some finishes that weren't so common elsewhere apparently including darkening some metal parts. I finally settled on the Blue/black finish on my barrel (it really sets off my brass rear sight) and left the lock in the white. Heck, I've changed my jaeger's appearence more often than my furnace filters. :shocked2: I would stay away from browning anything made before the Rev War in my opinion. I think the methods of darkening metal, charcoal blueing or rust blueing, resulted in a blackish blue color which wasn't so durable. I chose to simulate this with cold chemical blueing. I will follow this thread with great interest for sure.