I bought this pistol from a fellow who was liquidating an estate sale. I couldn't believe the condition it was in, and was initially very suspicious of whether it had been re-finished at some point.
Note the fire blue on the safety. It's sometimes called "Turquoise blue" for obvious reasons. It's not as robust as the rust blue, but is quite stunning.
A good shot of the bolt showing the fire bluing of the extractor above and the frame stop below. Original? Or reblue? All my examination indicates it's original. Amazing. The bore is equally pristine, though none of my attempts at photographing it have turned out. The whole pistol shows minimal wear.
The serial numbers throughout the pistol, inside and out, are all matching. There is slight evidence of freckling on the barrel, and some bluing fade and patina on the grip straps and trigger well. I would be even more suspicious if these very minor flaws were not present. Very few firearms, indeed, very few anything gets this old without some signs of the passage of time.
Note the crispness of the stampings here, if this is an example of a re-blue, it is amazingly well done. I've seen lots of re-blued pistols over the years, and this one exhibits none of the tell tale signs usually associated with them. All the edges are knife crisp, inside and out. I'm not an expert, but I do have experience, and my experience tells me it's original.
