I have a High Standard "B" and some Q's

K

koolminx

New member
My HS B is one of the first B's made, it carries a serial # of 6803 making it #1,803 made in 1932...

I see 6 and 5 digit serial #'s all the time and they want big bucks for them...

Is this a good thing value wise? The piece is waiting to be re-blued as it spent time in someone's tool box I think...
SO, I stripped it down and polished it up to a high gloss almost like chrome, and will send it to the gunsmith for bluing in a month or so.

Thanks

Gary
 
After the re blue job the premium for a SN may not matter. Some people collect the high standards for this fancy blue they used to have. It may have started after your gun was made but still, the high standard fans will smell the re blue a mile away and so the guns value will be as a shooter. If thats what you intend on, thats fine but if you think the gun is rare or has collector value that will diminish greatly after the re blue.
 
That's fine. I don't think there is a gun in the world I wouldn't shoot.

I am kind of appalled at people that just buy the buggers and put them in a hole in the ground and never shoot them. ALL of my gun's are shooters, and I shoot the schitt out of them as God intended :) :)

THe new bluing will be well broken in after a few trips to squirrel country.
 
Simply shooting most guns doesn't devalue them - after all, every single one has been fired at least once by the factory before they packed it up for shipment.

But, polishing & rebluing them certainly does devalue them - as does stock/grip refinishing.

.
 
I am kind of appalled at people that just buy the buggers and put them in a hole in the ground and never shoot them. ALL of my gun's are shooters, and I shoot the schitt out of them as God intended
Click to expand...

Have you heard that some people do invest in guns and that sometimes taking an unecessary risk by shooting it (could drop it, a part could break, etc) is silly? If you're careful its ok but sometimes its smarter to let a gun rest. If you get a colt python NIB for example would you want it: with or without a turn line, with perfect grips or with nicked grips? The choice is simple. Just my two cents
 
sure sure if you only collect as an investment... BUT I thill think it's a horrible waste of a nice piece of weaponry... I use my collector knives to cut things... :)

I guess I don't think it's fair to do that because I cannot afford to buy a gun that's collectable...

This B I have if it had a box, would have likely cost me well over $3,000, shot or not, because I see them for sale and people are almost alway's asking $2,500+ and those are newer pieces... As it is though, I got it for $169 bucks from a local gun shop... That is a number I can occasionaly afford :)

I certainly understand the collecting views now, and how an original bluing is better than restoring one.

Thanks,

Gary
 
It is bad practice to polish a gun and then wait any length of time to reblue it. The reason is that the normal atmospheric crud, plus oxygen, gets to the polished surface and can keep the blue from "taking" the way it should. If there has to be a delay, the polished surfaces should be covered with a uniform film of light oil, which will be removed in the degreasing process.

Most gunsmiths, when getting in already polished guns for reblue, will polish them again, usually with good results, but sometimes not.

Anyone who wants to do his own polishing (and I am one) should see that it is done as close to bluing as possible, and then carefully preserved until it can be degreased and dropped in the tank. Advise the gunsmith to either not polish at all, or keep further polishing to an absolute minimum.

P.S. Remember, the B was made before High Speed .22 LR was on the market. Stick to standard velocity ammo.

Jim
 
re: P.S. I found that out... Had to grind and weld a small fracture, and buy low velocity ammo.... She's good as new and nobody I've showed it to (including one smith) can tell it was repaired.
 
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